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porcupine73 · 09-16-2012, 01:02 AM

Just was not sure why a Google search for stupefying essence returns no relevant results. It will now though! Even Amazon returns no relevant results though I know that term is mentioned somewhere in Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers.

**Pappers_** · 09-16-2012, 12:46 PM

Enlighten us, please - what does stupefying essence mean, or what is it? Honestly, I 'm generally sufficiently stupefied . . .

porcupine73 · 09-16-2012, 01:25 PM

Who logged in as me last night and posted this? Wait I think I did post it ... let me find where I saw it in that book, it was in reference to a gruit herb, sweet gale possibly.

Ah here it is, quoting "The fresh leaves of Myrica gale contain '.50% of a stupefying essence,' and taken in large doses produce a 'narcotic effect.'" Hm let me see what source he is quoting, hm it just says Aasved, "Alcohol", 733.

AndrewD · 09-16-2012, 02:56 PM

You have to go to the hood to get stupefying essence, but you can get robbed or end up in prison trying to get it.

**emjay** · 09-16-2012, 03:12 PM

It sounds like "stupefying essense" is a description, not a name. It would probably be called myrica gale extract, essence, etc.

porcupine73 · 09-16-2012, 07:17 PM

That's probably true. I was just surprised a google search had no relevant results for that search. Now to wait for my gruit ale to finish ...

porcupine73 · 10-04-2012, 10:25 PM

Just wanted to give an update on the 'stupefying essence'. I think it's pretty well tweaked.

1. Take some fresh yarrow flower and leaf and chew and pack it in your cheek. This grows wild in many places, at least in the northeast. It's good yarrow if it makes your cheek a little numb (it's probably just because it is very bitter).
2. Chew some milk thistle and add this to your cheek.
3. Suck the juices for about 10 minutes. Eventually they will dissolve enough from your saliva to swallow.
3b. Optionally consume gruit kombucha (this contains the popular gruit herbs, myrica gale, yarrow, marsh rosemary, and heather tips). This seems to help but not be absolutely necessary.
4. After another 10-15 minutes the yarrow will start to make you feel a little funny, this is the time to start consuming homebrew.

5. Now enjoy your homebrew. For some reason it doesn't seem to take much homebrew at all to bring on very positive effects. It's somewhat strange, it's a nice alcohol buzz but there is definitely a clearness and enhancement of mind not present without the yarrow. The milk thistle definitely has an effect also - originally this was added because of its known protective effects on the liver. Additional note, for some reason if the homebrew happens to contain unpeeled fresh ginger root and honey in primary, it seems to be more powerful.

These herbs are not at all bunk, sources such as Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers indicate these herbs were traditionally used for this purpose. Some say the gruit herbs had effect because they actually had ergot on them; that may be correct, I don't notice as big an effect from the gruit herbs -- except for yarrow that is the key player here.

**emjay** · 10-05-2012, 03:40 AM

Huh? The ergot would grow on the grain (specifically rye), not the herbs.

And soporific herbs in beer are not really a novel idea. Even hops supposedly contain sedating alkaloids.

porcupine73 · 10-12-2012, 11:36 PM

Yes not trying to claim any unique effects from the herbal components, but I like herbs, and they definitely have an impact.

Yes hops is known for sedating alkaloids, that's why he doesn't use hops in any brews. He is more interested in traditional ingredients.

The most recent development is that a good amount of gruited kombucha (kombucha second fermented with heather tips, yarrow, sweet gale, and marsh rosemary, all from wildweeds, is definitely a strong precursor if you will. Wow very nice for a Friday evening.