the BEST smelling drink ever!!!

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blackshadow

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 10, 2005
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This is probably going to seem like a very weird recipe to you guys for two reasons: i make TINY batches compared to you guys, and the ingredients.

Ingredients: (for 1 pint)

1 small potato, washed, peeled, and cut into tiny small pieces (think french fry size)
2 tsb honey
seeds from 5 green cardamom pods (you split the pods open, then get the black seeds inside them, and throw away the green bit)
1 tea bag
7 tsb unrefined brown sugar
A pinch of yeast (i used ale yeast, but i guess you could use whichever one you prefer)

Method:

1. Into your fermenting vessle, pour 1 pint hot water, straight from the tap.
2. Dissolve all the sugar and honey into the water
3. Cut open the teabag and add the contents to the vessle.
4. Cut up the potato and add it into the fermenting vessle
5. Add all the cardamom seeds
6. When it cools down enough to be able to comfortably put your finger into, add the yeast.
7. Close the fermenting vessle tightly and shake the it vigorously.
8. Either put an air lock on it, or put the lid on but dont twist it all the way shut, so the evolved gas can escape without popping the lid.
9. After a few days (7 in my case) and it all but stops bubbling, add another two tsp of honey, dissolve, and leave. Either keep doing that until the yeast kills itself out, or do it until you like how it tastes.

You might want to leave some room at the top of the fermenting vessle so it doesnt overflow, it'll settle down at the top after a few days. I haven't tried mine yet, as it has only been in the primary for 11 days now. I'll let you all know how it turns out but if it tastes anything as good as it smells, i'm in for a treat. If any of you decide to try this recipe, tell me how yours turns out.
 
I haven't really come up with a name for it yet actually, i guess it could be called potardamom metheglin or something (potatoes and cardamom, incase you were wondering). I was inspired by two things: firstly, I LOVE the smell of cardamom, and secondly, I just read this book called "Blackberry Wine" by Joanne Harris, and in it, there is this one character called Joe who makes wine. He grows these special potatoes and adds them to all the wine/ fermented drinks he makes. I decided to kill two birds with one stone by trying out the potato thing, and adding cardamom to it to see how it smells. I make small amounts of mead because I dont want to make a lot of something I wouldn't drink, so if I like it when it finishes fermenting, I make more by using the same proportions used in the small batch. I dont really know how much is left after I remove all the solids and stuff, I dont really measure it, I just drink it, but usually it's about a cup. If I like it, I make more, then age it to make it taste better. Maybe it's just me, but I dont drink anything that I wouldn't drink right when it finishes fermenting. If it tastes okay, I'll make more, then age it for about 6 months, then drink it, but if I dont think it tastes "acceptable" right after it finsishes fermenting, I look back, and think what I could have done better, then redo another batch, then if THAT one ends up tasting good, I age that.
 
DO NOT MAKE IT!!! or maybe make it, but with variations. it didn't taste NEARLY as good as it smelt, which was a shame. anyway, it tasted WAY too bitter to be drinkable. any suggestions for what to cut down on for next time?
 
This is just my personal opinion, so feel free to take it or leave it. Three suggestions: less cardamom, more fermentable sugars, and possibly some non-fermentable sugars. The reasons are as follows.
Personally, I would cut back on the cardamom big time. Perhaps using the seeds from one cardamom pod in a pint. I find that cardamom is one of those spices that a little goes a long long way. When I make chai tea using an indian recipe with green cardamom seeds, I use one seed pod in 1.5 quarts of tea. Anything more, and the cardamom gets too strong and quickly becomes astringent, kinda like a cross of bleach and witchazel.
You didn't mention much about any kind of SG readings or anything, but I would also wonder if it would need something more to sweeten it. I don't know how well yeast can use potatoes, but I imagine they would rocket through the unrefined brown sugar leaving no sweetness in the brew. I also wonder if they are having enough sugars to actually make alcohol at all. When you add the tea in there, I would think the bitterness factor would go up quite a bit, before you consider any wierd beer/ale flavors the yeast might add. So I would think that perhaps adding more sugars or backsweetening or doing something to get the sugar content up a bit might help the taste.
hopefully there was something usefull in there,
hedgehog
 
thanks hedgehog, i think you'r right about the cardamom and fermentable sugars. I have another batch going and even though it doesn't smell as cardamom-y as the other one, it still smells good, and it's been bubbling for a long time now, well, long compared to how long the last one i tried making was bubbling. thanks again for the tips.
 
Ever tasted a raw potato?
Pure bitter. Ugh, nasty nasty nasty. I'm guessing that's where most of the bitterness is coming from.
I use quite a bit of cardamon when I make chai tea. I should cut back since my GF gets an upset stomach with too much cardamon though.