Tepache!

[passedpawn]

It'll ferment. Mine did not develop much of a krausen at all, but you should see bubbles start to form in there (maybe you can't see that with the bucket).

 

[Renoun]

If you happen to be around Portland Or., or somewhere that Rev. Nat's distributes, then you might be able to sample a commercially produced example. I'm hoping that a bottle makes it to me in Seattle and am keeping an eye for pineapples going on sale.

 

[mattmmille]

Last night, I hit the 72 hour mark on my tepache and I'm getting bubbles, but it's not doing the vigorous bubbling that I expect. The OG was 1.090, so I should be able to get a moderate amount of alcohol without fermenting it dry. It's still very sweet at this point and just barely picking up a little sweet/sour tang, so I'm going to let it go another couple of days before I strain it.

 

[passedpawn]

Last night, I hit the 72 hour mark on my tepache and I'm getting bubbles, but it's not doing the vigorous bubbling that I expect. The OG was 1.090, so I should be able to get a moderate amount of alcohol without fermenting it dry. It's still very sweet at this point and just barely picking up a little sweet/sour tang, so I'm going to let it go another couple of days before I strain it.

Cool. I never got vigorous fermentation (like beer will do).

If I make it again, I'll ferment till it tastes good (like you guys are doing), bottle, then pasteurize in my ekeggle (with the lid on!).

 

[mattmmille]

I'm fermenting mine in my 2 gallon primary bucket that I use for ciders. I have an airlock installed, but it's really just to fill the hole. I don't have the lid snapped down, so it's not airtight. I'm using this container, just because it's convenient...some recipes call for using a bowl or a pitcher with some cheesecloth for cover. That just sounds like a mess waiting to happen!

I haven't decided yet if I want to try to bottle any. I would definitely pasteurize it if I did...so much sugar! I think it's going to be interesting, though.

 

[mattmmille]

So, on Saturday afternoon, following the Big Brew, I strained the pineapple and spices out and transferred the tepache to a 1 gallon carboy to which I had added a cup of water and a bottle of strawberry blonde HB that had never been in the fridge. Being a brew-guy, I couldn't resist treating it like a beer/cider at this point and airlocking it. It started a nice, gentle airlock action and a noticeable fermentation...foam formed with a little brown dusting on top that has now progressed to a yeasty looking drape with a ring around the inside of the bottle, just above the foam.

I drew off a sample and it is still very sweet, but the tangy flavor is increasing. My plan is to rack it tomorrow to a 1/2 gallon carboy. If there's enough additional, I will refrigerate it for drinking and, if there's enough, I'll to an SG reading. I plan to bottle the racked tepache
same day and allow about a day or two for carbing, then pasteurizing. I don't love pastuerizing, but I think it's my best option. I anticipate maybe 5 bottles...one for the Mexican store owner that gave me some tips. I'm sure I'm going beyond the traditional process here, but I would love to get his opinion, since he has made it before, himself. I'll probably give another one away and the rest will be consumed by the maker! I don't think it's meant to age and probably wouldn't improve after pasteurization.

 

[mattmmille]

Racked and bottled! Tasted and checked FG. Came down to 1.041 from 1.090, so ABV is 6.43%, a little higher than I expected, but good! With all that leftover sugar though, I'm thinking I may need to pasteurize tomorrow. I'll open one to check it and replace it with a new crown. I've had cider with less sugar carb up in two days.

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks for the pics. Can't wait to see and hear about the final product.

 

[mattmmille]

Thanks for the pics. Can't wait to see and hear about the final product.

I'm sure the result will be sweeter than I normally prefer, but I think a "Mateo's Shandy" would be awesome on a hot day. My tepache mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with a hefe or a pale ale.

 

[mattmmille]

Using my pressure canner to pasteurize my small batch of Tepache. I heated the water to 190F and moved it off the heat. I added the bottles and the temp only dropped about 1 degree. I put the lid on and set a timer for ten minutes. I put the lid on, just to be safe, in case one pops. No problems. I'm going to let them rest on a kitchen towel until the reach room temperature. Then I can store or refrigerate. These aren't meant for long-term storage though. It's meant to be enjoyed fresh. I checked the water temperature when I removed the bottles and it was 170F.

 

[quincy07]

This really intrigues me. I'm not a huge pineapple fruit fan but I like pineapple juice, weird huh? I like the idea of maybe adding some mangoes too, tho it would probably take a lot of mangoes to have a noticeable flavor as pineapple can be pretty strong. I can see having a pitcher of this in my fridge to make a shandy or to drink straight up if it's not too sour. SWMBO might like it too, so that's a plus.

 

[mattmmille]

I have a pineapple-mango mead in the works, too! It's a long range project though...conditioning in a 1 gallon carboy for a couple of months. Then it's in the bottles until around November, 2016. I used one pineapple, 3 mangoes and 3 lbs of honey, plus water. I think the mango is definitely going to be way in the background.

Anyway, I pasteurized the tepache today...may have pulled the trigger a little too soon, for fear of bottle bombs. But there's a nice little carb. It's very sweet and tangy with a little bitter on the back end. I definitely prefer it "Mateo's Tepache Shandy" style, mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with my HB strawberry blonde. Tasty!

 

[passedpawn]

I have a pineapple-mango mead in the works, too! It's a long range project though...conditioning in a 1 gallon carboy for a couple of months. Then it's in the bottles until around November, 2016. I used one pineapple, 3 mangoes and 3 lbs of honey, plus water. I think the mango is definitely going to be way in the background.

Anyway, I pasteurized the tepache today...may have pulled the trigger a little too soon, for fear of bottle bombs. But there's a nice little carb. It's very sweet and tangy with a little bitter on the back end. I definitely prefer it "Mateo's Tepache Shandy" style, mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with my HB strawberry blonde. Tasty!

I had checked out the mead on your blog. Good luck with that, make sure to get rid of all O2 before you age it.

I think 1.041 is leaving it too sweet, but I also think you know what you're doing. Good luck with all that.

 

[mattmmille]

I think the tepache is at the 1.04-ish range, but started at 1.111. The ABV is about 6.43%. That's why I pasteurized it, though...I knew that much sugar would be an issue, if I didn't.

I went back and looked at my mead blogs and it went down to 0.995. I reduced the head space to just barely under the stopper, so I hope that works. I didn't want it to pick up the rubbery taste. You can see notes and photos at http://mmmbrews.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/day-98-sg-check-on-the-melomel/

and

http://mmmbrews.wordpress.com/2014/...ineapple-mango-melomel-for-bulk-conditioning/

Does that all sound right? It's my first real mead/melomel, so advice is definitely welcome!

 

[passedpawn]

I think the tepache is at the 1.04-ish range, but started at 1.111. The ABV is about 6.43%. That's why I pasteurized it, though...I knew that much sugar would be an issue, if I didn't.

I went back and looked at my mead blogs and it went down to 0.995. I reduced the head space to just barely under the stopper, so I hope that works. I didn't want it to pick up the rubbery taste. You can see notes and photos at http://mmmbrews.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/day-98-sg-check-on-the-melomel/

and

http://mmmbrews.wordpress.com/2014/...ineapple-mango-melomel-for-bulk-conditioning/

Does that all sound right? It's my first real mead/melomel, so advice is definitely welcome!

If I gave you advice on a mead, I'd be a liar. I've made a few, but they always ended up too dry, and ultimately not very good. I do wish you the best with all of that. Look to our meadmakers in for the forum for good info.

 

[mattmmille]

I gave the local Mexican store owner that gave me some advice on making Tepache a bottle from my batch and went back a couple of days later to get his opinion. He was very impressed and said mine is "muy authentico"! I'm quite pleased!

My pineapple-mango mead looks beautiful in the carboy...going to just let it keep conditioning.

 

[mattmmille]

Just bottled a second batch of tepache. I'm going to let this one carb a couple of days longer than the first one. Maybe three days total.I got 8 bottles from this batch.

 

[Newsman]

Has anyone ever tried using any of the Chinese "yeast balls" for making rice wine with this stuff? I am thinking it might be a good way to kick things off. Especially if you want to sanitize the pineapple skin.

 

[mattmmille]

Has anyone ever tried using any of the Chinese "yeast balls" for making rice wine with this stuff? I am thinking it might be a good way to kick things off. Especially if you want to sanitize the pineapple skin.

I haven't heard of that being tried. The instructions I have say to "lightly wash" the pineapple...basically to make sure there isn't any dirt, but not to sanitize it. I've been told to only use the skins and core, not the fruit. That can be eaten or used for another purpose. The fermentation does take 48 hours to start in my house, in a fermentation bucket. Then, I let it go another 4 or 4 days and strain, add a cup of water and a 12 oz beer that I haven't pasteurized. Another 24 to 48 hours and you can refrigerate it and consume or bottle. I like mine shandy style 1/2 and 1/2 with beer.

I'm sure you could add enough yeast to overpower anything naturally occurring or after using a little campden, but then you would be creating something less authentic and creating something that results from the strain of yeast you specify. Could be tasty, but not quite the same. It's certainly inexpensive enough to experiment with in small quantities, though. So, why not?

 

[mattmmille]

This really intrigues me. I'm not a huge pineapple fruit fan but I like pineapple juice, weird huh? I like the idea of maybe adding some mangoes too, tho it would probably take a lot of mangoes to have a noticeable flavor as pineapple can be pretty strong. I can see having a pitcher of this in my fridge to make a shandy or to drink straight up if it's not too sour. SWMBO might like it too, so that's a plus.

I just happened to read your post...I know it's been here awhile. But I have a pineapple-mango mead going through the lengthy conditioning process and recently made a pineapple-mango soda. I think it's a great combination.

I would treat the mangoes like the pineapple and harvest the fruit for eating as is or in a fruit salad, etc. Then toss the pits and the skins in with the pineapple skins and cores. For a small batch, using 1 pineapple, I would try 2 or 3 mangoes and see how it turns out!

 

[fletchergsmith]

added some mango and agave nectar. Also doubled the clove and coconut.



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[mattmmille]

Started another batch...great way to use the skins and core of pineapple after you "harvest" the fruit for another purpose! I increased the clove from 3 to 5 this time. Not a major change, but we'll see if it's noticeable. I'm also thinking about skipping the optional beer addition this time that normally comes after straining. I'll up the water to compensate and see how it comes out.

 

[mattmmille]

I did skip the beer addition this time and I actually like it better. I had one straight last night, without mixing it shandy style with beer and the flavor was cleaner. Nice raw sugar and pineapple flavor. It would still be really good with a Matt's Summer Brew to make Mateo's Tepache Shandy! Don't get me wrong. But producing it without the beer addition in the fermentation made a better product, IMHO.

 

[user 47131]

Cool posts and thread! I started mine three days ago and tried it last night and is still sweet, but do have the bubbles on the top and signs of fermentation. Am going to let go for another few days and taste again to see where I'm at... I ended up going with a modified recipe based on this - http://punchdrink.com/recipes/quis-tepache/ . I went with a combination of table sugar, brown sugar, and agave nectar, as well as different spices like szechuan pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom and ginger to name a few. I still have yet to decide how I am going to process it and serve, but part of me is debating just adding to a few 2 liter bottles with carbonation caps and not having to worry about pasteurizing or bottle bombs. Here are some photos of my process:

 

[mattmmille]

Cool posts and thread! I started mine three days ago and tried it last night and is still sweet, but do have the bubbles on the top and signs of fermentation. Am going to let go for another few days and taste again to see where I'm at... I ended up going with a modified recipe based on this - http://punchdrink.com/recipes/quis-tepache/ . I went with a combination of table sugar, brown sugar, and agave nectar, as well as different spices like szechuan pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom and ginger to name a few. I still have yet to decide how I am going to process it and serve, but part of me is debating just adding to a few 2 liter bottles with carbonation caps and not having to worry about pasteurizing or bottle bombs. Here are some photos of my process:

Checked out the link...interesting article! It was recommended to me by a native Mexican who makes his own tepache that you should not use the flesh of the fruit...save it to eat. Only use the core and skins. He believes the fruit flesh actually is not good for the flavor of the tepache. I like the idea of using different spices...coriander, Szechuan peppercorns, etc.! Agave is more expensive than piloncillo, but sounds good, if it's a good fermenter.

The article talks about straining and bottling after a couple of days. That would yield very little alcohol. I find that mine is barely beginning to ferment after two days. I usually let it go about 5 days, strain it, and then let it go another couple of days. At that point, it is still sweet, but is also a little tangy and has around 5-6% ABV.

Let us know your progress and how your recipe turns out...very interesting!

 

[user 47131]

Checked out the link...interesting article! It was recommended to me by a native Mexican who makes his own tepache that you should not use the flesh of the fruit...save it to eat. Only use the core and skins. He believes the fruit flesh actually is not good for the flavor of the tepache. I like the idea of using different spices...coriander, Szechuan peppercorns, etc.! Agave is more expensive than piloncillo, but sounds good, if it's a good fermenter.

The article talks about straining and bottling after a couple of days. That would yield very little alcohol. I find that mine is barely beginning to ferment after two days. I usually let it go about 5 days, strain it, and then let it go another couple of days. At that point, it is still sweet, but is also a little tangy and has around 5-6% ABV.

Let us know your progress and how your recipe turns out...very interesting!

I agree. Am definitely going to let it go for a while longer until it tastes right and isn't too sweet. A few of the other articles that I read about it were talking about processing it sooner and then adding beer, but one even said that if you didn't do that to let it go for another 5-10 days...

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Will try just the pineapple skin next time and see which I like better. So, you strain it after 5 days and then let go a few more. What do you think that does for the flavor profile or the drink?

 

[passedpawn]

I agree. Am definitely going to let it go for a while longer until it tastes right and isn't too sweet. A few of the other articles that I read about it were talking about processing it sooner and then adding beer, but one even said that if you didn't do that to let it go for another 5-10 days...

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Will try just the pineapple skin next time and see which I like better. So, you strain it after 5 days and then let go a few more. What do you think that does for the flavor profile or the drink?

If yours goes like mine did, you won't be complaining of it being too sweet. Mine ended up puckeringly tart. Not sour, but tart as hell. I probably should have pasteurized before it got to that point.

 

[user 47131]

If yours goes like mine did, you won't be complaining of it being too sweet. Mine ended up puckeringly tart. Not sour, but tart as hell. I probably should have pasteurized before it got to that point.

I hope not. I'll be very, very careful... Am thinking maybe I should just keg it and put it on tap at that point, so I don't have to worry about it as much.

 

[mattmmille]

I agree. Am definitely going to let it go for a while longer until it tastes right and isn't too sweet. A few of the other articles that I read about it were talking about processing it sooner and then adding beer, but one even said that if you didn't do that to let it go for another 5-10 days...

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Will try just the pineapple skin next time and see which I like better. So, you strain it after 5 days and then let go a few more. What do you think that does for the flavor profile or the drink?

I never had a problem with it losing sweetness, just picking up a little tang and, of course, more alcohol. I bottled mine in regular amber, glass beer bottles with crown caps. I've found that adding the beer during fermentation made it a more bitter, stranger flavor. I let mine carb and then pasteurize. For me, 24 hours wasn't quite enough and 48 hours resulted in gushers. My next batch, I'll try to work it out so that I can pasteurize in 36 hours and see how that does.

As for the skins vs. flesh thing, I couldn't really get a clear reason from the Mexican man that advised me...just that "It's no good. Just eat it!" I've seen other recipes that take the same position. I think maybe it gets funkier or something? Anyone else have a theory?

I have heard (and your referenced article also mentioned) that if you don't pasteurize, eventually bottled stuff becomes a pineapple vinegar. I haven't left any unpasteurized for fear of bottle bombs. Left unbottled, to ferment substantially longer, I think Passedpawn will confirm, it becomes very high ABV and very dry. I guess that depends on the strain of wild stuff you get and its alcohol tolerance.

 

[mattmmille]

Oh, and I still like to mix it half and half with a nice lawnmower beer to make a "Mateo's Shandy"!