Acerglyn

[JJack887]

Early spring I plan to make a batch of acerglyn with birch tea made from sap in place of water. Has anyone on here done something similar before, and what honey would you guys recommend? I also might experiment with a spruce mead.

 

[wildmazer]

might be more accurately called a 'betuglyn' or 'betulaglyn'

you might consider boiling the sap down some - to concentrate sugars but also to concentrate the birch flavor. i'd go with a milder honey to not compete with the birch.

i'm planning on a chaga/birch mead in the next few weeks, using birch twigs (got a decent sized sweet birch tree that needs to come down)...

 

[JJack887]

I was thinking about the chaga, too, but thought that was a stretch. How do you use that?

 

[JJack887]

And what yeast would you recommend as to not impart any flavors that could overshadow the birch? Thank you.

 

[wildmazer]

i've always done long, long extractions with chaga. like you have a gallon of water with a bunch of crumbled-up chaga in it, you simmer until there's maybe 2/3 of the original volume, you top it up again and continue on like that a few times. the longer you go, the stronger it gets, so it's up to your preference. i like it strong, so i've simmered for 6 or 8 hours before, just topping up when it gets low. by the end, it's black, bitter, and kind of coffee-like. not sure where the birch sap fits in - original liquid?

can't really help on the yeast thing, sorry. i always just roll the dice with wild ones.

 

[Vex3521]

And what yeast would you recommend as to not impart any flavors that could overshadow the birch? Thank you.

I'd probably go 71B with this one to be honest.