Not Hops but HEATHER!!
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r8rphan
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I have an old, old, old recipe somewhere for traditional heather ale. It's on my list of beers to brew.. when I find the recipe... when I find some heather...
Good luck!
Good luck!
Old recipes seem to be the best! Maybe when we get our heather grown and harvested...depending on where you live we can get you some...I am thinking about playing around with the idea of trying to keep it fresh by maybe freezing it? Right now because we cannot find it fresh we just use dried heather tips from our brew store but I have heard and read numerous times that fresh heather flowers is the way to go...Good luck on finding that recipe, I bet its a good one!
I was thinking of growing heather as well but was clear on what a plant can produce compared to what a brewer needs.
A chef I know says you need a lot of heather to notice it in a beer
How much did you plant how much do you think you'll get and how much do you use in a beer?
A chef I know says you need a lot of heather to notice it in a beer
How much did you plant how much do you think you'll get and how much do you use in a beer?
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I'm in Maine, but with the advent of the Pony Express, I'm sure something could be worked out. ;-)
No luck in finding the recipe yet. I have dozens and dozens of books on Scotland and whatnot.. it's just a matter of stumbling across the right one.. when I find it I'll PM or email it to you.
Fraoch made a VERY good limited edition Heather Ale.. it was about 8%, I think... The 22oz bottle didn't last very long, and it did a good job on a healthy buzz.
Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers should have a recipe or 2 for heather ale. I'll check when I get home.
If you like "old time recipes", that's the book for you. By old recipes, I mean 1000's of years old. Pretty interesting read also, especially regarding how ancient people viewed alcohol and how it was drunk and brewed.
If you like "old time recipes", that's the book for you. By old recipes, I mean 1000's of years old. Pretty interesting read also, especially regarding how ancient people viewed alcohol and how it was drunk and brewed.
These are all awesome posts guys! Keep it up! I love hearing about this topic...There are some really good videos on youtube if you search "Heather Ale" they will show you the Williams Bros. actually harvesting it for their Fraoch beer...Here is also the website I ordered my Heather seeds from...
http://www.alchemy-works.com/index.html
The guy is super nice...
Right now we make a Scottish Ale which we dubbed "Foamy Sea" inwhich we infused with dried heather tips...it is conditioning in the bottle as we speak and has about another week till I will throw it in the basement for aging...I have tried one bottle and it has a real nice color...and a distinct flavor...we will be bringing it down to a specialty beer shop here in Minnesota for taste testing to see what the guys there can tell us about it (bad or good)...Keep in touch though and I will let you all know the progress on our actual flowers..i will post pics as well...
http://www.alchemy-works.com/index.html
The guy is super nice...
Right now we make a Scottish Ale which we dubbed "Foamy Sea" inwhich we infused with dried heather tips...it is conditioning in the bottle as we speak and has about another week till I will throw it in the basement for aging...I have tried one bottle and it has a real nice color...and a distinct flavor...we will be bringing it down to a specialty beer shop here in Minnesota for taste testing to see what the guys there can tell us about it (bad or good)...Keep in touch though and I will let you all know the progress on our actual flowers..i will post pics as well...
I've played around with a nice Irish Red Ale, that I added heather tips to for flavor. I'd buy dried heather tips from the brew store. I'd add it to the keg in a bag. It was always lovely. I have since moved to the UK and cannot find any to purchase anywhere. But I happen to live near a heath, so I am just gonna go harvest some now that it's blooming. I'll post again after I do and let y'all know how it works out. I've never used fresh heather before.
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