Instead of hops

[floydmeddler]

Hi all,

Just watched last nights River Cottage on catch up. They brewed a beer with spruce as opposed to hops. Has anyone done this?

I'm thinking of doing a little batch of beer (About 5L) but without hops. What alternatives could I use?

Cheers

[Garth]

Spruce as you've said, or heather, sweet gale, pine twigs, mugwort, yarrow, juniper berries, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, bog myrtle take your pick

[adm]

Heresy!

Blasphemy!

Burn the witch!

[garwatts]

Heresy!

Blasphemy!

Burn the witch!

[floydmeddler]

Mmm. Like the sound of a heather ale. I remember an episode of Oz and May's series when they went to the highlands and drank a beer which was brewed with heather. Doing a little research here and have discovered its traditional name: Leann Fraoch, which is Gaelic for heather ale.

Website: http://www.fraoch.com/historicales.htm

Might me nice to go back in time to taste what the Celts were drinkin'. Now... where do I find some heather in East Sussex...

[Garth]

Fraoch is available all over, I've had it in the smaller 330ml bottles and more recently I've seen it in 500ml bottles, it's pretty good.

[subsub]

Did an all Yarrow beer a few years ago, turned out rather nice but you have to like Yarrow I guess.

[Garth]

what's it taste like sub?

[rick_huggins]

Mmm. Like the sound of a heather ale. I remember an episode of Oz and May's series when they went to the highlands and drank a beer which was brewed with heather. Doing a little research here and have discovered its traditional name: Leann Fraoch, which is Gaelic for heather ale.

Website: http://www.fraoch.com/historicales.htm

Might me nice to go back in time to taste what the Celts were drinkin'. Now... where do I find some heather in East Sussex...

Tesco's do it... it's an aquired taste; personally I don't like it and I'm a jock

[subsub]

what's it taste like sub?

Bitter and slightly saline but not in an unpleasant way. I brewed it in 1989 as an experiment but have misplaced my notes on it. I might give it another go this winter

[floydmeddler]

Mmm. Like the sound of a heather ale. I remember an episode of Oz and May's series when they went to the highlands and drank a beer which was brewed with heather. Doing a little research here and have discovered its traditional name: Leann Fraoch, which is Gaelic for heather ale.

Website: http://www.fraoch.com/historicales.htm

Might me nice to go back in time to taste what the Celts were drinkin'. Now... where do I find some heather in East Sussex...

Tesco's do it... it's an aquired taste; personally I don't like it and I'm a jock

Will look out for it the next time I'm over there buying a cheap kettle!

[RabMaxwell]

I have made heather ale quite a few times but the last time was years ago now & the recipe i finally settled on was lost with a hard drive crash.I started making it after i was at a SCB meeting with Bruce Williams who makes it.If i remember it's pale malt malted wheat Ginger root bog myrtle & heather tips i have read that they have stopped using bog myrtle & they add some hops.I could never get it to taste nice until i started to include some hops & drop the bog myrtle as it gives it a medicine taste.

( Click to enlarge )
Something like this would be a good start you need to use a lot of heather step this up again if not enough .When picking heatherdon't be fussy just grab the top & cut i -1/12 inches flowers twigs insects & all.The flavour comes from the flower part but some bitterness comes from the twigs store it in plastic bags in your freezer until needed .I might give it a go when the heather starts flowering around these parts .

[J_P]

i was at a SCB meeting with Bruce Williams

The Bruce Williams? IIRC he showed Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall how to brew heather ale in he mid nineties in "A Cook On The Wild Side", his heather pickers took the p1ss out of Hugh mercilessly. Didn't he also turned up in Oz and James's (sp?) latest caper?

I've tried heather ale and I liked it, I'm not sure I'd brew a full batch though. I seem to remember having a conversation about Gruit ale with Chris an age ago and he informed me that Bog Myrtle is slightly narcotic, so watch out / dig in (delete as apropriate) !

I'm planning on adding a few hundred grams of fresh elderflowers to a brew for my next beer club (brewing group) meeting, if it smells half as good as the "champagne" that's bubbling beside me then it should be a refreshing cracker.

[floydmeddler]

I have made heather ale quite a few times but the last time was years ago now & the recipe i finally settled on was lost with a hard drive crash.I started making it after i was at a SCB meeting with Bruce Williams who makes it.If i remember it's pale malt malted wheat Ginger root bog myrtle & heather tips i have read that they have stopped using bog myrtle & they add some hops.I could never get it to taste nice until i started to include some hops & drop the bog myrtle as it gives it a medicine taste.

( Click to enlarge )
Something like this would be a good start you need to use a lot of heather step this up again if not enough .When picking heatherdon't be fussy just grab the top & cut i -1/12 inches flowers twigs insects & all.The flavour comes from the flower part but some bitterness comes from the twigs store it in plastic bags in your freezer until needed .I might give it a go when the heather starts flowering around these parts .

Cheers!

[arturobandini]

Fraoch used to be a guest ale at the pump in my old local. Couldn't drink more than one though...