Grapefruit Soda

01/06/2018

Grapefruit Soda is one of those classic beverages, tart, astringent and flavorful, When paired with cascade hops, this soda becomes something special. This recipe is still in the development stage. The flavors at this point are a but strong and could use some adjusting.

Makes one gallon

INGREDIENTS:

2 grapefruit, sectioned and well blended

2 tablespoons Cascade Hop pellets

Two quarts water

1/2 ounce grated ginger

1-3/4 cups of sugar

1/4 teaspoon ale yeast

Boil 2 quarts of water, sugar, ginger and hops. 

Simmer for twenty minutes, remove from heat and add the blended grapefruit. Cool mixture to 100 degrees f. I use a wort chiller to quickly bring down the temperature. Pour cooled mixture through a filter into a gallon glass container.  

Add water to one gallon, add yeast, shake well to aerate and bottle.

Place bottles in a warm area to condition and carbonate. After a day or so check carbonation, refrigerate the soda and enjoy. 

01/07/2018: It's been about 12 hours since bottling the soda and I can see healthy yeast activity. There is a creamy, foam ring around the neck of the bottle. I carefully released the swing-top lid from the bottle to check carbonation. sometimes there is a satisfying pop as the top is removed, however in this case a rush of bubbles from the bottom.

01/08/2018: the glass liter bottles have swing-top closures that allow me to easily check carbonation. Early this morning I moved the bottles to a cold back porch to slow fermentation. The bottles have sufficiently carbonated and are ready to drink.

First observation: good carbonation, not gushing, which is a relief. The color is a dirty pink, a result of the green hop pellets mixed with pink grapefruit. The flavors are bold and intriguing, the strong sharp grapefruit flavor pairs well with the citrusy bitterness of the hops. No perceptible ginger coming through, though not surprising given the intense flavors at play. I only used two very ripe juicy grapefruit, as opposed to three last time. A rich fruit flavor throughout. Some might be turned off by the color and sediment, but I don't mind as long as you pour carefully.

Beet Wine, An Unusual Treat

Back in 2015, after making many fruit wines, I decided to make something different. A vegetable wine made with beets. Vegetable wines can be delicious. I've made Parsnip and Carrot wines before with excellent results, but beets?

I planned to make beet wine well in advance. What better way to make the wine than to grow the beets in the garden. Beets are a root vegetable and are very earthy and juicy. The color is a rich, vibrant ruby red, almost electric.

I'm not particularly fond of beets. I don't dislike them, they're okay. I've eaten them in salad before, but I'm a winemaker and this wine needs to be made. I'm terrified that after all this work, I will have to drink this disgusting wine. Will it be drinkable at all?

Spring arrived and the seeds were sown in a raised bed near the back of the house. They grew surprisingly well and were harvested in the fall. The wine was made in November of 2015. Fermented and bottled in March of 2016, a relatively short period of time. Some wines take months to clear before they can be bottled. After bottling, a wine needs to rest for 6 months to well over a year. It's been a year and nine months and I decided on New Years day to open this one.

The color was indeed a beautiful ruby red. Think Dorothy's ruby slipper red. Not electric anymore, after so many months in the cellar. However, the smell was unmistakeable. Big and Beety is the best description I can give. You would never know it contained 14% alcohol because the flavor was dominated by the vegetable itself. A dense richness but now offset by subtle acidity from the acid blend and lemon juice that cut through the earthy beet. This is hearty, but oh so delicious.

I plan to have a party and share this with friends. Some will be saved for the next New Year celebration and we'll see how the wine has changed with the passing of time.