So, um, yeah. It’s been awhile. But never fear, we’ve been brewing and brewfesting and even TEACHING people how to brew their own! Oh, and we’re getting ready to put our condo up for sale, so how’s that for a bunch of excuses? Nevertheless, on to our fairly regularly scheduled content (or some BS like that …)

When dreaming up Boris the Spider, our Chai Oatmeal Stout, I decided that homemade chai was the way to go. The concentrate you might buy at the store (Oregon Chai and Tazo) has sugars and other stuff going on, and I wouldn’t want to play around with their powdered offerings. Instead, the best bet was to do some research and figure out the best recipe for us.

Except there isn’t just a singular chai recipe. In India, there are numerous varieties of chai hailing from all the different regions — sort of like how every Italian grandma has her own very special (and often secret) recipe for meat sauce. So that meant I had a lot of reading to do.

In the end, I winged it a little, but the test batch smelled authentic (based on what I’ve had before from various tea and coffee shops) and when brewed as a concentrate and added to milk, tasted great. Though I’m sure some Indian grandma would have a few critiques.

Check back tomorrow for the full recipe with photos and get ready to brew some chai to either toss into a homebrew, or enjoy in a comfy chair with a good book.

Homebrewing, Miscellany 1 Comment »