sacred and herbal healing beers

I ordered it from barns and noble because I'm interested in messing around with various flavors in beers. I also got it because I want to try brewing a Scottish Ale with horehound as the bittering agent.

I had the book for all but 5 minutes before I felt like sending it back. Half of the recipes aren't beer recipes. They are hooch recipes with herbs. Any ******* can put 2 lbs of sugar in 1 gallon of water with some herbs, add yeast, and wait.

That doesn't make it beer and it doesn't make it good

Thanks for the review, I was thinking of getting that one. It's off the list now.

Couldn't you adapt the "sugar-water" parts of the recipes to something more beer-like, and use some of the flavoring/bittering ideas?

Bike N Brew said:

Couldn't you adapt the "sugar-water" parts of the recipes to something more beer-like, and use some of the flavoring/bittering ideas?

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yeah, that's what I would do. Still, the authors could have taken a few minutes and done that for you!

Bike N Brew said:

Couldn't you adapt the "sugar-water" parts of the recipes to something more beer-like, and use some of the flavoring/bittering ideas?

Click to expand...

Not sure I would trust someone that made hooch for flavoring ideas. Might just be me.

Thanks for saving me the money I would have spent on this!

By the way, do you have Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing? The last 1/2 of the book has some well, radical recipes. I got it as a gift, and if you're looking for something like it, it might be just what you want.

Is that by the same mf'n hippies who invented Cherokee Hair Tampons?

Evan! said:

Is that by the same mf'n hippies who invented Cherokee Hair Tampons?

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let me guess, they're reusable...

drouillp said:

let me guess, they're reusable...

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I'm going to be sick now.

Many of the recipes in that book are only 'beer' by tradition and being too low an ABV to be called wine. (Like birch or maple beers) The hooches really should be made with honey and more rightly are herbal meads or melomels. I've recommended it to people looking for herbal beverages.

"Sacred and Herbal Hooch" just wouldn't sell as well, except on campus.

And besides, how many recipes have you made out of your favorite cookbook?

I've browsed through the book a little more. I think its meant to be for people who are interested in making tinctures but want them carbonated. That and it has a couple melomel and herb mead ideas.

I did find more recipes that use some malt. But still, very few are getting more than 2/3 of their sugar from malt.

Flipping through the appendix, the basic attitude of the book is that +300 years ago, people didn't rigidly control their fermentations and neither should the the brewers that are using the book.

My attitude is if I don't rigidly control the fermentation, I'll never be sure of what I'm getting as the end product. That and anything with a concentration of more than 4oz. of refined sugar per gallon is going to taste cidery.

I've decided to keep the book. I'm buying a couple more 6.5 gallon carboys at the end of the month and I'm going to dedicate one to making meads. I'm keeping the book for metheglin ideas, but thats it.

Yooper Chick, I also just picked up Extreme Brewing. I haven't had a chance to look it over yet. Radical Brewing will probably be in my next order.

I came across this thread while researching whether or not to buy this book, and almost didn't because of the postings above. However, I decided to purchase this book, and I'm very glad I did.

If you're looking for yet another book about beer, as defined from a Euro-American perspective, you should definitely pass this one over. However, if you're interested in
- the use of herbs in traditional fermented beverages
- brief histories of fermentation from a number of different cultures
- browsing ideas for unconventional brews
this is a great book.

To author writes in a note at the beginning: "This book is primarily intended to share the poetry and beauty of ancient fermentation and only secondarily to share recipes, some more than 2000 years old, for making ancient sacred and healing beers."

I hope this helps others who are considering this book but unsure of what they'd be getting. Personally, I'm excited about brewing heather ale (p 27; a recipe for this is also found in Radical brewing) and the millet beer, Chang (p 122), a traditional beverage that I tried when visiting northern India several years ago.

Happy brewing.

BUMPing this thread.

Who has brewed these "beers"? Any thoughts?

I just got the book, and a one gallon fermenter. I plan to try a few, they look interesting. I agree they are not combinations of malted grains & hops, but I liked my first mead & hard cider enough .

I'm looking for a thread for people who have tried these recipes.

Thanks.