beautyberry wine anyone?

I was wondering if anyone has made/tasted wine made from the beautyberry bush? It's also called a French Mullberry.


I have a severallarge wild ones and did some internet searching and found some sites that say the berries are used to make wine/jam, some say they are very astringent (I tasted a couple and they're like a really mild strawberry/blackberry/grape flavor with a mealy texture), and others just say parts of the plants are poisonous.


Here's a pic of one for those that have no idea what I'm talking about. In late fallthe leaves turn yellow which really contrasts with the vivid bright lavender color of the berries.

I have never seen or heard of them but they are gorgeous almost to the point where its a shame to yank them. Have you plucked 1 and tasted them and are they safe to eat more importantly?

Doing some research to see if they are toxic or consumable would be a good start.

There's a reference to them in the back of the little purple "Windmaker's Recipe Handbook." There's no recipe but they are listed as "common winemaking materials and fruits that may be native to your area." They look awesome - how could you NOT want to ferment those beauties?!!

Whups - I mean "Winemaker's Recipe Handbook" of course (although I suppose "Windmakers" would also be accurate if one tends to drink to excess)

Also, if they are astringent that seems to suggest tannin, so maybe processing them with a steam juicer would soften the resulting wine a bit...?

Brewgrrrl said:

There's a reference to them in the back of the little purple "Windmaker's Recipe Handbook."

Click to expand...

I was expecting this particular title from my wife this Christmas.

I've found a lot of references to using it to make jam, so I believe the berries are edible. I think I'll give it a shot if I can get enough.


Wade, they have a really mild strawberryish kind of flavor and are mealy in texture. Might be like a mulberry (since they're called a French Mulberry), but I've never tasted mulberries, so I can't say.I didn't notice any particular astringency (that is mentioned often) but only had a couple and it might vary with growing location.

according to wiki

<h3>Insect repellant</span></h3>


American beautyberry or Callicarpa americana has been found to be a natural insect repellent. It has found to be repellant to mosquitoes, which can carry yellow fever and malaria, as well as the tick, which carries Lyme disease.
<h3>[edit]</span> Wine uses</span></h3>


It has also been used to produce wine.







your choice bug spray or wine

Well this is to cool.I have these growing in the woods behind my place.This may find it way into next seasons jungle juice.This years was an orange/mango blend that got great reviews.

May just turn out to be a sleeper Anthony..giv a batch a try and see what happens

Ended up with 8 pound that are cleaned and waiting in the freezer. Figure I'll go for 2 gallons. The quantity might be a bit low for a 3 gallon batch.

What area do you live that these are native?


We have mulberries, but these are gorgeous - almost a shame to pick them, it seems....

central Arkansas. I looked it up online and it's native to the southeastern US

Racked all my wines the other day including this one. I'm glad I did this one last and wished I had taken before/after pics. When I moved the 3 gallon carboy onto the table initially I swear it was a mouth dropping kool-aid red color !! Racked it, added k-meta, gave a stir and it instantly turned to a yellowish blush. I've read on the forum this happening to others with strawberry but have never seen it personally until now. Depressing to say the least.

Not much flavor yet so can't report on that. Has a light but obvious perfumy/earthy aroma right now. Very different. It'll be interesting to see what this tastes like later this year after some aging.

Add a little Red Grape concentrate to it

Bottled this one as well today along with my blackberry. Very unique wine to say the least. The color that started out Hawaiin punch red is now a golden yellow with a bit of a reddish blush. The perfumy smell that it started with is pretty much gone and now has the nose of a honey mead, raisin, apple, plum and prune. Taste is similar to the smell but with a strong raisin/prune flavor. I'll upload a pic of the final product tomorrow.

The main two bushes I have grew like crazy this year. About half of the berries were ripening early so I picked them a couple weeks ago and already have about 20 pounds.

Tony, if thi is the one you brought me the sample of I think it will be a good one. It deceived me into thinking it was a plum

Dragon
Go to Youtube, and do a search for American Beauty berry. The man is called Green Dean, I think.I have picked and frozen 1 gal of berries so far. I plan on getting more and making jelly and try 1 gal of wine. The berries are small so it will take a bunch ofem.

I just absolutely love the picture of them, they are just gorgeous and I dont know if I could pick them the way they look.