Homemade wine from birch sap

Even 100 years ago, in Belarusian villages, birch wine was prepared in barrels, using honey instead of sugar. The drink came out low-alcohol and slightly carbonated. But later they forgot about the recipe. Not so long ago, winemakers revived this ancient tradition, greatly adapting the technology to modern abilities. The result was homemade wine with an unusual, memorable taste.

All containers used should be sterilized with boiling water, then wiped dry with a clean cloth (A collection of different and interacting tissues form organs) , otherwise infection by pathogenic microbes may occur.

Ingredients:

birch sap – 25 l.;
sugar – 5 kg;
citric acid – 8-10 g;
raisins – 200 g (can be replaced with wine yeast);
watery honey – 200 g (optional).

Only unsoured birch sap is suitable for making wine, otherwise it will curdle during the cooking process. Adding sugar increases the strength and sweetness; without it, the wine will turn out very weak and tasteless. Citric acid will balance the acidity, which will have a positive effect on the taste and shelf life.

Raisins are needed for fermentation - activation of wild yeast located on the surface of the grapes. I advise you to take large black raisins with a snow-white coating (this is wild wine yeast), these berries ferment better than other types. Honey neutralizes the slight bitterness. If the honey is crystallized, it must be melted in a water bath before adding to the wort.

Birch wine recipe

1. 3-4 days before working with juice, create a starter for wine from raisins (owners of wine yeast skip this step).

2. Mix juice, sugar and citric acid in a large enamel saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer over low heat, skimming foam from the surface, until approximately 20 liters remain in the pan. wort.

Explanation. It is necessary to evaporate a third of the water from birch sap, increasing the concentration of dry substances, which will have a positive effect on the taste of the finished wine. Be sure to consider the amount of sugar added. 1 liter is equal to 1000 cm3, the density of dry sugar is 1.6 g/cm3, as follows, 1 kg takes 0.625 liters in a pan (1/1.6 = 0.625).

3. Cool the wort to 25°C, stirring occasionally so that a crust does not form on the surface (remove if it does).

4. Add starter (dilute wine yeast), watery honey (optional), mix well. Pour the wort into the fermentation container, filling it to a maximum of 75% of the size.

5. Place a water seal on the neck or a honey glove with a small hole in one of the fingers (pierce it with a needle). Seal the connection, then transfer the fermentation tank to a black room with a temperature of 18-25°C.

Water seal designs for wine, mash and beer

6. After 3-5 weeks, active fermentation will end (the glove will deflate, the water seal will stop blowing bubbles, sediment will form on the day, and the wine will become lighter). It's time to drain the wine from the sediment through a straw into another clean container.

Taste it. If desired, add more sugar or fix with alcohol (vodka) - 2-15% of the size.

7. Fill storage containers up to the neck with wine (preferably to minimize contact with oxygen), then seal it tightly with a stopper and place in a black, cold space (5-16°C) for 14-20 days to age.

8. Remove the finished birch sap wine from the sediment again and pour it into bottles for storage (optional). The shelf life if stored in the refrigerator or basement is up to a year, but it is better to drink right away. Strength – 10-12%.

Making wine from birch sap at home

The tradition of making birch wine with honey arose in Belarus several centuries ago. With all this, a carbonated drink with unique taste properties was produced, possessing all the healing qualities of birch sap. And at the moment, such wines have not lost their relevance.

They contain a sufficient amount of tannins, various acids, glucose, fructose, and phytoncides. They are also rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, manganese, silicon, iron, phosphorus and copper.

Wine purchased from birch sap has almost all the beneficial qualities.

When consumed in moderation, birch sap wine helps to normalize metabolic processes, increase immunity, and cleanse the body of toxic substances.

Rules for extracting birch sap

In order to prepare birch wine at home, you must first stock up on the main raw materials.

When collecting birch sap, there are a number of rules that will allow you to collect the required amount of drink and not harm the trees:

You should not choose young trees to collect sap.
Instead of making cuts in the trunk, it is better to drill shallow holes. It is recommended to build them on the north side, because more juice flows there. Then a tube is inserted into them, which is lowered into the prepared container to collect the juice.
You can simply cut off a piece of a thick branch. After this, wrap the cut with a narrow rope, along which the liquid will be collected, and place it in a bowl.
After collecting the sap is completed, you should seal the holes with plasticine, wax or laundry soap, so as not to cause the death of the birch from trunk rotting.
It is not recommended to collect more than 1 liter of birch sap from one tree.

From 1 tree you can collect no more than 1 liter of juice.

Required components and tools for making wine

To make wine you will need birch sap, sugar, and purified water. Honey, lemons, oranges, raisins, wine and baker's yeast, citric acid, cinnamon and ginger are used as additional ingredients.

From the accessories for the production of an intoxicating drink from birch sap, it is recommended to prepare:

enamel pan;
a glass bottle in which the wort will ferment;
plastic tube for comfortable draining;
water seal;
bottles or cans for the finished drink.

Tips for making wine

In order to correctly make wine from birch sap, you need to follow some tips:

In order to get a good drink, you need to collect birch sap before the buds begin to bloom. It is better to recycle it immediately after collection. If this cannot be created, it can be kept in a cold room in a closed container for a number of days. Sour or fermented juice is unsuitable for making wine.
All containers used for wine production must be thoroughly washed and dried.
The finished drink must be stored in dry rooms with good ventilation and an air temperature of about 15 degrees.

Only freshly collected birch sap is suitable for making wine.

Recipe for traditional wine from birch sap

birch sap – 10 l;
sugar – 2 kg;
honey – 100 g;
raisins – 100 g;
lemon – 5 g.

Production Method:

To make a wine starter, combine raisins with 50 g of sugar and 500 ml of water. The mixture is poured into a glass container, covered with a lid and allowed to brew for 5 days, then it is filtered.
In an enamel pan, combine birch sap with sugar and lemon. The purchased composition is heated over low heat, stirring frequently, until the water reduces to 2 liters.
Sourdough and honey are poured into the cooled juice, stirred thoroughly, poured into a bottle and closed with a water seal. The container is placed in a dark place with an air temperature of about 25 degrees.
Fermentation of the wort lasts about 2 months. During this period of time, sediment should form and the wine should become clearer. After this, it is filtered using a tube into a huge glass container. If the finished drink is sour, you can add sugar to it. Then they let it brew for about another month.
The finished wine is filtered, distributed into prepared containers and sent for storage.

Birch sap wine is prepared with the addition of raisins, water and sugar.

Fundamentally! Wine prepared using this method retains its original taste and smell throughout the year.

Birch wine with citrus scent

birch sap – 10 l;
sugar – 3 kg;
lemons – 10 pieces;
wine yeast – 25 g.

Production Method:

Pour birch sap into a saucepan, combine with sugar and simmer over low heat for about an hour.
Peel the zest from the lemons and squeeze out the juice.
Combine the cooled syrup with the remaining ingredients, pour into a fermentation container, put a water seal on it and send it to a warm space for a month.
After this, the finished wine must be filtered, bottled and sent to the cellar for several months to ripen.

Fundamentally! According to this recipe, you can prepare birch wine with orange , replacing lemon with it.

Spiced birch wine

birch sap – 10 l;
sugar – 3 kg;
honey – 2 l;
snow white wine – 3 l;
ginger – 3 teaspoons;
cinnamon – 5 teaspoons.

Honey, cinnamon and ginger will give a pleasant spicy taste to the wine.

Production Method:

Heat birch sap in a saucepan until it boils and dissolve sugar in it.
After the syrup has cooled slightly, combine it with honey, wine, ginger and cinnamon.
Pour the purchased composition into a bottle and send it to a cold room for two weeks.
Filter the finished wine, distribute it into storage containers and let it brew for a month. During this period of time, the drink will acquire a unique taste and smell.

This simple recipe allows you to get a very pleasant and fragrant drink.

Wine made from birch sap and fruit and berry raw materials

birch sap – 5 l;
sugar – 3 kg;
pears – 1 kg;
blueberries – 2 kg;
wine yeast – 25 g.

Production process:

Birch sap is combined with sugar and slightly heated over low heat without boiling.
The pears are washed and cut into small pieces.
Blueberries are crushed and the juice is squeezed out.
All ingredients are combined, the purchased wort is poured into a fermentation container and sent to a darkened room with an air temperature of about 25 degrees for a month.
After this, the finished wine is filtered, poured into prepared containers and transferred to the basement, where it is allowed to brew for 3 months.

Sparkling birch wine

birch sap – 5 l;
sugar – 100 g;
lemons – 3 pieces;
raisins – 50g.

If you add lemon to birch sap, you can get a delicious, sparkling wine.

Production Method:

Dissolve sugar in birch sap.
Remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice.
Combine all ingredients, pour the purchased mixture into a glass container and close with a lid.
After a week, you can already get delicious sparkling wine.

An effervescent drink made from birch sap must be consumed immediately after production, because it is prepared without yeast or preservatives and cannot be stored long-term.

Birch wine with herbs

birch sap – 5 l;
sugar – 2 kg;
baker's yeast – 150 g;
drink – 1 tbsp. spoon;
spicy herbs - to taste.

Production Method:

The freshest birch sap is filtered, slightly heated in a saucepan and sugar is dissolved in it.
The yeast is perfectly crushed and, together with kefir, added to the cooled syrup. Dry herbs of lemongrass, thyme and oregano are ground and poured into the wort.
The purchased composition is poured into a prepared fermentation container, closed with a water seal and moved to a dark, warm room for approximately one month.
After the release of carbon dioxide is completed, the finished wine is filtered, distributed into bottles and sent to the cellar for three months.

You can add dried herbs to homemade birch sap wine: oregano and thyme.

Fundamentally! Spiced birch wine is a soft drink with a very unique taste and smell. At the same time, it is very transparent and virtually does not produce sediment during storage.

Birch sap wine, prepared according to any recipe, has a mild and sweetish taste. If you follow the recommended measures for its consumption, it has a beneficial effect on the condition of the body. But it is contraindicated for those who suffer from urolithiasis, hypertension, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and allergies to birch pollen.

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Homemade wine from birch sap

Homemade beverage production and winemaking have been popular in Russia for a long time. For any owner, it is a source of pride when guests like a homemade drink. The list of ingredients and options can be continued indefinitely: tinctures, liqueurs, wines made from berries, fruits and various exotic ingredients.

Birch sap wine can become the main decoration of the table and a reason for the ecstasy of friends.

The main ingredient is extracted in the spring, before the buds open. The healing and health properties of water from Russian wood have been known for a long time. Consumption allows you to cleanse the body and remove toxins. It contains various substances that affect cell generation and skin condition.

The drink must be placed immediately after collection.

Homemade wine from birch sap will require the introduction of starter culture. It’s easy to make; just pour a handful of dark raisins with 2 glasses of water and let them sit for three to four days in a warm place. Dried grapes do not need to be washed. Natural yeast is retained on the surface, which will help speed up the fermentation process.

Recipe for making birch wine at home

Ingredients

To make the drink you will need:

Birch sap – 25 l. (certainly fresh and strained);
Granulated sugar – 4-5 kg;
150 grams of honey. Adding this component and its grade as desired;
Lemon acid – 10 g or juice of 1-2 fruits;
Raisin starter or wine yeast.

All products must be clean and free of foreign impurities. The main component must be freshly harvested (yesterday or today).

Individual preparation of birch sap

The liquid itself does not have a pronounced taste or aroma. The composition contains tannins and sugar. To improve gastronomic parameters, honey and lemon acid are used. Adding honey gives the drink a floral flavor.

One of the steps in preparation for making a drink from birch sap at home is boiling or heating the main ingredient. Temperature treatment is necessary to prevent infection by harmful microbes that may enter the container during collection.

1st option

Place a container of juice on the stove and bring to a boil.
Add sugar, citric acid and honey.
Stir until completely dissolved.
Boil until 1/5 of the size evaporates (out of 25 liters, 20 should remain).
Cool to 20 5 degrees.

After this, we continue to work with the wort.

2nd option

Heat the liquid to 75 degrees, but do not bring to a boil.
Add sugar, honey, lemon juice and stir until completely dissolved.
We maintain the temperature until a fifth of the water evaporates (as in the first option).
Let cool.

Any of the options is designed to disinfect juice. After processing, you can work further.

During heating, in any case, remove the foam from the surface. During the movement of warm currents, solid particles and dirt gather into one mass and float to the surface. The result is untainted juice, suitable for future use.

Stages of making birch wine

Birch sap wine must be prepared following the recipe. The main condition for obtaining results is the use of high-quality ingredients, cleanliness of utensils and additives, and adherence to temperature conditions for storage and fermentation.

The usual recipe for wine from birch sap

To get a good drink you need to follow several steps one by one:

Add yeast to the warm wort. If we cook without them, then we use sourdough with raisins.
After dissolving all the ingredients, pour the mixture into a clean container. The container must be filled no more than ¾ full.
You need to install a liquid seal on the neck of the dish. We move everything to a black and warm space for 3-5 weeks.
After this, pour the wine from the sediment into another dry and prepared container. We send it to a black space with a temperature of up to 16 degrees for 1-1.5 months.
You can try the finished drink right away. It should be poured into a clean container that does not allow ultraviolet light to pass through (not transparent). The shelf life of the drink is about 1 year.

Wine from birch sap without yeast is prepared using natural raisin ferment. Dried grapes have their own “feral” yeast, which starts the fermentation process. In the process, the wine receives the smell of this ingredient, and the taste comes out similar to snow-white grape.

The traditional recipe for wine from birch sap involves the introduction of a boiled product, but wine from birch sap without boiling, and using long-term pasteurization of water, comes out the softest. If the composition contains honey, then light floral notes will appear in the taste.

When preparing a drink from birch sap, it is necessary to neutralize the bitterness that is imparted by special substances in the composition. Heat treatment in combination with sugar, citric acid, and honey hides this flavor.

Containers for storage and fermentation must be processed and sterilized. Wine must is a good breeding ground for harmful microbes, so cleanliness is imperative.

Aspects of making wine from birch sap

Making homemade wine does not require any enormous effort, time or special criteria. The recipe for birch sap wine is very simple. All ingredients are easy to get in a regular store or market.

By devoting a couple of minutes of time to the process in 1-1.5 months, you can achieve great results. Only the first step takes a comparable amount of time, which is needed for cleaning, preparing and monitoring the heat treatment of the juice.

Unlike ordinary drinks, collecting birch sap does not require collecting berries and fruits; everything happens without the help of others. The product must be fresh, otherwise during the preparation process the juice may curdle and become unsuitable for use.

The result of light manipulations will be a beautiful, low-alcohol drink that wine lovers will definitely appreciate.

Birch sap wine

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It may seem that birch sap is completely unsuitable for wine production. After all, its sugar content barely reaches 2 – 2.5%. But almost all distillers neglect the individuality given to us and use it with pleasure in home winemaking. Birch sap wine has a pleasant, fresh aftertaste and a subtle aroma. And, in order to give it a suitable strength, additional size and not drown out the natural notes, lemons, raisins and sugar are added to it. Birch wine can be drunk neat or used as a base for blending.

A little about evaporation

Evaporating wine is a very long process. Depending on the original size of the wine material, this can take from 1 to 3 hours.

The only, but very significant, drawback of this procedure is the increase in air humidity in the room. After all, you need to boil the juice until its size reduces by 1/3. Therefore, before you start evaporation, take care of arranging good ventilation.

There is really no need to skip this step. This simple manipulation will significantly increase the concentration of solids in the juice and its density. This means that the taste of the finished wine will be much brighter and more expressive.

The evaporation process can be improved. It's very easy to create. All you need for this is an ordinary moonshine still. Just pour the juice into the cube and set it to distill. Once the required amount of distilled water has collected in the receiving container, the evaporation process can be considered successfully completed.

Direct your attention . During the evaporation process, birch sap acquires a golden yellow color. The saturation of the color depends on the duration of evaporation; the more it is evaporated, the darker the shade of the wort.

Traditional recipe

Those who have ever tasted natural birch sap know very well that it has very average taste properties. Low sugar content, low acidity and the complete absence of wild yeast in its composition do not allow making strong, fragrant birch wine from it. That is why sweet sand, citric acid and raisins/wine yeast are indispensable components when making wort.

Direct your attention . If you prefer not to use yeast, then a few days before making wine, start the starter by combining sweet sand, water and raisins in a proportional ratio of 1: 2: 1.

Birch sap – 7l;
Black raisins – 100 g;
Sweet sand – 1 kg;
Citric acid – 5 g;
Watery honey – 100 g;
Wine yeast.

Manufacturing

1. Pour birch sap into a saucepan with a wide bottom. Add sweet sand and let it evaporate. Remove any foam that accumulates on the surface with a slotted spoon.

Wine with added citrus

Birch wine is an impeccable base for making champagne. Foamy, sparkling, with a gentle, fresh taste and a long-lasting, citrus aftertaste, this drink will be a worthy competitor to factory champagne.

Birch sap – 18 l;
Sweet sand – 2.5 kg;
Light raisins – 250 g;
Lemons – 500 g (3 pcs.);
Wine yeast.

Manufacturing

1. Pour birch sap into a saucepan with a wide bottom. Add sweet sand and let it evaporate. Remove any foam that accumulates on the surface with a slotted spoon.

2. Remove the zest from the lemon. To do this, carefully scrape off the thin yellowish layer from the skin, trying not to touch the snow-white areas. Peel the lemons and cut into rings 7–10 mm wide.

3. Add chopped lemons and zest to the evaporating juice.

4. Dissolve wine yeast.

5. Cool the juice to 22 C. Remove the lemon pieces with a slotted spoon. Pour into a fermentation container, add the prepared yeast + raisins, mix thoroughly and install a water seal.

6. A month after the end of fermentation, use a slotted spoon to remove the raisins that float to the surface.

7. Remove coarse sediment by pouring through a rubber hose into a clean container.

8. Leave for another month to lighten. And then remove from the narrow sediment.

Now the young birch wine is ready and can be champagneized. To do this, you will need to prepare a batch liqueur according to the usual recipe.

Ingredients for edition liqueur (for 10 liters of wine - 14 bottles):

Sweet sand – 220 g;
Wine tannin – 0.5 g;
Chitosan – 15 g;
Yeast for sparkling wines – 4 g;
Dextrose – 50 ml;
Water – 400 ml.

Wash the bottles thoroughly, sterilize and disinfect with potassium pyrosulfite.

Making a yeast starter. Combine dextrose + water and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Cool to 21 C, add yeast and leave for 12 hours.

Production of mass-produced liqueur. Select 1 liter of birch wine and dissolve in it 220 g of sweet sand + wine tannin + chitosan (for lightening and the best rumage).

1. Pour batch liqueur + yeast mixture into birch wine and mix thoroughly.

2. Pour the future birch champagne into bottles, not filling 6 - 7 cm to the top. Seal with plastic caps and secure with muselet.

3. Place the bottles in the box, interspersing them with cardboard spacers. This will allow you to maintain the integrity of the others if one of the bottles breaks. Transfer to a cellar or basement for at least 3 months.

4. After this time, place the bottles in a special music stand or an ordinary beer box (necks down). Leave for another 6 months, from time to time turn them clockwise, thus driving the sediment into the cork (rumage).

5. All that remains is to carry out disgorgement (remove sediment from the cork). Place the bottles (horizontally or with their necks down) in the freezer for 1.5 - 2 hours. This will slightly reduce the pressure inside the containers. Later, remove the muzzle, carefully pull out the cork and quickly close the neck with your finger, preventing the drink from spilling out of the bottle. The loss of champagne in this case should be from 50 to 100 ml.

6. Add expedition liqueur to the bottles. Cork, set the muselet and leave to rest for a couple of months.

Making expedition liqueur . Combine 250 g sugar + 325 ml wine in a saucepan and heat. Add 1 crushed Campden pill. Cool, pour in 25 ml of cognac, and then filter through a cotton pad.

Direct your attention . When stocking up on containers, remember that only thick-walled bottles weighing 900–1000 g, with a concave bottom, are suitable for producing champagne at home. It is strictly not recommended to use ordinary bottles made of narrow glass. The pressure growing to 7 - 9 atmospheres simply bursts such containers from the inside.

It is best to take champagne bottles:

Artemovskoe (Ukraine);
Arbau – Durso (Novorossiysk);
Newest World (Crimea).

It is at these enterprises that champagne is made using French technology - the method of champagne in bottles. This means that all the containers they use are able to withstand the highest pressure.

Birch sap wine with cinnamon

Birch sap – 7l;
Black raisins – 100 g;
Sweet sand – 1 kg;
Citric acid – 5 g;
Cinnamon – 1 sticks;
Watery honey – 300 g.

Dissolve 100 g of sugar in 300 ml of water heated to 40 degrees and pour the raisins with this consistency. Leave for 3 - 4 days to activate the fermentation process.

Pour birch sap into a saucepan with a wide bottom. Add sweet sand and let it evaporate.

Cool the juice to 25 - 30 C. Pour into a fermentation container. Add honey + raisin starter + citric acid.

Install a water seal and let it ferment dry.

Remove from sediment.

Pour into a clean container, add a cinnamon stick, seal tightly and leave for 3 weeks to lighten.

Remove from narrow sediment. Bottle.

Once you taste wine made from birch sap, you will forever remain its faithful fan. After all, in any sip of it, freshness, subtle citrus notes with light vanilla inclusions and a long aftertaste are harmoniously mixed.

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