The simplest way to brew beer at home only requires a large pot and a gauze filter bag.
Put the roughly crushed wheat kernels into the filter bag, then immerse it in warm mountain spring water. Simmer it over a low - heat for half an hour. After that, take out the bag and let the wort drain naturally.
Add hops to the boiling wort. After it cools down naturally, transfer it to a fermentation tank and add yeast.
After more than ten days of fermentation, the liquor gradually becomes clear, and most of the rising and falling bubbles have dissipated.
At this time, just put a little sugar into a glass bottle, then pour in the liquor and wait quietly for the secondary fermentation.
Seven days later, when the wooden cork of the golden - hued bottle is opened, there is a "pop" sound. The white and dense foam rushes out eagerly. Take a sip, and the fresh aroma of wheat fills your lips and tongue.
Apart from this most basic home - brewed beer, fruits can also be added during the brewing process to add different flavors.
For example, mixing pineapple with hops brings a unique citrus aroma. The slight sourness of the pineapple in the aftertaste neutralizes the sweetness of the fruit juice. This refreshing flavor makes one immediately aware that this is by no means a tasteless liquor, but has its own unique character.
Another example is cherry.
The aroma of most fresh fruits will dissipate and be lost during the brewing and fermentation process.
However, stone fruits like cherries have a strong aroma. Even after the test of time, their flavor remains rich.
The cherry craft beer has a very lovely and bright red color. Compared with the sweet and delicious pineapple beer, it has a thicker body and a more prominent sour taste, somewhat reminiscent of red wine.
This cherry beer, when chilled, goes very well with spicy beef tallow hot pot.
Pineapple beer is refreshing, easy to drink, and has a brisk and mellow taste. However, its light flavor is easily overshadowed by the rich taste of the hot - pot base. On the contrary, the sourness and slight bitterness of the cherry beer perfectly neutralize the greasiness and spiciness of the beef tallow.
Honey wine has always been favored by noble ladies in the capital. While making craft beer, a few barrels of honey wine can also be brewed.
The sweet fragrance of honey makes the fermentation of the liquor more mature and complete. When combined with coconut milk and pineapple, it makes the liquor more full - bodied and balances the sour and astringent flavors. It is a very smart combination.
The brewed honey wine has a pale creamy - yellow color. Just looking at it, one can easily imagine the smoothness when it enters the mouth. Take a sip, and it's as if you are on a hot and humid beach in the South Seas. The sun, coconut groves, and enthusiastic South Sea girls pour out their youthful freedom without reservation.
This "Coconut Grove and White Sand" honey wine has a bit of the charm of a cocktail. It has a soft and beautiful body, suitable for women to drink for entertainment.
Li Ying had calculated the time accurately. While waiting for the liquor to ferment, the cocoa beans were also perfectly ripened.
Now, bake those sticky cocoa beans over a low - heat until they are dry and crispy. With a little force, the outer skin can be easily peeled off, leaving only the dark - brown cocoa kernels with a faint sheen of oil.
These cocoa kernels are rich in cocoa butter. However, simply grinding the kernels into a pulp is far from enough.
Grind the cocoa pulp repeatedly until it is smooth and silky. Then comes the most important step for the chocolate to have a mirror - like shiny and smooth appearance: tempering.
Cocoa butter contains various crystals with different melting points. Only by tempering repeatedly can all the crystals melt and combine into one. Only in this way can the solidified chocolate truly have a silky and smooth taste.
The tempered chocolate melts in the mouth, is soft and delicate, and has a very high cocoa - butter content. It tastes bitter at first, but by adjusting the proportion of cream and powdered sugar, it can become an excellent product to quickly replenish energy for soldiers on the battlefield.
After several days of hard work, Li Ying finally successfully completed the craft beer and chocolate. Even though she was always dexterous, looking at her masterpieces, she couldn't help but feel a long - lost sense of pride.
With chocolate, her Western - pastry business can reach a new level, and she can introduce more new flavors.
Moreover, the "tempering" technique is her closely - guarded secret. Even if merchants in the capital buy cocoa beans and try to copy, they will never be able to do so.
As for the beer...
Li Ying smiled slightly.
She dared to assert that once it was launched, it would quickly become popular throughout the capital!
On a hot summer day, whether it's barbecue, seafood, hot pot, crayfish, or fried chicken, aren't they all the best companions for beer!
She sent the sweeter "Coconut Grove and White Sand" honey wine to the mansion of the little princess from the South Seas. Knowing that the princess liked sweet food, she also made a fresh batch of raw chocolate.
Just chop the fragrant but extremely bitter dark chocolate, pour it into warm light cream, add a little beef tallow and agar. After it cools down, sift a fine layer of cocoa powder on it.
This seemingly ordinary - looking raw chocolate actually has a far richer and more mellow taste than dark chocolate. Take a small sip with your tongue, and it will immediately melt lingeringly in your mouth.
The milky aroma, sweetness, and slightly bitter aftertaste, combined with the unique strong fragrance of cocoa beans, how many people in the world can resist this sweet temptation?
Li Ying sent someone to deliver all the raw chocolate and wine to the little princess's mansion. Then she herself took the craft beer and chocolate to visit Uncle Pei, the state - relative.
"Uncle Pei, the military rations I promised you, I've finally managed to complete without failing your expectations."
Uncle Pei was already very satisfied with the snacks like "Fishing Pavilion Cake" she sent the other day. He didn't expect that she had more in store, so a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Li Ying was calm and spoke softly, "Uncle Pei, please take a look."
"The chocolate has a very high cocoa - butter content and is a high - calorie food. Even a small piece can quickly replenish energy for the human body."
She tried her best to follow the remaining impressions in her mind and developed this ancient - version "military ration" by imitating the ratio of modern individual - combat rations.
Although Uncle Pei didn't understand words like "rapid blood - sugar increase" that she mentioned, taking a bite of the chocolate, the sweet, slightly bitter, and rich taste made him inexplicably happy, so he naturally had no doubts.
As for the craft beer, it was even more of a surprise to him.
Good wine was hard to come by. Although most of the soldiers in the three armies liked to drink, it was really difficult for them to get a sip.
Moreover, if drinking led to mistakes and delayed military operations, it would be a great crime.
The beer Li Ying presented was clear and thirst - quenching, with a strong aroma. Although it was not very intoxicating, the slightly spicy and stinging feeling in the mouth made one feel extremely refreshed all over!
"Miss Li, if your beer is included in the military rations, I guess all the men in the world will rush to join the army!"
He was overjoyed and took a few big gulps. But then, as if remembering something, he frowned tightly and looked at her seriously.
"Miss Li, if you and Lord Lu control salt, tea, wine, and silk, and you've also made this amazing chocolate that looks ordinary but contains great energy in a small piece... I'm afraid the Emperor's suspicions..."