Bourru? Hopefully!

I decided that I would like to have a go at making Bourru today.

Bourru is a white wine that is so young that it is still fermenting in the bottle; and it is served cold.

Plan "A" soon became Plan "B" when Lidl didn't have any white grape juice and I had to make do with their Red Grape Juice.

As it's 100% grape juice all I did was:

o Sterilise a DJ with a bit of the Chilli Vodka I am preparing.

o Pour in 4 litres of the grape juice.

o Add half a sachet of Wilco's Wine Yeast (half because I want a slow fermentation).

o Fit an airlock and leave the DJ on top of the workspace in the garage at about 18 to 20 degrees.

I want the fermentation to start overnight and then tomorrow morning (if it's started) I will move the DJ to the fridge to slow everything down.

As a first attempt I will control the fridge temperature (Inkbird STC 1000) at 8 degrees to try and get the fermentation to last.

I will probably syphon off a bottle to drink every other day between Days 2 and 8 as a first pass.

Here's hoping! :thumb:

PS

I drank the Chilli Vodka after using it to sterilise the DJ and air-lock and BOY is it HOT!

I will put it aside for winter if I don't need it for the Wilco Pilsner with Chillies brew! :thumb:

Ha!! Now on Plan "C" for the next brew!

As you will see from the photograph, fermentation has started but the yeast I used is "Top Fermenting"!

I'm confident (?) that it will still make a Bourru but with a Top Fermenting yeast it will look a bit "iffy" to anyone else but "family". :whistle:

Luckily, when this is finished I still have another 4 litres of Lidl Red Grape Juice for Plan "C". :thumb:

Fantastic!!

I dug the DJ out of the fridge today, pushed the syphon tube through the krausen and syphoned off a taste.

The Bourru tasted so good that I carried on and filled a couple of 1 litre carafes for the home fridge ... :thumb:

... and half of one of those is already finished. :whistle:

Obviously, as fermentation proceeds, the Bourru will become dryer, more alcoholic and less sweet, but I have the feeling that this won't be a problem as it just isn't destined to reach the 1.090 SG of a fully fermented wine.

I really don't know of ANY easier way to make a lightly alcoholic and mildly "fizzy" summer drink than this. My plan for a Sunday BBQ would go something like this:

Tuesday - Buy four litres of Grape Juice (Red or White with no preservatives) and a packet of Wine Yeast (preferably bottom fermenting).

Wednesday - Sterilise a DJ and an air-lock. Pour the juice into a DJ, add half of the yeast from the packet, fit the air-lock and keep the DJ at +/-20 degrees.

Thursday - When fermentation is well under way move the DJ to the brewing fridge at +/-6 degrees.

Friday - Just check that slow fermentation is continuing.

Saturday - Sterilise a syphon tube and transfer the Bourru to loosely covered (bit of tin-foil on top) carafes. Place the carafes in the domestic fridge at +/-4 degrees to chill.

Sunday - Serve the Bourru chilled to BBQ party guests. (Warn them not to drink too much because A. You don't know the ABV. and B. The yeast in the Bourru may affect some people.)

It really is a terrific drink! :thumb: :thumb:

Dutto said:

The yeast in the Bourru may affect some people.

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Lol, blame it on the bbq chicken if they are:whistle:

Just a quick update.

I've tried something different today.

This afternoon, I bought 1 litre of Red Grape Juice and 2 litres of Still Water in Lidl, then a small tin of Allisons Yeast in Tesco.

When I got home, I poured the Still Water down the sink, poured the 1 litre of Grape Juice into the 2 litre bottle, added ½ a teaspoonful of Allisons Yeast to the bottle and shook it up.

It is now fermenting away on the kitchen work surface without too much krausen developing.

I plan to give it another couple of shakes tomorrow, stick it in the fridge after 24 hours of fermentation (to slow the fermentation down) and start drinking it on Saturday as a chilled, sweet and low-alcohol drink.

SWMBO reckons that the Bourru produced so far is definitely the best thing I have ever made to drink on a hot summer's day ... :thumb: :thumb:

... so here's hoping that the Allisons Yeast doesn't completely change the taste! :nono: :nono:

Never heard of it, but sounds interesting!

Might have to cook myself up a little test batch.

Think I'd maybe leave in the fridge for ~24 hours to clear.

Okay, here's an Update on the Allisons Bread Yeast project -IT'S AN ABJECT FAILURE! :nono::nono::nono:

It ferments okay and it looks okay but every time my nose gets near the glass I can smell bread!

I thought it might be the old psychosomatic problem of knowing that I am using bread yeast but then SWMBO told me that she also smelled "bread" and that it tasted "funny"! (She wasn't laughing though!)

Not to worry, half a packet of Wilco Wine Yeast will ferment three litres in 24 hours so it's not exactly the most expensive brew I have made anyway! :thumb::thumb:

Delmol said:

Never heard of it, but sounds interesting!

Might have to cook myself up a little test batch.

Think I'd maybe leave in the fridge for ~24 hours to clear.

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By all means try it, it really is delicious ...

... but it will NEVER clear!

Bourru is drunk whilst it is still fermenting and the secret is to drink it before it turns from "Grape Juice" into "Wine".

Fermenting for 24 hours means that about 1/5th of the grape juice has been converted into alcohol. It is still sweet and putting it into the fridge slows down (but doesn't stopp) the fermentation process.

An alternative system (next in my experiments) will be to put the Grape Juice and yeast straight into the fridge without the 24 hours of external fermentation.

It will take longer to start fermenting but (hopefully) it should last longer as a Bourru before turning the corner and becoming a wine.

Give it a go. You will be surprised at how easy it is and how tasty it is as well. :thumb: :thumb:

PS

The "and how tasty it is" can be a problem. Always remember that it is still fermenting and your tummy may take a bit of time to get used to it; so I suggest that you restrict your consumption for the first few litres. :thumb: