Every Day Pineapple Soda (Tepache)

Homemade Tepache

Lately our grocery store has been getting tons of pineapples which means for once they are priced well and always available. Add in my current fascination with fermentation, and Tepache quickly became a staple at my house. With only a slight amount of alcohol (less than 3%) it’s a bubbly, refreshing drink you can enjoy anytime of the day. Plus, as it is with pretty much any low alcohol fermented drink, there are some decent health benefits with all the active yeast being consumed as well.

Tepache couldn’t be easier at it’s core, especially if you don’t add the traditional spices. 1 gallon of water, the skins of a pineapple, 1 cup of brown (or even white) sugar and let it sit for a few days, bottle to carbonate and done! Brown sugar will give a bit more flavor and lately I’ve opted to add a dash (1/2 to 1 tablespoon) of bread yeast to kick the fermentation into gear quicker, but still takes almost no time to prep.

Fermentation time will vary based on your environment and taste preferences. For my house (65-70F) 2 days primary, 2 days in bottle to carbonate is just about perfect. This leaves it fairly sweet with just a bit of a sour bite and quite bubbly. Let it go 3-4 days and you’ll have a bit more of a “young wine” funk to it and a bit more alcohol. If you use bread yeast it’ll likely go completely dry by 5-6 days, giving a thin white wine sort of flavor (where my pineapple wines started).

Additions / Gravity Readings