Tepache Mead: Recipe, Honey Choices, and Tips

Traditional tepache is a lightly fermented pineapple drink. It is made from pineapple peels, sugar, and water. It is usually fermented for only a few days and contains relatively little alcohol.

This recipe takes the idea of tepache and turns it into a stronger fermented drink. It uses two chopped pineapples with their peels, 1 pound of piloncillo, 1 pound of honey, white wine yeast, and water. The result is about 6% ABV. It keeps the pineapple character of tepache while adding the body and alcohol of a mead.

Why this recipe works

Pineapple provides the main flavor. The fruit and peels also contribute acids, tannins, and other compounds that give the drink more character than pineapple juice alone.

Piloncillo provides fermentable sugar and a deeper flavor. Piloncillo is an unrefined cane sugar with a rich flavor that can resemble brown sugar, caramel, or molasses.

Honey provides more fermentable sugar and gives the finished drink a clear mead character. The combination of honey and piloncillo makes a more complex drink than either sugar would create on its own.

White wine yeast provides a reliable fermentation. It can ferment the sugars from both the honey and piloncillo while allowing the pineapple to remain noticeable.

Choose your honey

The honey does not need to be expensive.

A mild honey works well because the pineapple and piloncillo already provide strong flavors. Clover, wildflower, or orange blossom honey are all reasonable choices.

Orange blossom honey can add a light floral note. Clover honey will keep the honey character simple. Wildflower honey can add more complexity.

Avoid very strong honey if you want the pineapple to remain the main flavor. Buckwheat and other dark honeys can compete with the piloncillo.

Work with the pineapple

The recipe uses the whole pineapple, including the peels. Wash the fruit well before cutting it.

Remove any damaged or rotten sections. Cut the pineapple into pieces that fit your fermenter.

The peel contributes flavor and tannin. It also gives the drink more of the character associated with traditional tepache.

Fruit takes up a lot of space. Leave enough room for fermentation activity and foam. A blowoff tube can be useful if the fermenter becomes very active.

Fermentation and finishing

The recipe uses enough honey, piloncillo, and pineapple to produce a much stronger drink than traditional tepache. Ferment the mixture with wine yeast until fermentation is complete.

Use a hydrometer to track the process. Do not package the drink only because visible fermentation has slowed. Wait for a stable final gravity.

The recipe uses erythritol to add sweetness after fermentation. Erythritol is useful because normal brewing yeast does not readily ferment it.

The recipe also uses sugar at bottling to create carbonation. The yeast ferments this small amount of sugar inside the sealed bottle and produces CO2.

Measure priming sugar carefully. Adding too much fermentable sugar can create excessive pressure.

Things to keep in mind

Pineapple can produce a lot of sediment. The finished drink may need time to settle before you package it.

Pineapple also contains pectin. Haze is normal in fruit mead, and clarity can improve with time.

Do not expect this to taste exactly like traditional tepache. Traditional tepache is lightly fermented and usually much lower in alcohol. This recipe is a mead that uses tepache as its inspiration.

The pineapple should remain bright and recognizable. The piloncillo adds depth. Honey adds floral and fermented honey character. Carbonation makes the finished drink refreshing.

Serve it cold. The combination of pineapple, honey, piloncillo, acidity, and carbonation makes this a particularly good warm-weather drink!

The recipe is also easy to modify. You can experiment with different honeys, pineapple varieties, spices, or final sweetness. Start with the recipe as written so you have a reference point before making changes.