Yarrow,as hops alternative ?

I'm currently reading a book about history of beer and brewing,somewhere i read that yarrow has been used for many years in Nordic countries as a substitute for hops and the writer has said it has preservative effects like hops too.I'm wondering if i can use it as hops alternative or beside it ?
thanks.

Yeah, throw "yarrow" or "gruit" into the search box (top right corner).

It is common it gruit (hop-less beer). One thing to note is that yarrow is a laxative and should be used within recommended amounts.

i never tasted hop less beer ,so i want to know if the taste will be too different from regular beer which made with hops ? and if it's good why people use hops instead of yarrow?

It does taste different but not bad. I have a friend that likes to brew gruit although he usually uses sweet gale.

Hops not only bitters beer but is a natural preservative. The use of hops is relatively recent in the history of beer but can be considered an improvement because of the preservative effect as well as the consistency.

If ice cream is good, why do people still eat cake?

If ales are good, why do people still drink lagers?

If hamburgers are good, why do people still make pulled pork?

Etc.

Tastes change. Hops have been more popular than gruits lately, historically speaking. Doesn't mean there's any sort of inherent superiority, just difference.

corwin3083 said:

If ice cream is good, why do people still eat cake?

If ales are good, why do people still drink lagers?

If hamburgers are good, why do people still make pulled pork?

Etc.

Tastes change. Hops have been more popular than gruits lately, historically speaking. Doesn't mean there's any sort of inherent superiority, just difference.

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but here you barely find a gruit beer in market shelves unless lager,ales,hamburgers and ...

Yarrow can give nasty headaches too.

Irena said:

but here you barely find a gruit beer in market shelves unless lager,ales,hamburgers and ...

Click to expand...

Yes, that's why I pointed out that tastes change.

Here's another example: Lobster is a prestige dish today. It's expensive, and a lot of people want it. But through the 1800s, lobster was associated with poor fishermen who only ate it because they couldn't afford anything better. It wasn't expensive, and it wasn't a prestige dish.

In other words, tastes change.

Funny, I was just looking at that last night about items other than hops. Haven't searched the forums yet, but had looked at http://www.gruitale.com/intro_en.htm by way of a smithsonian link

I've been mostly wondering that due to better preservation and sanitation techniques, if it's possible to use completely different blends.

Can I suggest, as an alternative, a Belgian style beer with fennel flowers? They are used as a flavoring in digestive liquors and could add a nice flavor without the ... consequences of yarrow.

Check out The Homebrewers Garden. tons of alternatives to hops. and additives to blend with hops.

maltoftheearth said:

Can I suggest, as an alternative, a Belgian style beer with fennel flowers? They are used as a flavoring in digestive liquors and could add a nice flavor without the ... consequences of yarrow.

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fennel flower,i like it,can you please give me the recipe ?