Brewing using Birch twigs and leaves + other trees. Is it safe?

[lokis333]

Hi!
I am planning to brew and was wondering if it is fine to add birch to my brew, or is it unsafe?

I was planning to make something like birch tea from young bark and leaves and add that to the brew.

Any ideas recommendations or warnings?
Thank you!

 

[Mainer]

There are a handful of threads about brewing birch beer. It sounds like it should be perfectly safe, but it also sounds like birch can be really subtle so you might need to use a lot to get any effect.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=42642

 

[zmanzorro]

Should be good as long as out goes in the boil or if you make a tincture and soak it on vodka.

 

[RM-MN]

Don't use poison ivy or poison oak leaves.

 

[myerstyson]

There is birch vodka out there. You could always add that to the bottling bucket. No worries about the branches or leaves! Some trees' leaves can be bad when using too much. In survival school, the instructors mentioned pine needle tea, but said you can not use too much or else you'll get very sick.

 

[PrairieDawg]

Last week I brewed a Spruce Beer.
Added 6oz of fresh picked spruce tips for 20 minutes in the boil.
Just racked it to secondary this morning. The taste is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[m00ps]

If you lightly boil the stuff, you can add just about anything to your beer without contamination issues. I always recommend adding straight into the fermentor after fermentation has subsided in order to keep most of the aromatics from boiling off or going straight out the airlock. The boiling will also extract more flavor