To make Spruce Beer.—Mince a quantity of young sprouts of the spruce, and boil them with twenty times their volume of water and an ounce of sugar to the pint of shoots. Allow to cool and proceed as in making ginger beer.
“He wanted to make a memorandum in his pocketbook; it was about spruce beer. Mr. Knightley had been telling him something about brewing spruce beer, and he wanted to put it down.”
Certain other Wines.—Currant (red, white, or black), cherry, raspberry, mulberry, whortleberry, blackberry, apple, grape, and elderberry wines are made after the manner of gooseberry wine.
Sloe wine and green gooseberry wine, which latter is not recommended, are made like damson wine.
Raisin and fig wines are made as date wine is made.
Orange wine is made as lemon wine. Apricot, clary, elderflower, ginger, juniper, and gilliflower wines are made after the manner prescribed for cowslip wine.
It is often thought desirable to add to wines the flavour of spices or herbs other than those essentially used in the making of the wine. In such a case, the spices should be placed in a muslin bag and suspended in the wine when active fermentation is subsiding, as suggested in the directions for making. Commonly for elderberry wine, a mixture of crushed ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and mace—of each half an ounce to the gallon—is employed, and for whortleberry wine a mixture of lavender, rosemary, and ginger.
British wines have earned their bad name partly through the careless manner in which they are usually prepared, unclean bottles, corks, casks, and vats being commonly used; and partly through the absurdly short space of time allowed to elapse between making and drinking. No wine is fit to drink under two years from the time of its manufacture, and most wines should be kept in bottle much longer than is customary.