schnapps

[Shortie]

Sorry Andrewo.... get totally legless and have no hang over...??? Sounds perfect.

At 26, I think I could have a few friends queing up for a bottle.... I went on the hunt last night and have the litre of vodka (never drink the stuff so it'll survive until the rhubarb has grown fully) but sadly lacking the 2 one litre jars.... but that won't stop me. I'm on a mission... I won't waste garden produce two years in a row!


(That's my excuse anyway)

[andrewo]

Jars

You could do it in a barrel, plastic ones cost roughly £8-9 from wilkos and you just make the recipe for that size. You just have alot of schnapps!

Andrewo

[Shortie]

... think I could handle that... just

[sewer rat]

More Schnapps 4 me!!!

My boss (the one who believes supermarket veg taste better than home grown) asked me to dig out his rhubarb and chuck it this afternoon as they don't eat it, so I now have another 5 crowns to add to my existing stock - might need to look for a 45 gallon drum for my schnapps
Rat

[andrewo]

I had that, when I left my allotment I took five of the ten crowns and inherited on the same day, four more from my Dad. Not only is it good ground cover but it is a versatile crop.

[Geordie]

Heres an alternative, using the bluebery bush you got from GYO...yes?


For best result, use fresh blue berries. The berries must be fully ripe when you pick them.

Direction:

• Rinse the blue berries carefully.
• Leave them to dry in the shade - on paper towel.
• Use a clean glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
• Fill 1/2 - 2/3 of the jar with blue berries.
• Fill up with clear, unflavoured vodka - 40% alcohol content (80 proof).
• Steep for at least 3 months in a dark place at room temperature, 18-20°C (64-68°F).
• Shake lightly and taste it from time to time.
• Strain and filter your infusion into a clean glass bottle or jar with tight-fitting lid.

You can serve your blue berry schnapps after it has settled for a couple of days. It has a nice, fruity taste.
Or you can store (age) it for 4-6 months or even longer in a dark place at room temperature before serving.

The flavours will change quite a bit during storage, for the better I think. But it's a matter of taste. Some might prefer the fruity taste - I prefer after some storage.

If you want to know how to radically increase the alcohol content so it will blow your head off pm me.

[Jaxom]

I now have four blueberry bushes as I went a little mad and bought more so Blueberry schnapps will be more my thing as this is the first year I will be able to harvest my Rhubarb. Last year I had to just look at it and admire it. This year it is all booked for crumbles until the crown gets bigger!
Jax

[Shortie]

Blueberry Schnapps

Geordie, yes I got that subscription freebie... If the fruit manage to get past the mouths of me or my son, they'll be turned into alchol....

Thanks for the suggestion!

[brewer]

Hi! yes me again, I cannot see the point of adding Vodka to anything. I have posted a way to distill anything that you brew. This will give you a schanpps of over 60%, the last schanpps I had was about 45% alcohol which you can never acheive buy adding vodka 40% to anything, it gets weaker!!!
I hoped this site was about doing it for yourself not just paying for the feeling that you had made it yourself. I Really look forward to replies to see if I have got it all wrong.

[Jaxom]

Hi Brewer and welcome to the vine. The rhubarb schnapps’ is a bit of an on going joke on the vine . So was "Carrot wine" in the "Gardeners Rest" fiction. Some Grapes make wine and beer from scratch but some just like something other than Rhubarb crumble after the fifth or sixth bowl. Not having the room or equipment to brew or distil many choose to make variations of sloe gin etc.
It all started with the question "what can I do with all this Rhubarb as no one want's it?" rather than "How do you make Rhubarb Schnapps?"
Thanks for your post on how to distil anything that is brewable. I am sure that it will be a popular subject especially if you are going to be on hand to offer advice.
Jaxom

[sewer rat]

Hi Brewer
If you can distil it, we will grow it. Cheers for advice - stick around -we may need you again - and again - and again..........

[Lesley Jay]

Brewer my Husband wants to start making wine this year but hasn't a clue how to go about it. He wants to use the fruit from the pear trees this year. Can you give him some advise on how to make it? How much equipment does he need to buy?

[JennieAtkinson]

Veg makes good wine too. Years ago we had a glut of beetroot and not being fans, decided to make wine with it. It matured into a rather nice fortified wine and when it was brought out at a party, no one remembers going home! My Dad also use to make some pretty alcoholic parsnip wine too.

Lesley - we got a very good book from Boots many years ago about wine making, ostensibly written to sell their own products, but a very good section on making wine from scratch. Maintaining temperature always seemed to be the big problem and we got better results once we bought temperature gauges and found the right place to keep the jars.

[brewer]

Hi! jaxom, sorry if I missed the start of the string and went a bit serious Like the whole direction of the grapevine, I will certainly keep in touch.

[brewer]

lesley jay.. pears are excellent for wine making. You need about 6lb pears and 2 and 3/4lb sugar. Pears contain pectin which will leave a haze unless you use 1 teaspoon of pectolaze in with the pulp. I have six books with wine recipes in and they are all slightly different and they all seem to specialise in different aspects. Bought most of them at charity shops and could not do without them. Pears have loads of tannin so no need for tea to be added. I have found one recipe that substitutes part of the sugar for honey. What a fantasic wine that would be. You need clean vessels which can be closed to the air and infections. One book suggest sparkling pear wine