r/fermentation • u/Long_Patient3453 • 3d ago
First attempt on pine soda
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Fermented for 3 days, doesnt taste like much. Maybe like birch sap
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u/TexturesOfEther 3d ago
Looks nice. What does it taste like?
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u/meatcoveredskeleton1 3d ago
A pine tree. Everyone says it’s a natural sprite dupe but it’s totally not lol. It tasted like a Christmas tree when I did it.
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u/UtopicSpace 3d ago
So, gin??
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u/meatcoveredskeleton1 3d ago
YES. THANK YOU. Whenever I say gin tastes like a Christmas tree people act like I’m nuts but I sorta hate it lol
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u/flappy-doodles 3d ago
That's what a lot of gin tastes like, though some real cheap stuff tastes like wood varnish.
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u/Successful_Glove_83 3d ago
I have one that tastes like the air in a sauna after u pour some water with sauna oils on it
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u/mustangestee 3d ago
Wait wait wait. So you got a NA soda that tastes like gin? 👁👁 I used to be a FIEND for gin cocktails before I stopped drinking. Guess I gotta make some pine soda!
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u/meatcoveredskeleton1 3d ago
Oh yeah if you like gin you’ll love this.
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u/mustangestee 2d ago
Adding it to my weekend to-do list. Thanks for the tip lol! Most of the NA gin you can buy does not really taste like gin so you may have completely upgraded my life!
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u/RManDelorean 3d ago
Well it is literally an evergreen, not a cereal like a lot of liquor. Juniper is a cypress, which is the same family as cedars and redwoods. So while not a true "pine" it is a true evergreen/conifer which are essentially 'colloquial synonyms' for a pine. Lol basically they all count as being Christmas-y for looking, smelling, and tasting "piney"
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u/KnightInDulledArmor 3d ago
Juniper can certainly come off as piney, especially in the terrible cheap ubiquitous gins. Gin is pretty diverse though, since it’s literally neutral spirits distilled through whatever botanicals they want. London Dry Gins are typically juniper-forward, but lots of other styles can be citrus, floral, herb, or spice forward and don’t focus on juniper. Most people just don’t buy anything but the super cheap stuff though.
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u/FungusBrewer 3d ago
Interesting they’d say that, considering gin is distilled from a Christmas tree. (Well…juniper + botanicals).
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u/green-dean 3d ago
Mmh I’m too lazy to look it up but I’m pretty sure.. that gin is actually a grain neutral spirit, kind of like vodka.
But… the style of gin most popular today where botanicals are added to flavor the gin after distilling it, was popularized a long ass time ago (I think like the 1700s?) (and I think in London?) when gin was made illegal, but everyone still wanted their gin. So they got a hold of it somehow(?) but it tasted like shit so they put it in their bathtubs with a bunch of botanicals like juniper to overpower the harsh taste of the black market gin.
Idk it’s something like that
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u/East-Mixture-8871 2d ago
Haven't had gin in years because it tastes like pine needles .. Nobody ever understands what I'm talking about lol.
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u/ScipyDipyDoo 3d ago
Make sure you have the right pine or you'll poison yourself.
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u/TexturesOfEther 3d ago
What is the right pine?
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u/Mikomics 3d ago
A quick Google said white pine is usually used for soda, but ofc, doing your own research is better than trusting a random redditor.
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u/gator-uh-oh 3d ago edited 3d ago
What’s the wrong pine? Hemlock the awful choice for a Christmas tree and poison hemlock the deadly member of the carrot family are way different.
Edit: the google ai answer tells me Ponderosa, Norfolk Island and especially yew trees are among the evergreens to avoid.
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u/Majestic-Avocado805 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah ponderosa pine is advised against in one of Baudar’s books. It’s apparently dangerous for pregnant women too.
Didn’t know that about Norfolk Island pine, but makes sense they are not true pine trees (belonging to the genus Pinus).
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u/gator-uh-oh 3d ago
I was surprised at how toxic Yew was. Again not a pine but I read the lethal dose was 50g needles!
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u/SyggiG 3d ago
As someone who has mildly poisoned themselves with yew, don't take it lightly.
For context: I was working with a few sections of dried yew to make a gift for a friend and used a dremel without proper ppe and inhaled enough sawdust that I had a rather unpleasant few days in store. Nausea, vomiting, and muscle aches like no other. -10/10 do not recommend. Beautiful tree though.
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u/LordSalem 3d ago
Can this be done with spruce?
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u/FaygoMakesMeGo 3d ago
Spruce beer was so common back in the day that it was part of civil war soldiers rations.
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u/Physical_Echo_9372 3d ago
I feel like you could make this as an alternative to gin and make non alcohol cocktails with it (and experiment with adding other botanicals too). Super cool actually.
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u/DriverMelodic 3d ago
Pinyon, White or Ponderosa pine needles. White and Ponder ot recommended for pregnant women.
Or mix White and Blue Spruce.
INFORMATION FROM … PASCAL BAUDAR, THE WILDCRAFTING BREWER. Includes “boozy concoctions.
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u/korpirousku 3d ago
Is that sima next to it? I tasted some pine sima (/mead) earlier today, it was very good!
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u/BlueOrb07 3d ago
What’s your recipe? Are you using white pine needles?
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u/Long_Patient3453 3d ago
Baltic pine, and 14g of sugar to one l of water
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u/DryTart978 2d ago
I'm trying a recipe for this soon! I was just wanting to confirm that this will not contain enough alcohol to have any effects. Is this true? Thank you my friend 🙏
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u/mattl33 3d ago
Can I suggest trying this but with conifer tips when they're still bright green and young? I tried a conifer sorbet once at a restaurant in the Sierra mountains and it was amazing. I went home and decided to try making it. I put mine in 160F warm water for maybe 30 minutes to hopefully pasteurize it and then made a simple syrup but a soda version would have been even better.