made my first batch of smerka

annbeck62
annbeck62 Posts: 980 ✭✭✭✭
in Ferments

A little while ago there was a discussion about what to do with juniper berries and I learned about smerka. I was curious so I had to try making it. The information I found said both fresh and dried berries work. I don't have access to fresh so I ordered some dried. I just decanted my first batch. I used 1/4 C dried berries to a 1 liter of water in a mason jar put the lid on and let it do its thing. It has a rather mild flavor and I'd say is very drinkable even without flavoring it with other items. There were some bubbles in the jar so I thought it would be a fizzy drink but it's not. Although maybe if I'd let it go longer it'd become fizzy or done a 2nd ferment.

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Comments

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,402 admin

    I have wanted to try this since first hearing about it!

    Unfortunately there hasn't been a good crop of juniper berries since. I've been searching over a wide area with no luck. I haven't been able to harvest juniper for anything.

    I was given a small amount of commercial dried juniper berries but I wasn't very happy with them. Very little scent compared to my home dried ones.

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  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 980 ✭✭✭✭

    @Torey ya, I'm sure what I made is second rate compared to if I had access to fresh or freshly dried. But having nothing to compare it to, I am happy with the results.

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  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,402 admin

    You might have been able to get good quality dried ones.

    I just wasn't happy with the ones I had. Don't think they came from a good supplier.

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