I have been thinking of doing this for awhile. At first I was going to use fresh rhubarb, but I got to thinking I have probably a couple pounds of rhubarb that has been frozen, thawed and refrozen (my fridge developed a compressor problem awhile back that I fixed, but not until most of the frozen foods thawed.)
I thought I might try adding a couple pounds of this to 5 gallons of store-bought pasteurized apple juice. Those of you not familiar with rhubarb, let me explain -- it's VERY acidic.
What I would like is some suggestions on how much sweetener to add and what kind. Also, when should I add the rhubarb? I was thinking of putting a gallon or two of juice on the stove and adding the rhubarb as if I were mashing beer -- basically get it up to about 160 degrees and keep it there for an hour or so, then drain the juice off, add sweetener and *cold* juice (maybe even frozen concentrate for additional sweetness) and yeast.
I also thought about possibly adding it to the secondary. I want as much rhubarb flavor as possible, and I'm not sure the best way to do it.
So, really three questions: 1) When should add the rhubarb 2) How do I determine how much additional sweetener I need and 3) what kind of sweetener would you use?
I'm seriously thinking of getting pasteurized frozen concentrated apple juice and just dumping it in there for sweetness and not reconstituting it at all.
I thought I might try adding a couple pounds of this to 5 gallons of store-bought pasteurized apple juice. Those of you not familiar with rhubarb, let me explain -- it's VERY acidic.
What I would like is some suggestions on how much sweetener to add and what kind. Also, when should I add the rhubarb? I was thinking of putting a gallon or two of juice on the stove and adding the rhubarb as if I were mashing beer -- basically get it up to about 160 degrees and keep it there for an hour or so, then drain the juice off, add sweetener and *cold* juice (maybe even frozen concentrate for additional sweetness) and yeast.
I also thought about possibly adding it to the secondary. I want as much rhubarb flavor as possible, and I'm not sure the best way to do it.
So, really three questions: 1) When should add the rhubarb 2) How do I determine how much additional sweetener I need and 3) what kind of sweetener would you use?
I'm seriously thinking of getting pasteurized frozen concentrated apple juice and just dumping it in there for sweetness and not reconstituting it at all.
