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Mad Science experiment #1 Beerique

Radagast

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Slightly off topic but has anyone tried fermenting tobacco like they would with Kimchi, peppers or carrots - i.e. a simple brine solution taking advantage of the naturally occurring L. bacillus strains.
Maybe add the brine, let the tobaco ferment for about 5-7 days at room temp, do a quick water flush to remove the excess salts then dry it?
Is that not what you do with perique, minus the salt?
 

GreenDragon

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Perique ferments with a mix of bacteria and yeast and produces a slightly basic end product which explains it's potency (nicotine absorption) in pipe blends. When fermenting in a brine, the L. baccillus is the major player and produces a very acidic (Lactic Acid) environment. So I would predict that you would get something very un-perique like.
 

Radagast

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Perique ferments with a mix of bacteria and yeast and produces a slightly basic end product which explains it's potency (nicotine absorption) in pipe blends. When fermenting in a brine, the L. baccillus is the major player and produces a very acidic (Lactic Acid) environment. So I would predict that you would get something very un-perique like.
Does that mean you would get a buildup of lactic acid as in sauerkraut and therefore a more acidic result?
 

plantdude

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Does that mean you would get a buildup of lactic acid as in sauerkraut and therefore a more acidic result?
probably pretty acidic and different than perique. Pro-biotic tobacco could be the new thing though:)
Joking aside it might be something different to try, a base could be added latter to drive it to alkaline conditions if needed.

The beer perique likewise should be acidic prior to adding a base later if I'm not confused. The CO2/carbonic acid should make beer perique fairly acidic initaly.

Just putting it out there as a thought. I have never tried real perique to be honest.
 

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plantdude

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I'm planning on making some kimchi In the next few days. If I can find a small jar i may throw in a few tobacco leaves to ferment along with the kimchi just for fun. I should have a few perique leaves kilning in the attic.

It's funny, I never liked kimchi until a few years ago now I love it. Even though I will admit it smells like dirty diapers. Sounds like the stinky love hate relationship that may be going on with perique after reading the descriptions.
 

GreenDragon

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probably pretty acidic and different than perique. Pro-biotic tobacco could be the new thing though:)
Joking aside it might be something different to try, a base could be added latter to drive it to alkaline conditions if needed.

The beer perique likewise should be acidic prior to adding a base later if I'm not confused. The CO2/carbonic acid should make beer perique fairly acidic initaly.

Just putting it out there as a thought. I have never tried real perique to be honest.

It does. So I took divided out half and added different common bases to each portion, then processed them into Cavendish to darken it up and neutralize the acid. I was pleased with the result, but it didn't taste like real Perique. I think you need the smelly bacteria in the mix to create the unique flavor and properties. But it was a fun experiment.
 

deluxestogie

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Perique making is stinky during the early few weeks (due to E. coli). Then it becomes fruity and raisin-like (as the Pichia anomala takes over). Finished perique does have somewhat more of a manure aroma than what is present in most other finished tobacco varieties, but that vanishes into the aroma mix when properly blended. Blends that contain perique-processed tobacco are not stinky. No love-hate. Just love.

Bob
 

hooyoo

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Awesome experiment! Could this kind of strategy be tweaked to ferment tobacco for a cigar? Would be interesting to see if you could turn out a decent stogie from a jar rather than (or in addition to) a kiln.
 

HillDweller

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I made a batch of beerique. Used Maryland tobacco, as I had some I wasn't using that much, and ale yeast. Got some somewhat foul odors at first but at two weeks started to smell sweet. Something came up that I had to deal with and I let it go for two or three days, and it went back to a more barnyar-dish aroma, but I took it out and dried it at that point. It's actually not bad at all and might have been better if I had been able to pull it out that first day it sweetened. All and all though, I'd probably do it again. Now fooling around with trying to get it into some blends. It does have a fairly perique-ish aroma.
 

Baccyhobby

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Hello from a back garden in England.

Having read this thread with great interest, I wonder if any of you are familiar with a variety of yeasts called Kveik? Kveik yeasts are Scandinavian farmhouse varieties that ferment extremely quickly and produce their own, commonly fruity or citrus, flavours. Usually, such yeasts are passed hand-to-hand between farmhouse brewers, but recently they have become available commercially.

Inspired by this thread, I've carried out a number of experiments using the few dozen Virginia, Burley and Havana plants I now grow each year (started as a lockdown hobby), resulting in a tobacco blend with the kind of dark fruit scents found in Schmalzler nasal snuffs. Such scents persist as the resulting tobacco ages and offer a means of introducing flavourings without having to add toppings that affect the smoke. Furthermore, a typical kveik fermentation completes in days rather than weeks.

Should you be able to access these yeasts, I would recommend trying them as a way to carrying these experiments further.
 

HillDweller

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Should you be able to access these yeasts, I would recommend trying them as a way to carrying these experiments further.
Does this look like the right stuff?


And how much would you suggest using for say a quart or liter?
 

deluxestogie

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Belated welcome to the forum, @Baccyhobby. After two years, you likely already know your way around the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. And share your growing experience for 2023 by posting a grow log in the Grow Blogs forum. Thanks for the fermentation tip.

Bob
 
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