HERB AND SPICE WINES:
Most of the recipes entail adding herbs to ready made alcoholic beverages, so no special equipment is required. However, for the recipe for Balm Wine, and Beer, you will need buckets for lids, large capacity bottles called demijohns, together with airlocks, straining cloths, a plastic tube for siphoning, bottles and corks. You can buy everything from a specialist supplier of wine-making equipment. Avoid using iron, copper, zinc, brass, or aluminium utensils to make the drinks,as they contaminate the wine or beer. Use glass, stainless steel, or enamel instead.
HERB FOR WINE CUPS:
SUMMER WINE CUP:
HERBS SUCH AS WOODRUFF AND BORAGE MAKE PLEASANT ADDITIONS TO SUMMER DRINKS. WILTING THE HERBS WILL ENHANCE THE FLAVOUR.
Woodruff gives a gentle, vanilla-like flavour to a wine cup. The fruit tinges it pink and the ginger ale gives fresh, sparkling appearance. Both Woodruff and Borage are said to "Cheer the Heart".
Here is the recipe..
6 fresh Woodruff sprigs
1 bottle dry wine (not too cheap) lol
1/2 pt (275 ml) orange juice
4 oz (120 g) strawberries or raspberries
7 fl oz (200 ml) ginger ale
3 fl oz (90 ml) brandy
20 Borage Flowers
Leave the Woodruff sprigs for 1 hour to wilt slightly. This will bring out their vanilla-like flavour. Put them into a bowl and pour the wine and orange juice over them.
Leave for 1 hour then strain. Quarter the strawberries if they are large. Leave the raspberries whole if using them instead. Put fruit into a punch bowl. Pour on the strained liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Chill the ginger ale separately. Pour the brandy and the ginger ale into the bowl. Float the Borage Flowers on top. Serve as soon as possible in tall glasses so as to not to lose the slightly sparkling effect of the ginger ale.
HOT HONEY WINE PUNCH:
ALTHOUGH RED WINE IS MOST POPULAR FOR PUNCHES, HONEY WINE BLENDS WELL WITH SWEET SPICES RESULTING IN AN UNUSUAL, MEDIUM SWEET, FULL FLAVORED DRINK.
1 bottle honey wine
1 pt (575 ml) dry cider
1 pt (575 ml) apple juice
2 oranges
12 cloves
5 ins (12.5 cm) cinnamon stick
2 oz (60 g) honey, or to taste
Put the honey wine, cider and apple juice into a saucepan. Thickly slice the oranges and stick the cloves into the slices. Put them in a saucepan with the cinnamon stick. Stir in the honey. Bring the punch to just below simmering point and hold it there for 20 minutes. Serve hot, in warmed mugs or thick glasses.
LEMON BALM WINE:
THIS IS A DESSERT WINE, FRAGRANT AND GOLDEN.
1 pt (575 ml) lemon balm wine leaves
2 lb (900 g) raisins
2 1/2 lb (1.25 kg) sugar
1 gal (4.5 liter) water
Wine Yeast (see manufacturer's instructions for amount needed)
Yeast Nutrient
1 Sulphite Tablet
Finely chop the lemon balm leaves. Chop or mince the raisins. Put the leaves and raisins into a bucket with a lid. Pour on the boiling water. Cover and leave for TEN DAYS, stirring EVERY DAY. Put all the sugar into a second bucket, strain the liquid and pour it over. Add the yeast and the yeast nutrient. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2 WEEKS.
Strain the wine, pour it into a demijohn, and fit an airlock. Leave until fermentation is complete.
Pour into another demijohn, leaving the sediment behind. Add one crushed Sulphite tablet.
Leave for1-WEEK and then bottle. Leave for at least THREE MONTHS before opening.
HERB BEERS:
Before hops were generally used as the main ingredients in beer in beer, ale was flavored during during its making with locally growing herbs. The same herbs as well as spices were also included in the barrel with the newly made ale to preserve and flavour it to impart health-giving properties. Costmary, ground-ivy, meadowsweet, agrimony, sage, burdock, and dandelion were some of the many herbs that was used. Most herb ales were originally thought to carry the health-giving and restorative properties of their flavoring herbs. Burdock ale was thought to cleanse and purify the blood and nettle beer was drunk to ease the pains of gout and rheumatism. In fact, many of the healing constituents are removed during brewing today.
DANDELION AND BURDOCK BEER:
Herb beer and ales like this nettle, dandelion, and burdock bitter are very easy to make. They generally have lighter, more fragrant flavour than ordinary hopped beers and so ideal summer drinks. They are also more wholesome than ordinary beers, containing only natural ingredients.
1 lb (450 g) young fresh nettles
4 oz (120 g) dandelion leaves
4 oz (120 g) fresh, sliced or 2 oz (60 g) dried burdock root
1/2 oz (15 g) root ginger, bruised
2 lemons
1 gal (4.6 liters) water
1 lb (450 g) plus 4 teaspoon soft brown sugar
1 oz (30 g) cream of tarter
Brewing yeast (manufacturer's instruction for amount)
Put the nettles, dandelion leaves, burdock, ginger, and thinly pared rinds of the lemons into a large pan. Add the water, Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Put the lemon juice, 1 lb (450 g) sugar and the cream of tarter into a liquid through a strainer, pressing down on the nettles and other ingredients. Stir to dissolve the sugar, Cool to room temperature.
Sprinkle in the yeast. Cover the beer and leave it to ferment in a warm place for THREE DAYS.
Pour off the beer and bottle it, adding 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar per pint.
Leave the bottles undisturbed until the beer is clear-about 1 WEEK.
