queeringalchemy

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Athletic Brewing Ripe Pursuit

Sour, light radler. Always a fan of what Athletic Brewing does.

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Quick walkthrough of my current Jun kombucha setup:

Here are my two “gallon” jugs. I put gallon in parenthesis because both jugs were advertised as gallon jugs and they’re different sizes. The warping of this photo makes it seem likes they’re more even than they are. I have a thermometer, 75F is pretty much exactly where you want to me although you can get away with 65F-80F. This picture is cool because you can clearly see how kombucha gets lighter in color as it ferments; the jug to the left is an older batch than the jug to the right. I’m planning on training the scoby in the jug to the right to take hojicha instead of sencha green tea.

To the right of those jugs is a plastic jar-shaped container of starter tea and sweet tea where I’m attempting to grow a scoby pellicle. The scoby is already forming after only a couple of days which speaks to how fast Jun tea is compared to regular kombucha. I’m planning on training that scoby to take butterfly pea flower and passionflower instead of green tea for their calming effects. I also have some bottles of 2F Jun kombucha brewing although I’ll find a new spot to store those once my operation is more fully fledged.

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Tonight’s post work drink is a sweet vermouth style aperitif. This was an aperitif I really enjoyed! Pretty much no bitterness but a nice complex sweet aperitif. complimented well by the avec yuzu mixer. Truly delicious!

Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso

8/10 overall with 5/5 flavor and 3/5 effect

Would buy again

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Enjoying my first bottle of Jun tea! This one is flavored with raspberries from my yard and some Jalapeño jelly. It’s delicious, but I need to ferment it longer for effervescence. Excited for the subsequent bottles!

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Making mocktails again. Cracked open my mini Lyre’s Pink Gin, took a sip neat but the flavor wasn’t as complex as I had hoped so I pulled out a blood orange flavored San pellegrino. Together they make for a satisfying and summery post-work sip.

Lyre’s Pink London

7/10 overall with 4/5 flavor and 3/5 effect

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Friday morning in my garden. Grabbed a handful of yellow raspberries for breakfast and enjoyed the oregano flowers and Japanese pinks!

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Finally bottled my first batch of Jun tea since I discovered that the new scoby had already formed!

I did a small batch to help get my scoby accustomed to this environment so I only got three bottles out of it but I have another jug a-brewin and this time I filled the jug all the way to the top so I’ll have more at the end of this.

Since I have two jars brewing, my plan is to eventually acclimate one of them to brew Jun on hojicha (roasted green tea). More on that later I suppose!

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So I went to pour myself a drink and spilled a bunch of this all over myself so I had to lick it off of myself and it actually tasted so good that I drank this neat as well! Really delicious, delicate taste. Juniper forward and not harsh at all. Honestly tastes like a good gin that’s been watered down, which might be bad for mixed drink lovers but perfect for me.

Lyre’s London Dry Gin

8/10 overall with 5/5 flavor and 3/5 effect

Would buy again

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A long hard day at work calls for a drink you can sip on neat. For me tonight, that’s The Pathfinder. Solid amaro with complex flavors and a deep bitterness contrasted by the sweetness. Legit calming effect and err digestif effect.

The Pathfinder Hemp and Root

8/10 overall with 4/5 for flavor and effect respectively

Would buy again

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Extracting DNA from homegrown strawberries on a Tuesday after work like…

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Aplos Calme

- 10/10 overall

5/5 flavor

5/5 effect

Would buy again

My Tuesday night post work drink today is my absolute favorite, Aplos Calme. Delicious, almost perfume-y in how delicate the taste is. Solid calming effect. The perfect drink for a weekday evening!

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Springtime in New York :)

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I’m brewing Jun Tea (Green Tea + Honey Kombucha). I’m on day 2 of fermenting my first batch and things are looking good so far :)

Looking forward to adding herbs and flavorings during the second fermentation. Right now I have plans for a yuzu batch, a quince batch, a raspberry and mint batch from the ripe raspberries and mint in my garden, and a lemon balm batch from the herbs in my garden as well.

I’ve been getting into non-alcoholic mixed drinks and I’m hoping that the Jun tea will be the perfect probiotic cocktail mixer.