Wormwood herb beer

[Duncan Clarke]

Smash you head with a brick and walk away. Wormwood is bad. It tastes bad. It is like pure tannis. Unless you like the sides and back of you tongue covered in bitter as #$^*#@$(&# stuff along with with your throat being squeezed really hard, in that case give it a go. I used less than 1/8oz in a 6 gallon batch, in just under 2 years it is barley drinkable.

FWIW there is NO, I repeat NO, "extra effects" either. That was a medieval sales pitch that was used to sell booze that was really high ABV and tasted worse than a hot, flat, festering in the sun, BMC product.

You have been warned...

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. I tried a wormwood sour brewed by a friend of mine and it was delicious. I don't know the quantities he used, which is kinda why I'm on this page, to find out. I'll make sure not to use yours tho. Thanks

 

[lacto]

This is all so amazing - but totally different from my experience of Artemesia Absinthium. I've been experimenting with some Wormwood which happily grows in my garden. Perhaps my taste buds are shot, but the taste I get from around 3g in 4 litres ( along with 10g Sweet Gale, 10g Marsh Rosemary, and 10g of Oakbark - boiled for 30 mins) sweetened with 900g LME - fermented for 6 days, then taste tested ... gives me an incredible flavour! I am now about to play with 1.7k malt to replace the LME, with the idea of experiencing different flavour profiles as I try different timings. But one thing is for sure ... although I am told over and over again that the brew needs to be bottled (I never 'prime' with sugar) then left to 'mature' over a period of anything from 7 days to three months ... or longer ... being a bit of an impatient person I usually find that on bottling the brew tastes wonderfully bitter - with a hint of sweetness - although I know I should wait a bit longer in order to fully taste the bitterness of wormwood, which up till now far exceeds my expectations of an enjoyable gruit ... if that is what it might be ... I'm not sure ... its the taste - not the label that is relevant to me.