Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

This is an update on progress with my Pineapple Peels based drinks production project. I’ll also be posting an update on my Quick and Dirty Guide to English/French soon.

[NB: That next post will include details of how I’ve now partnered with a 2-man Beninois team of language experts to produce chapters 2 to 10 of my guide. These guys run an English language for French speakers “practice” club supported by the high commissioner for a small but respected African country. EXCITING stuff I tell you!]

As for my Pineapple peel based drinks, I’m now done with initial shelf-life trials.

Plus, in the process of exploring ways to cut down production costs, (to offer a range of “flavours” that appeal to different “pockets”), I’ve had a breakthrough of sorts.

You see, normally I have to “cook” (for 15 to 30 minutes) the pineapple peel mixture to get the finished drink I’ve been carrying around (i.e. non-fermented).

For the fermented version, I would post-boil have to wait 48 to 72 hours to let it ferment out, before that version would be ready.

In both cases, I then have to use “home-made drinks” production techniques to “pasteurize” it in “glass bottles”. All of these have cost implications – as plastic bottles simply lose shape when exposed to 60 degrees Celsius of heat.

By implication, what I’ve been carrying around have been partially pasteurized drinks in the real sense.

What I need to offer are versions that people can choose to take away and store for a month or more, without fear of spoilage.

Of course the version to be offered in my brew-pub will be drunk right away on the serving tables.

But people are bound to want to take some away. And I don’t want to be guilty of giving people bottled products that explode in their hands or homes – due to gas from “hidden fermentation”…LOL.

That’s why I’ve been careful to explore ways to kill off residual microbial activity.

The thing is standard procedures are expensive. I’m therefore looking to leverage more nature friendly methods.

You don’t hurry when it comes to food and drinks production i.e. things people will consume.

One mistake with your product, and your reputation may never be reparable. I know this from my training – and experience – in Guinness. And from courses I took for the UK’s Institute and Guild of Brewing (IGB) exams.

Well, in the course of “experimenting”, I actually found a way to get the fermented version ready-to-drink WITHOUT needing to “cook” the starting mixture.

That means I effectively get to cut out the costs of “heating” – which can add up over time, as you know.

To be fair, this option was always there, but I just never felt it was safe enough.

The new technique also allows fermentation to end naturally – killing the yeasts. Again, this implies major savings.

But I’m STILL keen to add an extra layer of “safety”, by adding an antibacterial agent, preferably a natural one, as against chemical kinds which are more common.

Currently reviewing options there…

As for sales, I’ve settled on starting with a home-based brew-pub (brewery-pub).

I actually intended to have a turn-key micro-brewery with 5hl capacity setup. My checks online with guys who install such “mobile” breweries show (not surprisingly), that it’s not cheap to do.

But I’m going to do it.

I have a strategy to start small, and then use my success to “sell” the idea to “partners” to finance the scale up.

That’s why I’ve been shopping for a bigger place to move into, where I can get a local artisan to construct the vessels and other materials I need.

I already have my process flow diagram, and I know exactly how to make the place run with minimal manpower. Since it will basically be in my backyard, and linked to a “pub” type of bar in front (where people will eat snacks with the drink), I’m sure it will work.

I’ve also found a way to link all of that with my work on developing solutions for farmers.

There’ll be more on that soon.

One thing is certain. Before the end of this year, I WILL have six pack versions of my fermented pineapple peel based drinks available for on-demand purchase.

For starters, here in Benin Republic. And there WILL be a “pub” where people can come to eat snacks with the non-fermented, and fermented versions.

And get this: My Quick and Dirty Guide autorun CD/DVD based learning events will hold at the pub – on set dates.

People will be able to participate in “practical speaking” sessions, and also compete to win copies of the complete 10 chapter audio-visual and Excel-VB based version.

So, watch this space for pictures and full details.

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