lifeisafarm
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 12
Hi all
Total newbie really! Registered a couple of months back but since my intro post I quit my job and things were too hectic to carry on my beer projects. So, coming at this from an unusual (?) angle: I am interested in very primitive/simple/ancient brewing methods.
End goal being, to be able to cut out as much as possible in terms of machinery/gadgets or modern day luxuries like being able to buy yeast/sugar from shops. Imagine trying to brew a vaguely drinkable "beer" from one's own homestead without industrial equipment. That kind of thing.
My current idea is to try to ferment basic fruit "beer" in (unused) sauerkraut pots – the ones that have that water-seal around the top. I am not looking for a high-quality beverage here! Something vaguely drinkable is fine. It's almost more a science experiment! (Sure sure, that's what we all tell the wives...)
So anyway my questions are:
– I've read a lot about ancient "unhopped" beers using things like thyme, mugwort or bog myrtle instead. Does the need for herbs stem from preserving i.e. as a bittering agent? Or mainly flavour, or both? I like the idea of using ground ivy (glechoma hederacea), tastes very hoppy!
– Do you think brewing in simple clay/stone jugs or pots is even possible? What about e.g. using a heavy weight on top instead of a plastic airlock? Apparently e.g. ancient Egyptians/Sumerians tried it that way.
– Oats! I know this sounds odd but... do oats give off sugars the way other brewing grains do? I have read something (I didn't quite understand) about oats being unable to be converted into fermentable sugars, so only used for flavour e.g. toasted? (Actually, I am trying to grow amaranth and apparently, same problem with that...)
– Do you know folks on this forum (or companies) who do not use ANY refined sugar but only get sugars from grains and/or added fruits/roots?
– I'd read about "viking beers" using a "magic" brew-stick. I like the idea of this, IF I can get one successful batch, to be able to use for the second. Any recommendations for making a simple brew-stick, what wood, etc?
– Would you say Spring is the best time to source wild yeast due to the pollination period, or can I do it in winter using e.g. juniper or rosemary branches (in theory)?
– Curveball! Sorry, I know I'm a total ignoramus, forgive me, but... I've seen a British company use recycled bread to make beer, 'Toast Ale'. I can't find their processes in detail. Are they using ONLY bread or is the bread really for flavour and not fermentable sugars?
– What I mean is... can I use toast to make beer???!!!!
THANK YOU LOVELY PEOPLE!
Luke aka 'Life's a Farm'
Sussex, UK
Total newbie really! Registered a couple of months back but since my intro post I quit my job and things were too hectic to carry on my beer projects. So, coming at this from an unusual (?) angle: I am interested in very primitive/simple/ancient brewing methods.
End goal being, to be able to cut out as much as possible in terms of machinery/gadgets or modern day luxuries like being able to buy yeast/sugar from shops. Imagine trying to brew a vaguely drinkable "beer" from one's own homestead without industrial equipment. That kind of thing.
My current idea is to try to ferment basic fruit "beer" in (unused) sauerkraut pots – the ones that have that water-seal around the top. I am not looking for a high-quality beverage here! Something vaguely drinkable is fine. It's almost more a science experiment! (Sure sure, that's what we all tell the wives...)
So anyway my questions are:
– I've read a lot about ancient "unhopped" beers using things like thyme, mugwort or bog myrtle instead. Does the need for herbs stem from preserving i.e. as a bittering agent? Or mainly flavour, or both? I like the idea of using ground ivy (glechoma hederacea), tastes very hoppy!
– Do you think brewing in simple clay/stone jugs or pots is even possible? What about e.g. using a heavy weight on top instead of a plastic airlock? Apparently e.g. ancient Egyptians/Sumerians tried it that way.
– Oats! I know this sounds odd but... do oats give off sugars the way other brewing grains do? I have read something (I didn't quite understand) about oats being unable to be converted into fermentable sugars, so only used for flavour e.g. toasted? (Actually, I am trying to grow amaranth and apparently, same problem with that...)
– Do you know folks on this forum (or companies) who do not use ANY refined sugar but only get sugars from grains and/or added fruits/roots?
– I'd read about "viking beers" using a "magic" brew-stick. I like the idea of this, IF I can get one successful batch, to be able to use for the second. Any recommendations for making a simple brew-stick, what wood, etc?
– Would you say Spring is the best time to source wild yeast due to the pollination period, or can I do it in winter using e.g. juniper or rosemary branches (in theory)?
– Curveball! Sorry, I know I'm a total ignoramus, forgive me, but... I've seen a British company use recycled bread to make beer, 'Toast Ale'. I can't find their processes in detail. Are they using ONLY bread or is the bread really for flavour and not fermentable sugars?
– What I mean is... can I use toast to make beer???!!!!
THANK YOU LOVELY PEOPLE!
Luke aka 'Life's a Farm'
Sussex, UK