Another day, another Um Brew recipe. Uncle Jon has provided another fantastic concoction from the book of his pal Denis, this one involving Barley and Potatoes.
Barley is something which has a long history – at least 12000 years – with humanity and has been a staple food item being used in making bread, beer and whisky. It has been represented in folklore (such as the legend of John Barleycorn) and found in graves dug many millennia ago.
Potatoes are also an important food crop – now the most widely grown in the world, and incredibly versatile. Dreaming of potatoes signifies happiness, stability and smaller ones denote luck and love.
So, we have the old staple of barley, and the relative newcomer of the spud. Over to Uncle Jon to explain how to combine these into Black Country Fire Water!
It’s cowd an wet out there our kid so here’s a brew ta warm yow up a treat. Mind how yow goo wee it mind!
Uncle Jon’s um brew Barley and Potato Wine.
For one gallon of wine,
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half a pound of barley
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4 good sized old potatoes if they have “eyes” all the better.
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2lb Sugar
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Juice of one Lemon.
Roast the barley for at least one hour on a low heat (or longer if you prefer darker beers, the darker it is the more full bodied the wine) scrub but do not peel potatoes then slice into thin discs. Put both into a brewing bucket and pour over 2 pints of boiling water. Allow it to stand until cool or over night. No longer than over night. Strain keeping the liquid now use another 2 pints of boiling water to dissolve the sugar mix in the lemon juice. Add this all thee the other saved liquid, and make up to the gallon with cold water. Add yeast and allow to ferment which will take around six weeks.
The Cantess 