In the first part of the burčák guide, we discussed what this season has been like so far and where to buy it. In the second part, we looked at the price, storage and its effects on health. And since the burčák season is slowly coming to an end, we shall talk about how you can prepare this delicacy yourself at home.

Try making your own burčák and observe a bunch of grapes transform into a fragrant drink right there in your kitchen. We suggest a simple recipe for you that you can perform with a minimum piece of equipment.

Homemade burčák is no rocket science – just follow a few rules and success is more than inevitable.

You can start with a small amount – just one kilogram. If you successfully ferment a burčák, you can entitle your new roommate a name, keep some leftovers in the fridge, and use it to ferment the next batch of grapes (or other fruit).

You need no special equipment. A wine press tool comes in handy, but you can do well without one. All you need is a container with a wider neck. Don’t forget to always let burčák breathe – as soon as you close the container, carbon dioxide starts to accumulate in it and the pressure rises sharply. It can easily turn into a ticking time bomb.

Remember that burčák is a living organism – your goal is to feed the yeast that is all around us – even on the surface of the grapes. Yeast consume sugar and convert it into alcohol along with carbon dioxide and heat. The more the future burčák „gets going“, the more violently the yeast will behave – this means faster fermentation and more waste heat – the container will start to heat up.

But it also means that along with the „good“ yeast, you can also multiply bacteria that you don’t want in your burčák. The core factor is the cleanliness of the equipment. But as soon as your burčák starts to ferment, you’ve practically won.

1.

Grapes.

You probably won’t find the grape must in varieties in the store – but you can make a good homemade burčák from ordinary grapes. You can make white, red or pink burčák, it only depends on your taste and how you handle the grapes.

The grapes should be ripe, but not overripe – it’s desirable if they still have some acidity to balance the sweetness of your burčák. They should be in good shape – rot or mold free. Choose ones that smell good to you, the aromatics will also be transferred to the drink. On the contrary, avoid grapes that are very watery – you will end up making burčák from them ultimately, but it will not be fragrant.

It’s a good idea to use grapes that have not been chemically treated – they have naturally occurring yeast on their surface that will help you get the fermentation going. Some people use a piece of apple to ferment. It is quite reliable to use a bit of borčák from a previous batch or get one from a winemaker to ferment – this way you are sure that the yeast you are growing is the right one.

2.

Container.

Preferably a glass one, in which you can easily observe the activity of your burčák. Keep in mind that once burčák has fermented, it will begin to gain volume. You should leave at least ⅓ of the space free in the container. A glass carboy, carafe or kettle is suitable. Never close your burčák container entirely – you can use a lid with a few holes, a cloth with a rubber band or a clean cloth to cover it. Make sure the container is perfectly clean, as well as all the tools you will be using. It is ideal to rinse everything in hot or boiling water.

3.

Wine press or blender.

It is ideal to mash the grapes and then press them, but this may not always be possible at home to execute. You can also do well with a combination of a blender and a strainer or cloth.

4.

Sugar.

In order to get the right fermentation going, we need to sweeten the must. Start with approx. 50 g of sugar per 1 kg of grapes – depending on the result, you can then adjust the amount of sugar for the next batch.

1.

Rinse everything rigorously.

Rinse and clean all your equipment in a really hot water. Burčák container rinse in boiling water.

2.

Squash the grapes.

Wash the grapes in tepid water, de-stem and mash them. Appropriate force of (clean) hands should be enough (a traditionally based person can stomp the grapes with its bare feet in a suitable tub by the light of a candlelight in his basement if he will). If you can’t do it, feel free to use a hand blender. Make sure your are sensitive enough! You just want to break the structure of the grapes so that the aromatic substances from the skins start to be released into juice – you definitely don’t want a smoothie out of it and you don’t want to blend the seeds at all – they would start to release a bitter aftertaste.

3.

Add sugar and let them ferment.

Mix the crushed grapes with sugar – 50g of sugar per liter of juice is a good start. Move everything to the container in which your burčák will ferment. Cover the container with a cloth or a pierced lid so that air can escape from it. Let it sit for 1 day.

4.

Press the grapes.

If you don’t have a wine press, pass them through a colander and squeeze out the remaining juice by hand. If you want the juice to be smoother, you can line the colander with a clean cloth. Return the juice to the fermentation container and cover again with a cloth to allow air to enter. If there were small bubbles in the juice before pressing, this is a good sign – the yeast has started working in it. For the rest of the fermentation, you can move the container to a cooler environment, between 17-22 °C.

5.

Keep tasting.

As the proportion of alcohol increases in your burčák, it will decrease in sugar – food for the yeast, and gradually the activity of the yeast will decrease until it stops completely and the yeast sink to the bottom. You want to drink burčák while still alive, before it „breaks“ and turns into young wine. It should still have a slightly sweet taste. Once you are comfortable with the sugar to alcohol ratio, transfer burčák into bottles and refrigerate to slow down fermentation. Never completely close the bottles with burčák – the yeast continue to work even in the cold, just more slowly. Just leave the lids loose so that excess carbon dioxide can escape.

If you feel like experimenting, you can try to make fermented cider from other fruits as well – from apples, pears, elderberries,… practically anything that has been harvested and has enough sugar and some acidity.

The recipe for fake „burčák“ made from apples is very similar to the original one made from grapes.

Apples.
As with grapes, choose ones that are ripe but fresh, firm, free from rot or mold. A little acidity will ensure a balanced taste.

Sugar.
Depending on the sweetness of the apples, you should be between 80-100g of sugar per litre.

Container for fermentation.
As with grape burčák, never close the container completely and do not top up.

A juicer or blender and a clean cloth or colander.

Make cider/must from the apples – you can either process them in a juicer, or blend and then strain them.

Let it ferment. Put the must in the fermentation container, add sugar and mix well. If you already have our burčák at home, add 1 dcl to the cider (the apples will ferment without it, but just in case).

Taste it. As soon as there are bubbles in the must, it starts to smell like yeast and the container starts heating up, you are practically done. Now all you have to do is decide when to cool the must. The longer you let it ferment, the less sugar and more alcohol it will have.

Cheers!