Bumblebee Blog

I was at a family funeral last week. Yes, a sad day. As my husband and I were getting into our car to join the procession to the cemetery, I grabbed a couple of bottles from the back seat and tucked them into the waiting arms of my little brother—the same little brother who is the sometimes giver and receiver of our birthday and Christmas gag gifts. I can’t decide if my favorite gift to him was the taxidermy frogs in a compromising position or the straight jacket. My favorite from him was the dead horse head in the bed.

Anyway, I digress…

More than a couple of people saw this illicit-looking exchange, but only one man asked me what was in the bottles. Well, what could I say?

It was my homemade Hooch! Nothing to be ashamed of. We were in North Carolina, after all.

My brother is the one who set me on my wine making path. Until now I have mostly stayed with the kits available from places such as Northern Brewer, also the place where I get my wine making equipment. But in January of last year I started a batch of apfelwein. (The recipe and instructions are here.)

It wasn’t difficult at all and only required apple juice, dextrose (corn sugar) and yeast. I mixed it all up and put it into a carboy with an air lock. I stored it in the basement and waited patiently (procrastinated) for a year to bottle. And before bottling I added another two cups of corn sugar so that now it is a wonderful, apple-y, wine-y tasting brew. Surprisingly good!

I’m not sure what’s next. I am emboldened by this apfelwein. That is, I’m emboldened by the success of this apfelwein, although it would also embolden me if I were drinking it right now. It does pack a little punch. I didn’t measure the alcohol content (a process that involves a hydrometer, two measurements of the specific gravity and a mathematical calculation).  But it definitely earns the name Hooch.

Robin

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Filed in: Drinks

Have you noticed that there is someone who will take the fun out of just about everything?

Mexican food. Chinese food. Movie popcorn. Now a cool pitcher of sun tea will make you sick.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Alcaligenes viscolactis, a bacteria commonly found in water, can flourish during the slow steep of sun tea. And it can make you sick.

Who knew something as simple as sun tea could be so dangerous?

I sip tea all day long during the summer. Currently, my favorite concoction is a mixture of green and chai spice teas. And since I’m just a risk-taking, adventurous kind of gal, I have decided that I will continue drinking my sun tea. After all, I’ve made it this far without getting ill. Let’s just see what happens.

For the rest of you, you might want to follow some safety precautions. These include:

-Scrub your sun tea container with hot soapy water. (Frankly, I assume everyone does this anyway.)

-Don’t leave the sun tea to brew for more than three or four hours. (Being the crazy kinda gal that I am, I will continue to brew mine for six to eight hours.)

-Refrigerate and drink as soon as possible. (No problem there.)

-Don’t prepare more than you can drink in a day. Throw out the leftovers. (None left anyway.)

And on one website, they advise you to throw away tea that has turned thick and syrupy or that has ropy strands, which are bacteria. Whaaaaaa? Who would drink that anyway?

So there you have it. Go forth and be safe. As for me, I will continue to live life on the edge with a cold glass of sun tea in my hand.

Robin

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Filed in: Drinks