How to brew chicha? This is one of the most asked questions.
First of all, it is important to learn that "chicha" is a fermented beverage, which may or may not contain alcohol, usually made from grains or fruits and its preparation depends mainly on tradition.
In Latin America, we can find different recipes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador or Peru, among others. And each state or region of each country may have its own particular style. Chicha brewing tradition is so varied, that even in a small town or village, we will find different recipes by home or family. As this is a traditional beverage, its preparation will vary according to each family customes.
In Cusco (Perú), "chicha" is made mainly from malted corn or "jora", but it would be impossible to describe the perfect recipe, as we can find many options using other grains such as quinoa, rice, amaranth or fruits and spices, such as "frutilla" (a small wild strawberry) or "molle" (a local red pepper), all of these in different proportions and in some cases, they may even contain some secret ones impossible to discover!
Finally, for beelovers it may be useful to understand that a "chicha" may be considered and equivalent to a wild beer or we may be able to compare it to a farm ale, mostly for the reason it is prepared: at a farm and during some seasons, not specifically due to its ingredients. As we know, beers may be categorized by its fermentation type: ale or lager, and also there are those of spontaneous fermentation, "chicha" has a very similar process, as it won't be able to exist without the presence of natural microbes (yeast and bacteria) of each locality.
Now, we will share a recipe for a classic "chicha" from Cusco, more specifically, one that we brew in Mollepata, Anta.
Batch: 10 lt.
Fermentation for 3 days
OG: 1045
FG: 1022
Abv: 3.0
Ingredients:
- 15 lt. of water
- 2.5 kg. of malted corn
- 250 ml. of q'oncho or the sediment from a previous chicha (natural yeast and bacteria).
Procedure:
1. Warm up the water to 60 Celsius degrees.
2. Meanwhile, let's grind the malted corn in medium size.
3. We will mix the grain with the water when it hits the 60 degrees, this is to avoid the creation of lumps. Stir constantly until it boils.
4. Boil for 60 minutoes.
5. Let it cool without the lid overnight.
6. The day after and once the wort is cool, you squeeze the grain separate all the liquid.
7. We transfer the liquid to a raki or vessel made of clay that is continuously used to ferment chicha.
8. Now we add the q’oncho or sediment of a previous chicha.
9. You cover the vessel with a fabric and leave it to ferment.
10. The fermentation period will depend on the brewers taste... it may be from 1 day to 5 days or even more.
This is the simplest way to prepare or "brew" chicha.
As the beer is brewed by the brewers yeast, "chicha" is the result of the natural yeast and bacteria inoculated through a previous "chicha". This is what provides its particular taste or "terroir".
We would like to highlight that there is no correct way or formula to brew or prepare "chicha". What we do know with 100% certainty is that its flavor or profile will depend on these microbes that are in charge of its acidification and fermentation. This is why every "chicha" house has its own flavor or particularity, each one is unique and this is the most fascinating part of all!
Thank you for reading (sorry for my English), hope you enjoy this post and that you keep up with us to get to know more about C H I CH A ! Don't forget to leave a <3 , share this post, comment and visit our section "Victoria Chicha Brewery" to learn more about our project.
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