Pineapple Tepache- A Fermented Drink, aka “Pineapple Beer”
Tepache (also known as pineapple beer) is an extremely delicious fermented drink from Mexico. It’s kind of like a pineapple kombucha (slightly tropical, sweet, and tangy/sour). It’s super easy to prepare and just consists simply of pineapple peels, brown sugar and other common ingredients or spices in your kitchen! Best of all, unlike kombucha or kefir, no weird scoby or bacteria is needed to make this!
I make plain tepache but other recipes have cinnamon sticks and whole cloves.
TIPS/NOTES
The longer you keep it out and ferment, the more acidic the end product will be as well as it gaining alcohol content about 1-2% ABV.
Tepache in a sealed containers and bottles will build up carbonation quickly. So be sure to burp the bottles (open the cap quickly to let out excess built up carbonation, and tighten immediately). This will prevent it from possible explosions.
Keep in fridge for up to 4 weeks. Drink within 2 weeks is optimal. Technically it doesn’t expire or go bad since it’s very acidic, but after a couple weeks it does get a little funky and yeasty tasting but I still like it! :)
INGREDIENTS
2 pineapples (Skins and core only, cut pineapple skin with a knife, cutting at least 1/4-1/2 inch of meat with the skin slices, and save the hard middle fibrous core.)
~1.5 gallons of distilled water (=24 cups water)
2 cups brown sugar
1-2 Cinnamon sticks (optional)
2-5 Whole cloves (optional)
PREPARATION
Gently and lightly rince pineapple, don’t over wash because you want to keep all that good bacteria on its skin intact.
Slice off the top and base of the pineapple and toss away.
Cut pineapple skin with a knife, cutting at least 1/4-1/2 inch of meat along with the skin slices, and reserve the hard middle fibrous core.
Reserve the pineapple skins and core pineapple, reserving the skin and core and place. Take the peeled pineapple meat and place in fridge or eat it later (we won’t need the meat part of the pineapples).
Fill your wide mouth 2 gallon jar half way with room temperature water and add sugar and optional spices. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Leave a couple inches of head space on top of the jar. If you make this in the winter put it in a warm place like on top of your fridge.
Cover with thin dish towel or tight muslin/cheese cloth and tighten with rubber band.
Place the jar out of direct sunlight, away from trash and any plants and let sit undisturbed for 1-2 days.
After 1-2 days it should taste a little sour a little sweet and fermented (you might also see some bubbling in the jar or even some foam to the top, all of those things are ok and means that it’s fermenting!), at this point you can bottle it and put into the fridge OR go under a second fermentation.
Second fermentation: If you like your tepache carbonated then I like to strain and put them in air tight bottles and leave out for another 24-48 hours so it can build up some carbonation and ferment longer (be sure to burp bottles after 24 hours so they don't explode and leave at least 1-2” of headspace in the bottles).
After it reaches your carbonation liking, place into fridge until you’re ready to consume!