Mead Recipes Other

A while back the idea struck me: wines are a fermented fruit drink and we commonly see a wide variety of different fruits used as the primary flavor in these drinks; however, despite being one of the more commonly consumed fruits in this country (and often number 1, in fact), bananas are not featured very heavily in the brewing scene. Occasionally I come across some recipes that recommend using a banana to complement another fruit, as they can add a nice mouthfeel to an otherwise thin feeling drink. But they are rarely the focal point, or even included for their flavor.

So I did some research, and it turns out that banana wine does exist. It is actually quite simple to make, but due to the high starch content of bananas, it can take a bit of work to keep the amount wasted low. So be warned, this does tend to have a lot of solids fallout of suspension at the bottom of your brewing container. Rescuing the surrounding liquid will require a bit more in the way of filtering.

Ingredients – Primary

• 20 Pounds of Bananas
• 4 pounds of Brown Sugar
• 4 Pounds of White Sugar (Ratio of types of sugars can be to your taste, but I would increase one or both sugar types were I to try it again)
• D47 Yeast
• Pectic Enyme/Pectinase (this will help prevent cloudiness)
• Water to fill up to 5 gallons
• Yeast Nutrients

Due to the amount of solids I wasn’t able to get an accurate gravity reading

I froze my bananas because they weren’t as ripe as I wanted, and was hoping to break down the cell walls a bit. I think that step can be skipped, however, and instead you bake the bananas in order to help break down the starches into more sugars. Heating them at 300 degrees F for 30 mins will help to convert the starch in the bananas into a yeast-digestible sucrose. This effectively ripens them much faster and more thoroughly than they would on their own. I recommend slicing up the bananas (peel and all) prior to this baking, as they get quite liquidy after the fact.

Once prepared, toss all your ingredients in your fermenting vessel, and stir it up. Fair warning it looks a bit gross. Like grey mop water. But it smells great, and with time will turn a nice golden yellow.

The smell is quite nice. A strong banana-y sweetness. It also has a rich, golden color. The taste is very subtle, however, even using 20 pounds of bananas, the flavor of the actual fruit doesn’t really present itself until the finish. And I think some of the recipes that came across using a higher amount of sugar than I did were correct, this could easily have taken half again or even double the amount and still not been too cloying.

Sima is a lightly alcoholic drink originating from Finland that shares a common ancestry with mead. In its original form, it is the product of brewing honey with water, along with lemon for flavoring. However, these days other kinds of sugar are used as a substitute for honey.
The process of making sima only takes a few days, generally under a week, so the fermentation is not able to fully complete. This leads the drink to be only mildly alcoholic (low enough that children in Finland are allowed to drink it) as well as giving it the effect of being lightly carbonated.

The drink is most often enjoyed during the Finnish Vappu festival (in honor of the canonization of Saint Walpurga). Sima is generally accompanied by one of a few different seasonal pastries. Munkki (a type of donut), tippaleipä (a special funnel cake), or a rosetti (a fried, cookie-like sweet) are among these.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon water

• 2 large lemons

• 1 cup honey (or 1/2 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup white sugar)

•  Yeast

To create sima, your honey (or brown or white sugar) is added to water, along with the zest and flesh of a lemon. This mixture is boiled and allowed to cool. Yeast is then added and allowed to begin fermenting. The following day, transfer the mixture into bottles and add a few raisins to each. The raisins will help control the amount of sugar in each bottle as well as signalling the drinks readiness by filling with CO2 and floating to the surface. This whole process typically takes between three and seven days. The longer it goes, the higher the alcohol content, and lower the sugar, as well as the more CO2 is generated (so watch the bottles). Sima is generally still cloudy, as the fermentation has not completed and it is not clarified or filtered. It is usually served cold.

Krupnik (also known as Krupnikas in Lithuania) is much like a liqueur, being a sweet alcoholic drink. It is made from a mixture of clover honey and a grain-based spirit, usually vodka. In Poland, it is considered part of a beverage category known as nalewka, essentially a medicinal tincture (similar to the Dominican Republic’s mamajuana). As many recipes include steeping a variety of herbs before adding it to the alcohol. It has been around since as far back as the 16th century, and was often used as a disinfectant by soldiers during World War II.

Example Krupnik Recipe:

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 cups boiling water
• 1/4 vanilla bean, split
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 small cinnamon stick, cracked in half
• 10 black peppercorns
• 20 allspice berries
• 1 1/3 cups honey
• Zest from 1 orange
• 2 cups vodka

Mamajuana (or sometimes mama juana – Mother Jane) is a drink native to the Dominican Republic. Originally brewed as a form of herbal tea, alcohol began to be added to the recipe after the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, for it to become the drink it is today. It is actually considered to be one of the first distilled spirits in the Americas, predating rum. Nowadays, Mamajuana is a mixture of rum, red wine and honey which is allowed to age in a barrel, with a mixture of herbs and tree bark (much like Ethiopians’ Tej) for flavoring. The name of the drink actually refers to the shape of the bottle it was brewed in, so the drink itself has numerous recipes. It is most often served neat and at room temperature, in a shot glass. Most brands tend to be a bit too overpowering to mix into a cocktail well, but there are a few that can be managed.

The drink has been consumed by many for its alleged medicinal properties, which are rumored to range from being an aphrodisiac, to being a flu remedy, or even a digestive aid.

While dark rum is most often used as the base, the use of white rum is not unheard of. The herbal and bark mixtures can be purchased as a kit. It is often recommended that the solid items have an initial soak in light rum for several days, which is then discarded, before the actual dark rum, red wine and honey mixture is added. This is known as curing, and removes a lot of the bitterness from the initial batch. These kits, which consist of a glass bottle filled with the herbs and bark and roots, are often reused by simply refilling them with more of the liquids. The herbal taste will diminish with each use, however.

The herbs can include:

• Anamú (Petiveria alliacea)
• Anis Estrellado (star anise, Illicium verum)
• Bohuco Pega Palo (Cissus verticillata)
• Albahaca (basil, Ocimum basilicum)
• Canelilla (Cinnamodendron ekmanii)
• Bojuco Caro (Princess Vine)
• Marabeli (Securidaca virgata)
• Clavo Dulce (Whole Clove)
• Maguey (Agave spp.) leaves
• Timacle (Chiococca alba)

Other additions also include cinnamon, strawberries, raisins, molasses, lemon or lime juice.

A few brands have been branching out into other countries.

While not quite mead, Sbiten is a honey-based drink that is quite popular in Russia and eastern Europe. Sbiten is most comparable to a mulled wine, and is generally served hot in the winter months. At its base, Sbiten is a water and honey mixture that is spiced up by boiling it with a collection of spices and adding jam to further sweeten it. It can be made alcoholic by swapping out red wine for the water. Occasionally a garnish or mint leaves or cinnamon sticks is added.

Sbiten was quite popular from the 12th century when it first made an appearance, up until the 19th century when tea and coffee started to take over.

Example Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks, cracked in several pieces
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 16 ounces blackberry jam
• 10 1/4 cups water (or red wine)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Optional

• 1 mint leaf
• 2 dried chili peppers

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan, and slowly bring it to a boil over medium heat. Stir frequently. When the honey and jam are completely dissolved, remove it from the heat. Allow it to cool, then strain the liquid through a cheesecloth. Squeeze the solids that get caught to get all the liquid. It can be refrigerated, and reheated to serve.