Birch Beer

corks · Post by **corks** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 5:57 am

just found the recipe on the net somewhere...

BIRCH BEER

Measure 4 quarts of finely cut twigs of sweet birch into the bottom of a 5 gallon crock.
In a large kettle, stir 1 gallon of honey into 4 gallons birch sap and boil for 10 minutes, then pour over the chopped twigs. When cool, strain to remove the twigs and return to the crock.

Spread 1 cake of soft yeast on a slice of toasted rye bread and float on top of the beer. Cover with a cloth and let ferment until the cloudiness just starts to settle, about a week but it depends somewhat on the temperature.

Bottle the beer and cap tightly. Store in a dark place and serve it cold after the weather gets hot. It should stand in the bottles for about 3 months before using. If opened too soon, it will foam all over and pop worse than champagne.

just wondering if anyone has tried anything like this? i would but im in south america atm...

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 8:23 am

Have we got Birch trees in Aus? If so are they common? also how do I identify them?

My tree skills go about as far as telling the difference between a gum tree and a pine tree, but gets hazy after that.

It sounds more like a birch mead than birch beer, but that is possibly nitpicking.

Cheers,
Greg

rwh · Post by **rwh** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 10:30 am

And how do you harvest 4 gallons(!) of birch sap!?

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 12:07 pm

Papazian has a spruce beer, but I haven't heard of any others. If you have the ingredients, give it a go.

damonpeyo · Post by **damonpeyo** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 3:25 pm

I believe Birch Tree is found in Australia, you often see them in cooler climates, especially at Botanical gardens.

Below link is a pic of Birch Tree.

http://www.kgcphoto.com/Upper_Michigan_ ... iz-1-2.jpg

http://www.casa-arbanil.com/gallery/spa ... _trees.jpg

They usually grown in wild in Northern Parts of America along with trees where these Crazy Canadians collect maple syurp.

cleverpig · Post by **cleverpig** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 4:07 pm

I was thinking silver birch as they a common.
This link seems so suggest that silver birch is usuable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_sap
and the beer ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_beer

I've got a great big old silver birch in the front yard, but have never noticed any sap.

cleverpig · Post by **cleverpig** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 4:09 pm

Here is a silver birch beer recipe link http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Betula+pendula

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Tuesday Sep 12, 2006 4:50 pm

rwh wrote:And how do you harvest 4 gallons(!) of birch sap!?

Squeeze the tree really hard and hope it gives it up

corks · Post by **corks** » Wednesday Sep 13, 2006 8:30 am

hahahaha

yeah that could be a problem.

maybe dogger could give it a shot? he's in canada yeah?