The making and selling of beverages from home

May 26th, 2010 | 2 Comments

Making and selling beverages like ginger beer, lemon beer, pineapple beer and lemonade is extremely interesting and rewarding. I include several recipes below.

Generally, doubling your cost per litre, and then rounding that figure off is accurate enough, as this can be a profitable side-line. Obviously the fruit flavours will fluctuate seasonally, and I recommend that when you are able to get your fruit at a lower price, you do not drop your selling price too much.

The recipes below should be regarded as single batches, and when making in bulk, multiply in batches. I have found that working with 20L drums is convenient. I did once try a 210L drum. Never again. Cleaning and handling was a nightmare.

Before you start, decide how big you are prepared to go with this business, as it can grow outtasight with little or no warning.

A quick run-down on how I was doing it follows. I stopped as it was interfering with my other activities, and this was the only activity that encroached into my week-ends.

GINGER BEER
Only 60L was prepared for Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday was 80L, and 120L a day for Friday and Saturday.

FRUIT BEERS
Fruit beers were made for week-ends, 40L of lemon beer, and 20L of pinapple. I also had a standing order for 20L of lemon, once a week, to a nearby grocer. He also took 120 to 150L of ginger every week.
The balance of my production I sold from home, and at a local farmers market.

Initially I was buying in used 750ml bottles, cleaning and sterilizing them, and then using a jug to fill them with. The jug was done away with, and a siphon tube introduced.

I stayed with the siphon method, and eventually moved to a larger diameter siphon when I started buying in plastic bottles. I had reached the stage where my bottle supplier was unable to cope with my needs. I used screw-top 500ml and 1L bottles. The lids had little valves in them, which is extremely helpful, especially when it is hot. These products are fresh, and do spoil over time.

For delivery purposes, the bottles are packed into crates. I recommend that you use nail polish to mark bottles that are delivered to shops. If kept in a fridge, they will last up to three weeks, not more. Stock older than that MUST be removed and destroyed.

PINEAPPLE BEER RECIPE
Peel of 1 pineapple, chopped
500 g sugar, or to taste
7 litres lukewarm water
75 ml raisins (6 tbsp)
10 ml active dried yeast (2 tsp)

Wash pineapple peel in a very mild solution of permanganate of potash and water, or in clean water, and rinse well.

Mix peel, lukewarm water, sugar and raisins in a large container.

Sprinkle yeast over and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Stir well, cover with a cloth and leave for 24 hours in a cool place.

Strain and bottle pineapple beer.

Cap bottles after 12 hours and use after 1-2 days.

Makes 7L

GINGER BEER RECIPE
4,5 l water
30 g root ginger, crushed
5ml dry yeast (1 tsp)
500ml sugar (2 cups)

Boil water, add ginger and sugar
Cool until lukewarm
Add yeast and leave for 1-2 days
Strain and bottle
Serve chilled
Makes 4, 5 L

LEMONADE RECIPE
4 large lemons
300 g sugar
125 ml water (l/2 cup)

Wash lemons, then grate rind of one of them.

Squeeze juice from all lemons and strain.

Add sugar to the water in a large saucepan and stir in lemon rind.

Heat gently until all sugar has dissolved, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cool and add strained lemon juice.

Pour into a clean bottles.

Serve or sell immediately, using 1 part lemon syrup to 2 parts soda water/ iced water.

Add lots of ice cubes and a sprig of mint for decoration.

Serves 4 Cooking time: 5-10minutes

LEMON BEER RECIPE
Ingredients: (for 2 Litres)
8 lemons
1 C raisin
2 litres boiling water
2 1/2 lb Sugar
Champagne yeast

Procedure:
Wash and slice lemons. Remove seeds. Rinse raisins.

Place in fermentation vessel. Pour on water.

When cooled, pitch the yeast in.

When fermentation slows remove fruit and rack to secondary.

After a week filter and bottle.

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Written by Terry and Tony

Filed under: make and sell, recipes · Tags: beer, bottles, ginger, ginger beer, lemon, lemon beer, lemonade, pineapple, pineapple beer, selling

2 Responses to "The making and selling of beverages from home"

ken livingston says:

27/06/2010 at 1:22 PM

Hi, please help . Looking for plastic bottles for beer.
Terry and Tony says:

27/06/2010 at 2:37 PM

Hi Ken

The 750ml bottles we refer to in the blog post above were glass, not plastic.

However, the 500ml and 1litre botttles we refer to were plastic, yes, but had little valves in the lids to help release build up of pressure, and were obtained cheaply from a packaging supplier.

The glass bottles coped better with build up of pressure. People also prefered buying glass bottles of the fruit beers rather than the plastic bottles.

A tip with the glass bottles is to turn the lid on, finger tight, then loosen a three quarter turn, and leave it.

Plastic bottles lids without valves are very temperamental! (But if you want to use them, ask all your friends and neighbours not to throw away their empty plastic cooldrink or water bottles.)

Good luck!