A few weeks ago, we made three non-alcoholic summer beverages that would please kids just as much as parents, but today, adults only!
Two cocktails that utilize fresh herbs from the garden, and a look at a fast-growing hobby among do-it-yourself’ers – home brewing.
Homebrewing And History
Photo: Josephine McRobbie / WFIU
The names of previous winners of the UpCup, a homebrew competition, are engraved on a beer keg.
People of different cultures have been making their own batches of beer for over ten thousand years, starting in early Neolithic times. Josephine McRobbie went to the UpCup, a homebrewing competition at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington to learn more.
Listen: Home Brewers Compete For Hopped Glory In Upland Brewery’s UpCup
More from Earth Eats:
- From Backyard to Bottle: Home Brewing Goes Green
- Hopping Into Spring With Brewmaster Floyd Rosenbaum
Recipe: Verbena Martini
Photo: Andrew Olanoff (for WFIU)
This verbena martini has a good balance. It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit acidic from the Vermouth and you taste the verbena but it’s not overpowering.
Vebena Martini
Ingredients
- 2-3 nice size springs verbena (about 8-10 leaves in total)
- 1 shot chilled vodka, store the bottle in the freezer
- 1 shot Galliano
- splash Vermouth
- 2-3 drops Orange Bitters
Cooking Directions
- Muddle verbena in a cocktail shaker with 4-5 ice cubes.
- To the verbena, add vodka, Galliano, vermouth and orange bitters.
- Shake and serve garnished with a verbena sprig and a thin slice of lemon.
Frozen Mint Julep
Photo: Andrew Olanoff (for WFIU)
You think about having mint juleps around race time, but as it gets hotter in the summertime, we’re doing frozen mint juleps today.
Frozen Mint Julep
Ingredients
- 1 lime
- 2-2 1/2 cups loosely packed mint leaves
- 1/3 cup simple syrup
- 1/3 cup bourbon
Cooking Directions
- Remove the stems from the mint. Add the leaves to a blender.
- To the mint leaves, add to equal parts simple syrup and bourbon.
- Squeeze the juice of one lime into the blender. Slice off a bit of lime zest and add that to the blender as well.
- Fill blender halfway with ice, and blend!
News Stories On This Podcast
- Gulf Fishermen Wary Of Smell Tests For Gulf Seafood Safety
- Pharmaceuticals In Soybeans? Crops Absorb Toxins, Research Shows
- USDA: Farmers Markets Up 16 Percent In 2009, Indiana Up 47 Percent
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