Tankara T'ej

Ethiopian Mead(T'ej)

Honey: 12lbs (local wildflower)
Gesho Leaves: .5oz
Ginger Root(grated): 1oz
Yeast Nutrient: 1/2 tsp
Yeast Energizer: 1/2 tsp
Raisins: .5 lb

Gesho Sticks 2oz(dry hop)

Yeast: 71B

Get 1.5 gallons of water to 180 degrees, then add honey and stir well. Honey will bring level up to 3 gallons. Bring temp. back to 180 then add Gesho leaves, ginger, nutrient, energizer, and raisins. Cover and let sit for 30 mins. Cool to pitching temp add the gesho sticks to carboy and pitch yeast. Check gravity after 4 weeks. Ferment for 2-3 months to desired sweetness.

Website to find Gesho sticks and leaves: http://www.habeshfoods.net/category.sc?categoryId=4

What are and where does one find gesho sticks and leaves?

Try an Ethiopian market like Habesh Foods.

At the BOP/HBS I work at we order them from this lady in Oakland, CA.

Bumping this thread, because I am planning to make this very soon. I have a friend in DC that is purchasing the gesho for me and sending it up here to Alaska shortly. He found the sticks, but the leaves all seem to be sold in a ground up form. This should still be okay, right? Would I add the same amount as I would the whole leaves? Ground vs. whole should be the same in terms of weight, yes?

alaskajoe said:

Bumping this thread, because I am planning to make this very soon. I have a friend in DC that is purchasing the gesho for me and sending it up here to Alaska shortly. He found the sticks, but the leaves all seem to be sold in a ground up form. This should still be okay, right? Would I add the same amount as I would the whole leaves? Ground vs. whole should be the same in terms of weight, yes?

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The ground leaves are what i used in the recipe. So they should be fine.

So then Battery_BreweryNJ, have you tried your batch yet? How is it?

alaskajoe said:

So then Battery_BreweryNJ, have you tried your batch yet? How is it?

Click to expand...

I just cut it off and am planing on bottling it soon. I took a sample the other day, OH MAN! it is amazing. Its a little sweeter than I i wanted but the yeast crapped out on me so ill have to age it for awhile. Good Luck!

This has got me really excited for the brew. My gesho ingredients should be arriving shortly!

Can I ask - what were your gravity specifics? OG and SG when you racked it over/cut it off?

My OG was 1.145 which is pretty high, I let it ferment for 4 weeks then i checked the gravity again and it went down to 1.080, i let it sit for about another month and the gravity only went down two points, so i repitched some EC-1118 and got it down to 1.040 and i racked it. Once you get your desired sweetness you can use some sulfites to cut it off and I also used some super-kleer to help clear it out. If you have anymore question just let me know.

where in DC is he getting the Gesho stuff?

I do have a question about the size of the brew - is this a 5 gallon batch or a 3 gallon batch? I was assuming it was 5 gallons, but looking at the recipe again, it appears to be more like 3 gal. I was hoping for 5.

reposting that which I sent by PM to the original brewer:

I checked in with the Tankara T'ej that I brewed on 5/1/10 this evening, over a month later, and it appears to be either stuck, or fermenting as slow as possible. It was off the hydrometer on brew day, so I am guesstimating 1.180-90, and it now reads 1.110. Should I repitch some yeast you think? EC-1118? Thoughts?

An update on this, and some advice, if anyone's game...

About a month ago, I racked it off of the gesho leaves and sticks and the raisins to a secondary. Checked the gravity, and it was still pretty high, so I repitched 2 more packets of EC-1118 yeast.

Checking it today, 9/2/10, gravity is still at 1.100. Should I do something to get it down more? It's gone from an OG of over 1170 (it was off the hydrometer) to 1100 at current. it's very sweet but not at all unpleasant. Advice?

1118 is pretty much the only yeast that will get it down, unless you use some champange yeast. I had the same issue with mine, but my OG wasn't as high as yours.

Same stuff they're combining with a stout to make "Bitches Brew" on Brewmaster's.

Rossnaree said:

Same stuff they're combining with a stout to make "Bitches Brew" on Brewmaster's.

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Yes it is.....I posted some info on where to find gesho, in the main Brewmaster's discussion thread.

Sorry Revvy, I haven't read anything in that thread yet. I would've posted a link to it instead if I had.

Now off to read the Brewmaster's thread.