Finding a steady supplier for dried black currants in the U.S. has been a challenge. Since I made my last post on this topic in September, 2010, the supplier I was using at that time (Good Sense) has stopped carrying them. Lucky for me, though, there is a currant farm in New York that has an online store where you can buy dried black currants in quantity.

The company is called CurrantC™ and it is managed by Greg Quinn. I am very happy that the company is offering dried black currants and that you can buy them in quantities. The are available in 1 lb, 5 lb and 10 lb bags.

I made a batch of black currant liqueur (crème de cassis) with these currants and they are of excellent quality. Genuine dried black currants are available from the CurrantC™ online store from this link: Genuine Dried Black Currants

When ordering black currants in the U.S. it is important to make sure that they are genuine black currants. Some online suppliers and wholesale food distributors are mistakenly advertising Zante currants as black currants. Zante currants are more like raisins than the genuine dark blue colored black currant berries. Zante currants are used in baked muffins and are not suitable for making black currant liqueur.

You can be absolutely confident that when you order dried black currants from this supplier that you will be getting genuine dried black currants that you can use to make your own homemade black currant liqueur.

Geneticists have wondered what was the origin of lager yeast that first appeared in Germany 600 years ago. They knew it was hybridized from ale yeast – used to brew ale. But lager yeast ferments at lower temperatures than ale, so scientists have always wondered where did that yeast come from.

The scientists knew that the yeast they had been looking for was out there, somewhere, so they set about to find it. They felt that their best bet was an organism called S. eubayanus.

An article in the Los Angeles Times website reports:

Geneticists have known since the 1980s that the yeast brewers use to make lager, S. pastorianus, was a hybrid of two yeast species: S. cerevisiae — used to make ales, wine and bread — and some other, unidentified organism.

One of the team’s members was Diego Libkind from the Institute for Biodiversity and Environment Research in Bariloche, Argentina. One of the places they were looking was in abnormal growths from trees called galls.

Libkind discovered S. eubayanus in Patagonia in galls on southern beech trees. These galls were rich in sugar and, thus, were good candidates for yeasts to colonize.

As it turned out, these galls were used by Patagonian natives to make a fermented beverage.

When the organism was brought back to the lab and analyzed, it was discovered that its genome was a 99.5% match to what they were looking for.

Lager was invented in the 1400s near the time when Columbus discovered the new world. It is not clear to the team of scientists exactly how it traveled from Argentina to Europe, but that must be another story.

The video is produced by beer-wine.com where you can buy beer-making kits online at reasonable prices.

It’s been awhile since I posted the recipe for Black Currant Liqueur (crème de cassis). When I first made the liqueur, dried black currants were readily available. I just happened to get lucky when I put together the recipe for the first time and the liqueur turned out really well.

I originally obtained the dried black currants locally from Trader Joe’s (image to right). The dried fruit was of exceptional quality. I was disappointed to find out later that Trader Joe’s decided not to sell them anymore. They said it was due to low sales. I suppose that’s because black currants are not very well known in the USA and people were just not used to buying them.

That’s a shame because black currants have some of the highest levels of anti-oxidants of any fruit and they are very healthy and delicious. Hopefully, this will change over time and they will become more popular and more readily available. Maybe Trader Joe’s will start stocking them again.

According to Wikipedia, black currants used to be popular in the USA. In the early 1900s they were banned in the United States because of a fungus. In 1966 jurisdiction for the nationwide ban was referred to individual states. Since then, some states have allowed them to be grown and they are starting to make a comeback. So things are looking up.

New Supplier For Dried Black Currants

Lately, I have found a new supplier for dried black currants in the USA. They are available under the brand name “Good Sense” from Waymouth Farms Inc. out of  New Hope, MN (image to right). You can order them online from Amazon.com. I don’t know if they will be available year-round, but I was able to get some in late August, 2010.

I started a batch of black currant liqueur from this brand of dried fruit and so far, it looks like it’s going to work. The day after starting the batch I could see that it was starting to thicken up plus I could see a nice reddish-blue coating inside the jar when it was agitated. This is a good sign.

Both brands of dried black currants (from Trader Joe’s and Good Sense) were imported from the Netherlands, so maybe there is a connection. It’s been a couple of years since I was able to make the liqueur because I couldn’t find a suppler for the dried fruit. So this is a heads up to anyone out there who had the same problem. You can get dried black currants from Good Sense.

More News – According an article in the February/March issue of Southwest Brewing News, The hops shortage has apparently ended with better crops in America this year as well as Germany having a very good crop.

Even More News – According to the Oregon Local News, an online article has a headline that starts with, “Glut of hops …”

So it looks like things are looking good for making beer these days.

The Mediterranean Holiday is a sweet, fruity cocktail made with four basic ingredients: vodka, sweet and sour mix, pomegranate juice and homemade Black Currant Liqueur (or Creme de Cassis). You can make your own sweet and sour mix. Use 100% pomegranate juice (natural, unsweetened) for best results.

AHA (American Homebrewers Association)
National Homebrew Competition, April 24, 2009
1st Round Southwest & Intl Region, San Diego, CA

Contact: Chuck West
Phone: (858) 571-2930
Entry Fee: $9 for AHA Members; $14 for non-members
Entry Deadline: 04/08/2009

This is an unusual recipe for a thirst-quenching non-alcoholic drink. It’s sort of like a fizzy non-alcoholic margarita. It is made with fresh squeezed lime juice and fresh squeezed lemon juice and sweetened with Stevia and blue agave syrup. Blue agave syrup is a healthy alternative to sugar because it is natural, it is lower in calories than sugar and has a low glycemic index.

This is another non-alcoholic drink made with fresh squeezed lime juice and sweetened with blue agave syrup. Blue agave syrup is a healthy alternative to sugar because it is natural, it is lower in calories than sugar and has a low glycemic index. Cranberry juice concentrate is available online from a few sources. It is 4 to 5 times more concentrated as regular fruit juice – depending on the brand.

This is huge! Mr. Eichenseer is using his brewing knowledge and experience to figure out how to convert biomass waste products into usable fuel. He is putting special enzymes to work in the process.