[Chemin-noir] Ice?

Miles Grey Kahn at West-Point.org
Thu Jun 26 15:46:51 PDT 2008


Will there be ice for beverages, or should I stop by Sonic and buy a bag
on the way?  I ask because I started an experiment last night that I'd
like to try out on anyone willing to sample it.  I used a slightly
modified version of the recipe for barley water from Count Gunther's class
at King's College.  I modified it to use a little more barley and a little
less lemon.  Once it cooled, I added my favorite ale yeast.  Assuming the
jug hasn't exploded while I was at work today, I'm hoping that this
process will have produced carbonated barley water - basically a medieval
carbonated soft drink.  But I had to leave it at room temperature in order
to allow it to carbonate, and won't have time to cool it before the pot
luck tonight, so a little ice would be a good thing.

Because it's been fermenting for less than 24 hours, the alcohol content
should be very low, effectively making it a non-alcoholic beverage.  Of
course, the bottle may have exploded (I hope not), it could taste like
swamp water, it might not have achieved any carbonation, or something else
could have gone wrong, in which case I won't be bringing it with me.  If
it turned out at least half-decent, then I'll bring it for people to
sample.

I also made a ginger syrup using another recipe from Count Gunther's
class.  to use it, you dilute it with water at about a 6:1 to 8:1 ratio. 
I'm not really happy with the resulting flavor, but may bring it along
anyway, if anyone wants to give it a try.  It is made from ginger, so it
does have that ginger bite to it.  But it seems to me that the result
doesn't give you a "whole mouth" flavor - it seems to be just a back of
the mouth taste.  I need to figure out something that will round it out
better.

Well, I'll see everyone tonight.  I'll probably be running behind, dashing
by KFC to grab some chicken on the way.

  Miles Grey




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