Catnip / Cannabis "Hopped" beer?

This is probably heresy, but has anyone heard about bittering beer with other plants in the same family as Hops?

I'm sure it's either illegal, idiotic, or imbecilic... though there has to be something said for experimentation.

This comes up at least once a week- where have you been?

:sigh:

It's that time of the week again, isn't it?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30515&highlight=marijuana
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14173&highlight=Marijuana

And there are others...

The questions remains... WHY? The conclusion is that it won't make you high, it'll taste like ass, and it'll waste some good leaf....

the_bird said:

:sigh:

It's that time of the week again, isn't it?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30515&highlight=marijuana
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14173&highlight=Marijuana

And there are others...

The questions remains... WHY? The conclusion is that it won't make you high, it'll taste like ass, and it'll waste some good leaf....

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I wish I had the money to waste good weed........................................

Dude, I've been a member of this forum for about a week and I've already seen two of these kind of posts. I am no one to point out the obvious but (and with no disrespect) use the search function.
-Drew

Also, It just occured to me, why would you want to ruin a perfectly good homebrew with an extra large bag of Doritos and some Suzy-Q's?

YooperBrew said:

This comes up at least once a week- where have you been?

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Seriously? I did a search on Catnip and found next to nothing...a little bit on the pot came up but nothing too authoritative. More of a haha, fun type thing.

With things like Sorghum African beer I was basically wondering what other sorts of bittering plants have been used in beer. I suppose catnip/pot are the most outlandish plants?

the_bird said:

WHY? The conclusion is that it won't make you high, it'll taste like ass, and it'll waste some good leaf....

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I'm not a pot head! I'm just wondering what sort of experimentation has gone on in the history of brewing. How about different tree barks?

gyrfalcon said:

Seriously? I did a search on Catnip and found next to nothing...a little bit on the pot came up but nothing too authoritative. More of a haha, fun type thing.

With things like Sorghum African beer I was basically wondering what other sorts of bittering plants have been used in beer. I suppose catnip/pot are the most outlandish plants?

Click to expand...

I don't know about catnip, but weed and other stuff comes up almost every day.

I know someone earlier today was talking about heather tips as a bittering agent in beer, but I don't know much about that at all.

YooperBrew said:

I know someone earlier today was talking about heather tips as a bittering agent in beer, but I don't know much about that at all.

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Looks like I need to waste more time at work reading homebrewtalk... I've used some heather tips in a wine type thing I made. I've eaten them raw and they didn't seem that bitter though.

gyrfalcon said:

Seriously? I did a search on Catnip and found next to nothing...a little bit on the pot came up but nothing too authoritative. More of a haha, fun type thing.

With things like Sorghum African beer I was basically wondering what other sorts of bittering plants have been used in beer. I suppose catnip/pot are the most outlandish plants?

Click to expand...

Catnip and cannabis are certainly not the most extreme things used to bitter or flavor beer. Early beers (prior to 1500 or so) used a spice mix called gruit. Bog myrtle, caraway, juniper, spruce and just about any other f'ing thing you can think of (including numerous toxic chemicals) have been used at one point or another. The problem with pot, apparently, is that it doesn't do much other than screw up the taste of the beer, so you end up wasting a lot of good dope to make bad beer. Not a good trade off.

If you are really interested in some of the historical alternatives or precursors to hops, take a look at Radical Brewing. Lots of fascinating information and recipes.

Chad

Chad said:

...
If you are really interested in some of the historical alternatives or precursors to hops, take a look at Radical Brewing. Lots of fascinating information and recipes.

Chad

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Thanks!!! this might be exactly what I was looking for... I'll pick it up this week. Do you know any other books on the history of brewing?

SHAMELESS PLUG: http://www.landofamberwaters.com/ <-- This is a great book if you're in or around the Midwest.

gyrfalcon said:

Do you know any other books on the history of brewing?

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Books, schmooks! Check out:

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/ninkasi.htm

Here is more info on the Gruit Ale thing, there is a bunch of good info on the site about what different bittering agents there are: Griut Ale.

There is a fairly popular Heather Beer out there, Made by These Guys, I see it at quite a few beer stores.

Cheers

The Frederick Brewing company once had "Hempen Ale" (favoured by Bill Clinton, seriously) that contained a ton of hemp seeds (persumably during the mash?). They've pulled the ale since then, mainly because even THEY admit it did nothing to the beer and only sold because it was "gimmicky".

The only other "use" for hemp in beer is "dry hemping". Boiling does very little since THC isn't water-soluable - dry hemping on the other hand extracts the THC because it is alcohol-soluable.

It takes a LOT of pot to get any kind of effect from it and it still illegal.

If you're interested in some "history" on the subject read http://www.onr.com/user/liberty/Marijuana/MBeer/MBeer.html

Hum, sorry to bring up an ancient topic, but hey, at least I got here via search.

All the threads talk about beer, but I'm a mazer. I've got a mead that's 15% abv and still going, and I have heard of ones that are stronger still. Given that the cannabinoids are alcohol soluble, the higher the proof, the more effective the extraction, yeah?

Granted, I still probably wouldn't put any in unless I moved to a state or country with decriminalized growing, else it'd be a rather spendy mead no matter what. I mean, with my sources, 20 pounds of honey costs the same as, oh, a couple-few thin joints.

Since I have read nothing here on the subject...I know a guy who spent too much time in N. cal with growers...
They make keef with water, silk screen bags and all the waste products...it is sort of like hash...
At some point they stopped and there was lots of the 'water' left over...
So this guy made 5 gal of ale with the left over water...he also knows how to brew...
I had a couple...It was like a SNPA with a pot flavor...And you got high too...P.S. ...I have a script for pot...

Slightly off topic, and I tried searching.

In the Dominican Republic, there is an "herbal viagra" called mamajuana, basically a bunch of roots and sticks and leaves and who knows what that you soak rum in. Has anyone heard of using mamajuana in beer making?

tireater said:

Since I have read nothing here on the subject...I know a guy who spent too much time in N. cal with growers...
They make keef with water, silk screen bags and all the waste products...it is sort of like hash...
At some point they stopped and there was lots of the 'water' left over...
So this guy made 5 gal of ale with the left over water...he also knows how to brew...
I had a couple...It was like a SNPA with a pot flavor...And you got high too...P.S. ...I have a script for pot...

Click to expand...

This is possibly my most favorite post ever. First off, that is a great idea. At least until I though what it must have smelled like during the boil. Second off, what is this script you speak of?

Another one to check out is the following:

Sacred & Herbal Healing Beers

I've paged through it a bit at the store and it is full of info/recipes about brewing with various plants/herbs.

Everyone I know that smokes pot has a prescription...Cali :rockin:

malenkylizards said:

I mean, with my sources, 20 pounds of honey costs the same as, oh, a couple-few thin joints.

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Wow you have really cheep honey...or really expensive pot.



I like the idea of "dry hemping" might me worth a try, with prime bc bud at 4 dollars a gram it's a cheep experiment where i live. I personally would not try it though.

I made a spiced brown ale and bittered it with Artemisia Absinthium (Wormwood)

I just took an ounce of wormwood and made a tincture out of it by soaking it in grain alcohol for a good log while.... strained out the junk and then added it half ounce at a time to a 5 gallon batch when it was bottle time....

I personaly did not like it it had a VERY astringent bitterness to it I just couldnt get used to.... Had a couple friends that thought it was the best thing ever though and drank the hell outta the batch....

I have been wondering about this for some time... It's also right around the best time of year to try it out! 4/20 baby! I won't be making a batch this year, but you may find me in the garage next year making up a Spliff Saison or Bong Water Brown or something of that nature.

[SIZE=-1]The old folks use to make stuff like this, several generations ago:

10 gallons of water
6 pounds of sugar
4 oz. spruce oil
Ferment. Then bottle.

[/SIZE]Spruce beer (from Wikipedia) is a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees. Spruce has been a traditional flavoring ingredient throughout the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere where it is found, often substituting for ingredients otherwise not available, such as hops. Spruce beer can refer to either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
A number of flavors are associated with spruce-flavored beverages, ranging from floral, citrusy, and fruity to cola-like flavors to resinous and piney. This diversity in flavor likely comes from the choice of spruce species, the season in which the needles are harvested, and the manner of preparation.

How about a nice peyote pale ale?

mat_890 said:

Wow you have really cheep honey...or really expensive pot.



I like the idea of "dry hemping" might me worth a try, with prime bc bud at 4 dollars a gram it's a cheep experiment where i live. I personally would not try it though.

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Well, you're in BC, ain't ya? Really expensive to you is about normal in my neck of the woods.

That said, I do also get cheap honey. Got me a secret little source, straight from the hive at an itty bitty mom-n-pop apiary near my girlfriend's house.

Then I realized I was confused, and 20 pounds should've been 10. But still, bud around here is about five times as expensive, and I get my honey for half price.

THC is lipid soluble not water soluble. As for peyote, I'm sure cactus tastes disgusting and mescaline+alcohol is probably a bad combo.

Kevin Dean said:

The Frederick Brewing company once had "Hempen Ale" (favoured by Bill Clinton, seriously) that contained a ton of hemp seeds (persumably during the mash?). They've pulled the ale since then, mainly because even THEY admit it did nothing to the beer and only sold because it was "gimmicky".

The only other "use" for hemp in beer is "dry hemping". Boiling does very little since THC isn't water-soluable - dry hemping on the other hand extracts the THC because it is alcohol-soluable.

It takes a LOT of pot to get any kind of effect from it and it still illegal.

If you're interested in some "history" on the subject read Marijuana In Beer

Click to expand...

I was caught dry hemping once and it really made my krausen gush:cross:

is it normal that I still get a bit aroused when i see my quote on yoopers signature? haha

michaelm said:

I made a spiced brown ale and bittered it with Artemisia Absinthium (Wormwood)

I just took an ounce of wormwood and made a tincture out of it by soaking it in grain alcohol for a good log while.... strained out the junk and then added it half ounce at a time to a 5 gallon batch when it was bottle time....

I personaly did not like it it had a VERY astringent bitterness to it I just couldnt get used to.... Had a couple friends that thought it was the best thing ever though and drank the hell outta the batch....

Click to expand...

Hmm, very interesting. I've been thinking of making a poor man's absinthe with everclear. Not the real thing without distilling of course, but until they change that law it's as close as I'll get.

The tincture method would likely be the best idea for many of the possible ingredients in this thread which are not that highly soluble in plain h20. Except for the horrible idea of catnip. That'd just turn neighborhood felines into alcoholics in no time.

I was mixing up a hops blend for my APA brew day and my cats were all sitting in a perfect row... waiting for me to spill something for them to pounce upon.

The beasts either think it's catnip, or they are developing a taste for Glacier.


Catnip in a beer would be weird. almost too weird for me.
Note: Almost.


heh heh heh.

Brule said:

Hmm, very interesting. I've been thinking of making a poor man's absinthe with everclear. Not the real thing without distilling of course, but until they change that law it's as close as I'll get.

The tincture method would likely be the best idea for many of the possible ingredients in this thread which are not that highly soluble in plain h20. Except for the horrible idea of catnip. That'd just turn neighborhood felines into alcoholics in no time.

Click to expand...

as far as law is concerned food and beverages that contain thujone ("active" chemical in absinthe) past x amount/unitt is what determines its legality. the legal absinthe in the US is no stronger than food flavoured with rosemary or tansy. so if your going to make "poor man's absinthe" its already illegal so you might as well go all the way and distil it. also authentic absinthe would have other herbs like fennel calamus and anise. cheers

bong water brown ale... i like the sound of that.

idiocratic said:

as far as law is concerned food and beverages that contain thujone ("active" chemical in absinthe) past x amount/unitt is what determines its legality. the legal absinthe in the US is no stronger than food flavoured with rosemary or tansy. so if your going to make "poor man's absinthe" its already illegal so you might as well go all the way and distil it. also authentic absinthe would have other herbs like fennel calamus and anise. cheers

Click to expand...

Well, the way I understand it the FDA doesn't approve of thujone (or calamus+many others) in foods. But the plants and chemicals are not scheduled and therefore not illegal. What this means practically is that nothing can be sold containing these ingredients as a food/drink, but there's nothing actually illegal with using them at home.

(disclaimer.. I'm not a lawyer)

I had a friend make some peyote beer One pint and four friends is all that's needed

Munsoned said:

How about a nice peyote pale ale?

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Isn't it pointless to homebrew a beer that you're going to throw up?

This is not up for debate. Closed.

Those that were rude. Go google the brewer's code.
This is your only warning.