Grey days + slow fermentation

These last few weeks in Oslo have been overwhelmingly rainy and grey. So what have we been up to? Fermentation-wise, things are slowly coming along; the drop in temperature literally has everything going slower than usual.

Pictured above are 3 liters of (alcoholic) ginger beer and 5 liters of mint wine made over the last two days. Other recent projects have included an experimental 5 liter chestnut beer, attempting to grow a 20" kombucha scoby to mass-ferment tea, and checking in on / racking all our fruit wines.

From left to right: turmeric, lemon, ginger, lemon, tumicuni root

So far so good re: everything, except the cold weather thwarted our last batch of apple cider (we also used a different yeast) so it's now on it's way to becoming apple wine instead. The raspberry wine will be ready to bottle in January, though it's almost completely clear of sediment now and is starting to round and smooth out. The raspberry-rhubarb second wine has already been bottled, though it won't be ready to drink until the spring. We took a taste from a test bottle last Sunday and while it still tastes very young, the bouquet is amazing: very sweet and candy-like, almost artificial.

Until next time..