Pulque

After reading a recent BYO article, I think I'm gonna take a stab at this, was wondering if anyone has brewed a batch, how it turned out, and I wanted to get the alcohol up a bit after some research realized the ABV is mostly in the neighborhood of 3%, would prefer closer to 5, was thinking rice solids. Any advice?

Thanks.

I have a gallon bubbling away right now. Don't add rice... you'll end up with Pulq-weiser.

What ABV are you expecting, where did you get the Agave?

I just downsized the BYO recipe to 1 gallon so the ABV should be the same as what's in the mag. I got my agave from Walmart it was Madhava light.

I'd love to know how it comes out, if you wouldn't mind following up

Took gravity today it's at 1.026 and should dry out more. I believe the recipe in BYO says it'll go to 1.010. The sample tasted like Dr. Enuf (for anyone whose had the pleasure from East TN).

I'd like to know how it turns out as well. That article intrigued me too.

On the lookout for Dr Enuf to get an idea

Is this basically an agave syrup mead? That's pretty different than pulque, which is a good thing. Real pulque is really vegetal and has the consistency of snot.

I came up with a way to describe the taste of Dr. Enuf. 7-up with a Flinstone vitamin aftertaste. Considering that Agave nectar is supposed to be vitamin rich I would guess that's where the taste comes from (Dr. Enuf is vitamin infused).

I've got my recipe together and going to brew sometime this weekend.

8 pounds mudhava light agave nectar

5 lbs corn sugar

1 oz. lime peel last 10 minutes on heat

white labs california common

white labs belgian sour.

I talked to the owner of a brew shop where I got my gear, he said that he has brewed a few batches he recomended the lime peel and 3 weeks in secondary and age for as long as I can, he said his batches took up 6 months to settle down.

Comments and criticism not only welcome but encouraged.

Mine has tasted good young. I wouldn't add the corn sugar. It already has a very delicate flavor profile and I'd worry the sugar would thin it out too much.

The lime however is a good idea (in my opinion). I've added a few drops of lime juice to a couple glassess and it has gone well with the flavors.

I've tried it still, carbed, and lightly carbed. I prefer a light carbonation.

If you're looking for a higher gravity I'd recommend using more nectar.

There....those are my comments and criticisms.

I was thinking of making this... I know that I'm a few months late, but I'm wondering how long it stays fresh when kegged? I've read that the original pulque (getting the nectar right from the heart of the plant) goes bad quite quickly, but I don't think that this is true when using the mass produced nectar.

I think the reason genuine Pulque doesn't last long is because of the particular strain used to ferment it. Ours should last longer.

Clifton said:

I think the reason genuine Pulque doesn't last long is because of the particular strain used to ferment it. Ours should last longer.

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Thanks for the info. I just ordered the gave nectar from Amazon since they seemed to have the best price.

Any more results on this? I just picked up 46oz of amber agave nectar at TJ Maxx, trying to figure out what to do with it. Might make 2.5 gallons of Pulque based on the BYO recipe. Doesn't get much simpler that water, agave nectar and yeast.

So how are you guys determining how much water to add by the OG? IIRC the BYO recipe doesn't really even say. I assumed it was topped up to 5 gallons.

Hi, I'm also brewing my first brew of pulque, was wondering what technique you used to carbonate the pulque... Did you bottle young right after primary fermentation/secondary and allowed the bottles to condition as is? Or did you add any corn sugar/conditioning tablets to the bottles to ensure carbonation? I would appreciate the reply

Clifton said:

Mine has tasted good young. I wouldn't add the corn sugar. It already has a very delicate flavor profile and I'd worry the sugar would thin it out too much.

The lime however is a good idea (in my opinion). I've added a few drops of lime juice to a couple glassess and it has gone well with the flavors.

I've tried it still, carbed, and lightly carbed. I prefer a light carbonation.

If you're looking for a higher gravity I'd recommend using more nectar.

There....those are my comments and criticisms.

Click to expand...

I'll have to check my notes and get back to you. I probably kegged it.

Wow, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I posted at work then forgot all about you. I kegged it. I tried carbonate to approximate bottle conditioned volume (1.75 volumes), but I ended up decreasing the carbonation to about 1.2 volumes. I would guess the original Pulque would've been lightly carbonated as it was served fresh from a barrel.

Cool I'll bottle around that volume of CO2 once it comes out of the fermenter, I can taste the fermented flavor of the pulque but it's still to sweet at this point... Thanks I appreciate the info

Clifton said:

Wow, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I posted at work then forgot all about you. I kegged it. I tried carbonate to approximate bottle conditioned volume (1.75 volumes), but I ended up decreasing the carbonation to about 1.2 volumes. I would guess the original Pulque would've been lightly carbonated as it was served fresh from a barrel.

Click to expand...