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Barley Malt Syrup, also
referred to as Malt
Extract or Barley
Malt Extract
In
this recipe I use a malt extract syrup that I have made with half
malt extract and half boiling water. Malt extract is very thick and
difficult to work with, so it is a good idea to prepare it by mixing it
half and half with boiling water so it is easier to spoon out (see
pictures below). I have also used dry malt extract and that is very
good and as easy to use as sugar.
[See Raw
Beer if
you would rather use raw, sprouted barley to make your ale.]
Mix
malt
extract/syrup with boiling hot water to make it
easier to handle.
Put
half a jar of malt extract into an empty jar of the same size. Pour
half the malt extract into the empty jar. You may have
to scrape it out with a knife. Fill both jars up with boiling hot
water. Stir until thoroughly mixed and then cover both jars and
refrigerate. Unless refrigerated, this watery malt extract may start a
mild fermentation from airborne yeast after a few weeks. If that is
something you want, you can just leave the jars on the shelf.
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Tea or
other liquid
Water
brewed with regular, decaffeinated or herbal tea and herbs,
spices and other plants such as dandelion, clover or elderflower.
[Pictured: hawthorn leaves and two green tea teabags]
Brew
enough herbal and/or regular teas of the flavor of your choice and let
it cool down You can use wild-harvested tree leaves as well as herbal
or regular tea. Oak, sassafras, birch and hawthorn leaves all lend a
pleasant flavor to your ale.
Yeast
Starter
Airlocks
Airlocks
can be
store-bought or can be as simple as piece of plastic
cut out of a plastic grocery bag with an elastic band to secure it. (Do
not use biodegradable
plastic.) Their
purpose is to keep out
bugs while allowing gas to
escape from the
bottles.
A
measuring jug
Plastic
soda pop bottles
Making
the Ale
Measure the amount of tea
you will be using.
For
every 700 mls (about 1 1/4 pints or 24 ounces) you will be using,
add a total of 100 mls (6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) of whatever
sugar syrup(s) you are using. (I will be using my invert
sugar syrup and malt extract, you
could also use maple syrup, honey or molasses.)
Add 60 mls (4 tablespoons) of sugar
syrup to the tea for each 700 mls of tea that you have measured and
will be using.
Add 40 mls
(2 tablespoons plus
2
teaspoons) malt extract syrup (malt
extract and water mixed together half-and-half) to the tea for each 700
mls of tea you started with.
How much
sugar = how much alcohol
The
amount and types of sugar syrup you use can vary with how much
alcohol you want your ale to have, how sweet you want it to be or what
flavors you want it to have. (That's why there are many different types
of ale in the world). Other sugar syrups you can use are: maple syrup,
golden syrup, honey or corn syrup. You could even use chocolate syrup
and make a chocolate stout. You can use the recipe given here when
first learning hour to make your own ale, and then change it to suit
your own tastes afterwards. The more sugar you add, the more fizzy your
homebrew will be.
The
more sugar syrup/less malt extract you use, the more your ale will
taste like soda pop, the less sugar syrup/more malt extract you use,
the more it will taste like beer, except, of course, that it is not
hopped. Also, the more sugar or malt extract you use, the more
alcoholic your brew can be made. Because this home-brewed ale does not
have hops to act as a preservative, it should be drunk fairly soon
after it is made and fully carbonated as it will not keep for very many
days.
See Adjusting
Alcohol.
Making Ale By
The Bottle
Put an ounce of ale
starter into pint-sized clean
plastic soda pop bottles (pictured here). If you are using larger
bottles, use 1/4 cup starter for each liter or quart of tea and sugar
syrup mixture you will be adding.
Pour the mixed tea and
sugar into the
plastic soda pop bottles into
which you have put the yeast starter. Fill the bottle to a couple
inches from the top, leaving the space the top for air.
I am putting 350 mls of tea and sugar into each of these 1 pint soda
pop bottles (about 1 1/4 cups).
Cover the bottle(s) with
an airlock
and leave standing at room to warm
temperature for 3-5 days after signs of fermentation have begun.
(3 days = tastes sweet
4 days = less sweet, more alcohol
5 days = most alcohol)
This process can also be
done in a
large glass jug or carboy covered with an airlock if desired.
After ale has fermented
for 3-5 days
(depending on how much alcohol you
want it to have), cover the bottle with a cap and screw on
tightly.
When ale has carbonated so that bottle cannot be squeezed, put in the
refrigerator to cool and drink within a few days.
This bottle can still be squeezed and is not ready to drink yet.
Variations
Malt
Beverages
To
make a malt beverage, substitute malt extract for some of the sugars
in the recipe, or add some malt extract, or sprout barley and add some
of the ground sprouted barley into either the grain or sugar part of
the ferment.
Lacto-fermented Malt
Beverages
To make a lacto-fermented
beverage,
substitute yogurt whey, kefir whey
or cold milk culture whey for some or all of the starter. How To Make
Whey
Cream
Ale
Add vanilla at some time towards the end of the process. For a strong
"cream" flavor, you can add the vanilla when it is being served.
 ..
Wild
Fermentation by
Sandor Katz.
Full
Moon Feast by Jessica
Prentice
This is a good book if you like learning about indigenous customs and
following natural cycles. Includes using coconut oil, a rootbeer recipe
that calls for only 2 tablespoons of sassafras and easy and delicious
corn fritters.
Truly
Cultured Rejuvenating
Taste, Health and Community With Naturally Fermented Foods
Sacred
and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen
Harr Buhner
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Brewing Real Ale
