Lesson Thirteen Beers, Wines, Meads, Ciders No one can say for sure, where or when the first fermented alcoholic drinks were discovered, but it was almost for sure an accident. Some feel that beer was the first alcoholic drink to be discovered, others mead. The mead story seems the most convincing. For most of our hunter gathering history (over 99%), we lived pretty much off of what we could forage along the way and simply carry. You can imagine the delight of coming across a wild beehive, full of nutrient rich honey. After wrangling down the bees, and undoubtedly after many stings, you would want to harvest as much as you could. But were to put it? How to carry it? Most likely some of it ended up going into partially filled water skins, as these were always with them. After a bit of time of jiggling along in a relatively warm environment, fermentation would naturally start. As the flavor started to change and the consumer started to feel and enjoy the effects of the fermentation, other people would, understandably, experiment to try to re- create the effect. Thus, the first mead was born! All Rights Reserved. 1
Almost all cultures around the world have since independently discovered their own form of alcoholic beverage. These independent discoveries evolved to where, as we saw way back in our first lesson, Northern Europeans developed their own breweries with their own particular styles of beers, ales, ciders, and meads. In South and Latin America, you ll find chicha, an all- encompassing label for the many varieties of fermented corn beverages. Mayans created pozol, a fermented corn dough, and Ecuadorans enjoyed a fermented rice dish called Sierra Rice. A Russian staple was kvass, a drink consumed daily that s easily made in just a few days from stale bread or beets. The fermentation process required for alcoholic beverages is not that different from the other ferments we have looked at throughout this course. The primary difference is that we get ethyl alcohol or ethanol, known to most of us simply as alcohol - rather than either lactic or acetic acids, when fermenting organisms convert carbohydrates in grains, fruits or honey into wine, beer, mead, or other alcoholic beverages. To this we have to add that instead of being either aerobic to produce acetic- acid (vinegar), or anaerobic to produce lactic acids; alcohol formation involves both processes. The first stage of alcoholic production is aerobic, were no alcohol is produced, but it is still an essential stage in the process. This aerobic stage of fermentation is called the respiratory stage. This is when the yeast reproduces, and in doing so produces carbon dioxide, which changes the flavor of the medium. It often takes 4 8 hours. After this, we enter into the anaerobic stage. This is when the alcohol is produced. This second stage lasts 3 7 days. After that period of time, it is all about maturing, flavoring, and settling, as most of the fermentation has taken place and thus the rate of fermentation slows down substantially. By adding fruits, herbs and other ingredient to these beverages, we can get different types of brews that have been the experiments of housewives, alchemists, monastic orders, and brew masters over the last several thousand years. All Rights Reserved. 2
Types of Fermented Alcohol We will take a loose look at the various types of Ferment Alcohol. Beer Beer is the world s most consumed alcoholic beverage and is the third most consumed beverage after water and tea. Beer usually contains between 3 6 percent alcohol, but you can find some natural brews with as much as 20% and as low as 0.5%. Commercially, some brews have been created with as much as 40%. As mentioned before, some say that beer is the earliest known prepared beverage (especially alcoholic beverage) while others say that mead has that honor. Nevertheless, there have been forms of beer around since 9500 BCE. Hops is the most common ingredient used in modern beers. Hops was only used occasionally in most of the history of beer brewing, but they have been used exclusively since around 1520 CE for reasons both political and monetary. The reasons for this politically and monetarily driven exclusivity have much to do with the fact that, while hops do balance the sweetness of beer and lend flavor, they also offer other effects: they make the drinker drowsy and suppress sexual vitality. So, as a result, many of the other ingredients were virtually outlawed in the making of beer. Some modern artisan brewers have returned to the home brewing tradition of adding various other ingredients to beer. What have we lost with this shift from home brews to mega- breweries? Well there are at least three things, but possibly more: 1. The flavor diversity that herbs give to traditional brews. 2. The nutritional and medicinal benefits that come from using herbs, grasses, and roots. 3. The nutritional benefit of consuming wild yeasts (suspended in the alcoholic liquid) and their B vitamin by- products - which are destroyed or removed through modern beer pasteurization and filtering methods. All Rights Reserved. 3
Fermentation For Life Lesson 13 By Terry Willard; Malcolm Saunders and Patrick Kooyman Beers, Wines, Meads & Ciders There are two basic types of beer: Lagers and Ales. Lagers are fermented at cold temperatures for long periods of times, with yeasts that work at the bottom of the fermenting container. Ales are fermented at warmer temperatures for shorter periods of time, with the yeasts fermenting at the top. Further to this you can have Pale ale, which top- ferments with yeast and pale malts. It is one of the most commonly drank beers. Stouts and Porters are dark beers made from roast malts or barley and both slowly ferment with yeast. Mild ale is quite malty, but it is usually dark colored. Lager is a cool fermented beer and bottom- fermented, with Pale lager being the most consumed beer in the world. Wines Wine is an alcoholic beverage that is made from fermenting grapes or other fruits. The yeast (either natural or added) consumes the sugar to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. Various varieties of grapes can change the flavor and style of the wine. We know that wine has been prepared since at least6000 BCE and has played an important role inboth religion and culture since those times. Meads Mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with water and possibly other ingredients such as herbs, spices, fruits or grains. The normal alcohol content is somewhere between 8% and 20%. There is a great variation of meads (or honey wines), with over 35 named types. Meads were often used in ceremony, as medicine and they play a prominent role in culture and myths from the ancient world. Ciders Cider is usually considered an alcoholic beverage from apple juice, but it can be from other fruit juices. Naming conventions vary from place to place, but in North America apple cider is usually denoted as an unfiltered juice of apple, where apple juice has been filtered. When it is fermented to make alcohol, it is considered hard apple cider. The alcoholic content can vary from 1.2 8.5 typically. All Rights Reserved. 4
Recipes Rosemary Juniper Beer - 2 gallon batch, 6.5% potential alcohol: Ingredients 1 oz dry Juniper berries 2 oz dry Rosemary leaf Light Malt extract 3.3 lb. Ale Yeast Method 1. The juniper berries and rosemary were infused in hot water for 30 minutes, then strained out to make an herb tea. 2. The malt extract was dissolved into the herb tea. 3. Ale yeast was rehydrated and added to the brew when it cooled approximately to body temperature. Herbal Bragget - 5 gallon batch, 11% potential alcohol: Ingredients 1 oz Yarrow herb 1 oz Mugwort herb Chaga decoction Honey 2 lbs Dark Malt extract 3.3 lbs Light Malt extract 1.1 lbs Ale Yeast Bragget: A beer to which honey is added to the fermentation. Method 1. The yarrow and mugwort were infused for 30 minutes in hot Chaga tea. 2. The herbs were strained out, and the honey and malt extracts were dissolved in. 3. Ale yeast was rehydrated and added to the brew when it reached approximately body temperature. All Rights Reserved. 5
Jasmine green tea & Longan wine - 1 gallon batch, 15% potential alcohol: Ingredients Jasmine green tea pearls 4 oz (1/4 cup) Crystallized Cane Juice, 4 cups Dry Longan fruit, 1/3 lb Water Champagne Yeast Method 1. The Jasmine tea pearls were infused in hot water for 10 minutes. 2. The tea was strained, and the cane juice crystals dissolved in. 3. The liquid was put in a carboy and the longan fruits added directly into the carboy. 4. When the brew had cooled to around body temperature, a pinch of champagne yeast was added. Mead (honey wine) The basic template to create your own mead is simple and as follows: 1kg or 1L of raw unpasteurized honey for each 1 gallon of total finished Mead. I have seen, and tasted brews that work with less honey, 500g/500ml honey to 1gallon, as well as other mead's which incorporate much more, 2kg/2L of honey per 1gallon. However, start with the recommended ratio and begin to explore from there and incorporate a world of variety and variation...consider any of the following: Mead varieties, terms and suggested flavors: Mead (Plain) One can certainly experiment with only varying the type of honey you use ranging from dark, amber to light- colored honey's, from the infinite variety of different flower/nectar sources, from different regions, etc... use All Rights Reserved. 6
whatever you have access to and inspires you. Melomel (adding fruit fresh, dried, or juice): Cherry, Blueberry, Pear, Goji, Elderberry, etc... Cyser (adding Apples): Use fresh apple juice as the base instead of water for a cider- mead combo called Cyser. Consider using Pears even. 100% is not even needed consider a half- half ratio water- apple juice. Or you can even add apple juice at secondary fermentation stage, or through back- sweetening by adding just 1-2Tbsp of apple juice at bottling stage. Metheglin (adding herbs): Elderflower, Ginger, Chaga, Vanilla, Rose, Dandelion, Rhodiola, etc... Braggot: Beer with the addition of Honey, or Mead fermented with Barley malt... Sack Mead: This is the term to denote mead, which over time you continue to saturate with more and more honey as it ferments. The result is a strong (ie high- alcohol) and sweet Mead. Simply add more honey to your air- locked carboy for secondary and even third fermentation period, until saturated with honey and fermentation no longer continues. We will now outline the basics of mead making using the whole- hive mead as a template but again you can use any of the above in the same manner by adding your choice of ingredients in addition to honey, water and yeast. Whole Hive Mead Though the Ancient cultures may of simply tossed in the whole bee- hive literally, we can re- create the same idea and effect by using the following template. Ingredients 1kg (about 1L) raw unpasteurized honey (You may choose to use honey still in the comb, to incorporate all the elements of the hive) Less than 1 gallon of pure water (about 3plus Litres) 1-3 Tbsp bee pollen 1 Tbsp (or more) propolis, propolis honey or propolis tincture 1 Tbsp fresh or dried royal jelly 1/4 packet of champagne yeast (or other wine yeast) All Rights Reserved. 7
Method 1. Heat your water until it is warm to the touch, then add your honey (do not heat water too hot at all - just enough to allow honey and water to mix well). 2. As it cools, add the propolis, bee pollen and royal jelly. 3. Add your yeast, stir in well and let sit open in a bucket, with only a lid or cloth to cover to begin the fermentation. This is your primary fermentation and the stage at which you need to measure specific gravity or alcohol potential. What you will begin to notice over the next few days as this sits at room temperature is the smell of the yeast and a layer of bubbly foam on top. 4. After that, next pour into your fermenting vessel - ideally a 1gallon carboy jug (these are readily available at wine making shops). 5. Put on airlock and fill airlock with water to create its air- seal. In a warm space away from direct sunlight, let this ferment for 3 weeks to 3 months. You can taste it as it goes to see where you like it - 1-2 weeks for a sweet, no- to- low alcohol beverage, 2-4 weeks for a sweet and moderate- alcohol level mead, or 6 weeks or more for dry and strong mead with no sweetness. This all depends on how much honey you started with and the strength and activity of the yeast. When the mead is ready to your taste and fermentation has decreased, visible by how often it bubbles through air- lock, you can now "rack" your mead by siphoning the mead off the yeast, transferring it from one gallon carboy to another, OR bottles for aging and consumption. You can even transfer it into another air- locked carboy for a secondary fermentation simply letting it sit longer OR even adding further honey or additional ingredients. Lit sit in cool dark place and age any length of time desired. Just know you mead can be enjoyed straight after fermentation or to let sit and age for months to years. If still "young" and sweet, then you may need to refrigerate once it is bottled. Be careful upon opening as it may have built up some carbonation, and this surely will be a sweet bubbly drink to enjoy! All Rights Reserved. 8
You can also turn a more mature and dry mead into a bubbly champagne- like drink by simply adding a touch of honey (or fruit juice, sugar, etc...) when bottling, this is called priming (however if your mead is already on the sweet side you will not need or want to do this). Let sit for 2-3days at room temp then chill before opening. A note of feeding your yeast: Some brewers, and often time's specifically mead- makers, may add extra yeast- nutrient to their brew in order to supplement the diet of the yeast. The yeast we are using, as a wine or champagne yeast, have been domesticated and grown accustomed to all that the grape provides in terms of not only the sugar content but also the grapes tannins and acids as well. Plain honey does not provide this and though you will often get a great ferment without adding additional yeast nutrient giving them extra nutrition from various sources keep them robust to carry on mead- after- mead as well as makes them less stressed, which some say the flavours of which can be noted in your brew. So if you like you can explore this and consider adding additional yeast- nutrients like fresh whole lemon (juice, pith & rind), a few raisins or other dried fruit or even yeast nutrient bought from wine supply store. Apple Cider, Cyser & Vinegars Create amazing beverages from Fizzy Sweet Apple Cider to Hard Cider to Apple Cider Vinegar! This is a great recipe to use up any kind of apples, especially the ones growing in your yard or a neighbors, which you may have access to an abundance of. You do not need the picture perfect sweet eating apple, even those tart and crab apples will do. Step 1 Juice fresh apples (or if using already juiced and pasteurized apple juice you will follow the same instructions but simply add a yeast immediately to the juice) Step 2 - Let sit open to the air in a glass or ceramic vessel, covering only with cloth to make sure nothing falls or gets into your cider and especially to keep any fruit flies out of in All Rights Reserved. 9
the summer. Let this sit, out of direct sun and allow it to begin to naturally ferment. Within 2-3 days you will begin to see bubbles rising and taste a light fizz to the drink. Allow to sit for an additional 2-3 days longer in this fashion drinking as much as desired anytime. Once significant fermentative activity is established (ie consistent stream of bubbles rising and the light fizz, we can call this the initial/primary fermentation period) place an airlock on the bottle. Let sit for another 1-3 weeks, for further fermentation, until the airlock no longer bubbles or has slowed significantly. Similar to the making of mead you can determine how sweet or dry you would like your drink to be by simply tasting and watching the yeast activity. When ready, transfer to individual bottles using a siphon and the "racking" method, then let these sit in your basement or cupboard for 6 months to a year or more. The aging process seems to be very key when it comes to cider as I have numerous times tasted a cider at the bottling stage and it wasn't so impressive, BUT after having let it sit and age for close to a year it turned out delicious! So definitely label and put a few bottles away to age and see how they turn out with time. Racking: You may need to rack your apple or pear cider to clear it of sediment of fiber from fruit and yeast which tend to settle on the bottom. This can happen in those first initial few days of letting the fermentation begin before putting on air- lock, as well as or at the time when fermentation has stopped or slowed. Bottling: At this stage you can 'back- sweeten' by adding a touch of sugar, maple syrup, honey or 1-2Tbsp of fresh apple juice. Considerations: I generally suggest not using a champagne yeast for this ferment, essentially it is too strong and aggressive a yeast for the milder apple sweetness and will very quickly eat all the sugar and leave you with a very dry tasting cider. Apple Cider Vinegar: If desiring Vinegar continue to let your apple cider ferment open to the air and simply add- in a splash of raw organic apple cider and it will result in apple cider All Rights Reserved. 10
vinegar. You can also do this with cider you find not to your taste or liking. Imagine you went through all the steps and find it is not the best ever. Simply leave open to the air and/or add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar and within a couple days- weeks you will have apple cider vinegar. Variations & Options: Add Honey and yeast to create a cyser - simply follow process for making Mead but use apple juice as your base instead of water and add half the amount of honey. Fruits: Blend with berries, pears or other desired fruit combinations Spices: - Think classic apple and spice flavors from mulling spice blends like cinnamon, clove, ginger, etc. can be brewed into the apple juice by bringing them to a gentle heat after step 1. Herbs: What do you think would be a good combo? Reishi, Eluethero, Rhodiola All Rights Reserved. 11