First post, first beer.
I've been foraging wild foods for several years, and as part of that evolution, eventually you get to the real fun bit, wild booze!
I am total newbie to brewing - other than making a wild Mead last year using simply honey, spring water and Sloe's (a true wild British plumb of the Gin flavouring for it's wild yeast must) in turn to make a Mead vinegar while studying long term food preservation, and to have a decent drink.
Most of the information on wild brewing I have been reading / following comes from a prolific Belgian (now in LA) forager by the name of Pascal Baudar; so credit where due.
I made a simple wort of unrefined cane sugar (grains will come later) and added some wild aromatic / bitter herbs I am familiar with, yarrow, mugwort, long dock-leaf as a citrus, ground ivy (ale-hoof) young pine needles and fennel.
The wild yeast starter came from young green larch cones and was made a few days in advance to give the process a kick start.
After the wort was cooled, the starter added the waiting game began ... the following morning fermentation had started.
It was recommended that fermentation last 10 days and then bottled with a primer, but as I guess we've all done, I added a little more sugar to begin with hoping for something with a bit more kick, and I'm just going to leave this one until fermentation stops (still very active) and the beer clears a little.
Please excuse any errors or things you might have done different, it's all just guess work, but it has been the start of an epic learning cure and to be blunt, I'm like a kid with a new goldfish at the moment.
Looking forwards to any advice given.
Just a few pictures to enjoy, al.
I've been foraging wild foods for several years, and as part of that evolution, eventually you get to the real fun bit, wild booze!
I am total newbie to brewing - other than making a wild Mead last year using simply honey, spring water and Sloe's (a true wild British plumb of the Gin flavouring for it's wild yeast must) in turn to make a Mead vinegar while studying long term food preservation, and to have a decent drink.
Most of the information on wild brewing I have been reading / following comes from a prolific Belgian (now in LA) forager by the name of Pascal Baudar; so credit where due.
I made a simple wort of unrefined cane sugar (grains will come later) and added some wild aromatic / bitter herbs I am familiar with, yarrow, mugwort, long dock-leaf as a citrus, ground ivy (ale-hoof) young pine needles and fennel.
The wild yeast starter came from young green larch cones and was made a few days in advance to give the process a kick start.
After the wort was cooled, the starter added the waiting game began ... the following morning fermentation had started.
It was recommended that fermentation last 10 days and then bottled with a primer, but as I guess we've all done, I added a little more sugar to begin with hoping for something with a bit more kick, and I'm just going to leave this one until fermentation stops (still very active) and the beer clears a little.
Please excuse any errors or things you might have done different, it's all just guess work, but it has been the start of an epic learning cure and to be blunt, I'm like a kid with a new goldfish at the moment.
Looking forwards to any advice given.
Just a few pictures to enjoy, al.
