Agave Mead: “Pulque Fiction”

Pulque is a traditional alcoholic beverage was made from fermenting the aguamiel (loosely translated to mead)from agaves in ancient Mexico. It is a highly sugary substance that completes fermentation in under two days. It has an opaque, milky color and a viscous texture. The drink turns more slimy as it reaches the end of its shelf life, which is not long as it spoils quite soon. Pulque fermentations contain a large nuber of wild bacteria and yeast, which are the cause of the remarkable speed at which it ferments and spoils. In 2020 the process of the Pulque fermentation was investigated by profiling the microbial communities along the process. Among the abundant bacteria identified were typical bacteria found in fermented foods (favourable genera like Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and less desirable species from genera such as Enterobacter). Among the wild yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was found as expected from earlier work, alongside a plethora of other wild yeasts.

Pulque has a rich history, and was marginalized in modern years by Western beer exporters for their own benefit. Luckily the beverage is now gaining in popularity in Mexico, as a hip and trendy fermented drink.

As a tribute to the old pulque, I will try my hand at a mead made from agave syrup. Though it will not be anywere close to an actual pulque; hence the name ‘Pulque Fiction".

Ingredients

As a first experiment a small batch of 5L is made, using store bought agave syrup.

• 5L of Brewing water.
• around 800 mL of agave syrup
• Applejack’s Mead Yeast
• Juice from two lemon and two spoonfulls of lemon zest
• Juice from 4 oranges
• Yeast supplement

Brewing

Mix syrup and water and bring to a boil. Make sure the total volume at the end is still 5L. Add lemons and tea while the brew is still hot.

Cooling

The brew was cooled to around 25°C, using a cooler.

Gravity measurement

• Specific gravity measured: 1.040 SG
• Alcohol percentage expected: 5.2%

Primary and Secondary Fermentation

Both fermentations are done in a carboy in the dark at RT. For the first few days, the top is just covered with a cloth as a lot of CO2 production is expected. After that a water lock is placed on the brew.

• sanitization carboy, airlock and tools used
• yeast pitched and airlock placed