# Horehound soft drink



## Shane P (27/4/16)

I am just wondering if anyone out there has found a recipe and made anything that tastes like the Horehound that used to be made in Bundy many years ago. I grew up in Bundy and loved the stuff. It had a wonderful and unique flavour and it's a damn shame that they can't be bothered making it anymore. I'm an absolute noobie to brewing so please don't get too technical.


----------



## mr_wibble (28/4/16)

Email their historian and beg for some hints on a recipe.

Horehound + sugar + CO2 ?


----------



## wynnum1 (28/4/16)

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/8958-what-happened-to-horehound/


----------



## TimT (28/4/16)

I have a whole bunch of dried horehound sitting right behind me in the study! It's not a favourite weed of the government or farmers - it sticks in the coats of cattle and sheep and spreads all over the place. But it does have a long long brewing history. it has a strong bitterness and an interesting mintiness (it's from the mint family) that has great potential for use in brews. It'll be going to seed at the moment but you should be able to find it and pick it before it goes dormant for winter. Search the net for images. Alternatively some naturopaths and herbalists and organic stores might stock it. 

I've got bottles of a light horehound ale here but I don't think I've got the balance right - in spite of using below-recommended quantities for my brew the horehound bitterness came right through. Next time I'd use even less and probably try and balance it out with some other mints; or maybe use another spice to settle the brew - ginger, maybe? I'll dig up my recipe and quantities and have a look. 

It's probably not too hard to make a more conventional ale with horehound as a spice. Settle the brew with a small amount of hops for bittering at the start of the boil. Sprinkle some dried horehound at the end, just in small amounts. Give a taste test to make sure you get it just right. As both hops and horehound have a *strong* presence I don't think either will overpower the other! 

I suspect the secret may be in a residual sweetness in the beer that balances out the horehound bitter. So maybe the higher the OG the better. Have fun!


----------



## TimT (28/4/16)

Just looked up my recipe. For a standard batch of around 25 L I added approximately 100 g of horehound. For comparison, this is less than half the amount recommended in one of the horehound ale recipes given by Stephen Harrold Buhner. (He has two recipes containing horehound, but one also contains the strongly bitter gentian, not to mention capsicum!) I added the horehound about 1/2 hour before the end of the boil. In spite of this the horehound taste came out very strongly indeed.


----------



## TimT (28/4/16)

...though I feel like I'm giving folks the wrong impression of the use of the plant in modern brewing. I think it has *great* potential; you've just got to get the flavour balance right.


----------



## mr_wibble (13/5/16)

Ok, so I was reading the book "One Continuous Picnic" which is a cultural / food history book on early Australia.

I'm not finished it yet, but basically (I think) it's trying to say Australia never developed a ... uh, shall we say, sophisticated cuisine, because of a <whole bunch of factors>. Like people being paid in rations, the bulk of early immigrants being Irish (who's country was in the long process of being raised by the English, and most lived on boiled potatoes with milk), etc. etc.

Anyway, it says that in one of Australia's first cookbooks Russell’s Useful Family Receipt Book 1878, there is a recipe for Horehound Beer (p58)

This book is available in the Mitchell Library in the Sydney CBD. - (EDIT - new link) http://library.sl.nsw.gov.au/record=b3780087~S2

I'm going down to the city on the weekend, might see if I can look it up.
Do they let regular people like me look at books in the Mitchell Library, or do you have to be some sort of big-wig?


----------



## Airgead (13/5/16)

You're not a regular person. You are a researcher into the early food history of the country with a particular specialisation in beverages. 

Actually anyone can use the books at the library although if it is a rare book you may need to apply for access to the social collections. Guidelines are here - http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/research-and-collections-how-guides/using-librarys-collections


----------



## Mardoo (13/5/16)

Oh man, that would be awesome Mr. Wibble. My grandmother was mad about horehound and I'd love that recipe.


----------



## Feldon (13/5/16)

Found this little gem of information in _The London and Country Brewer _printed in 1744.

To make stale Beer drink new.
Take the Herb Horehound, stamp it and strain it, then put a Spoonful of the Juice (which is an extreme good Pectoral) to a Pitcher full of Beer, let it stand covered about two Hours and drink it.


----------



## mr_wibble (16/5/16)

I went to the state library yesterday.
I had to "order" the book at the desk downstairs in the Marie Bashir (sp?) reading room.

40 minutes later the librarian said the book was "On Search", which means the book is missing.
Since there's only one copy in Australia (according to "trove") currently we're SOL.

She suggested I make an official "Ask a Librarian" request to have the book looked-for.
This means they will spend up-to one hour looking for it. She said that because they've had a
few moves, the book is probably just misplaced, not stolen (also because it's a low-risk subject matter).

So anyway, I put in the request to have it looked-for. Fingers crossed.


----------



## TimT (16/5/16)

Bloody incompetence to lose something so precious, one of the few remaining versions of one of Australia's first cookbooks!


----------



## Coodgee (16/5/16)

Love the word horehound


----------



## mr_wibble (20/5/16)

Right, so the librarian kindly got back to me, and we _are_ SOL. It's been missing for 4 years, and they have looked.


She suggested a search on "Trove" which is a bunch of old digitised newspapers.
e.g.: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=horehound+beer+recipe


There are indeed many recipes.
I copied a few of the more different ones (making some OCR corrections in Trove too - yay for homebewers); see below.

Open Questions:

There's a black and a white horehound?
What does the whipped egg white do? Bloody everyone is using it. Fining agent?
Do I need to trade in my keggle for a kerosene tin ?
WTF is the "soapbark" for?
And half a packet of epsom salts ... without so much as a water report. Geeze!

cheers,
-kt





*The Land, NSW, 1937-03-26*

In reply to a recent invitation, a South Coast reader has kindly supplied the following recipe for horehound beer:
One gallon of water,
two cups of sugar,
half a packet of epsom salts,
juice of four lemons,
a handful of horehound.

Boil all together and strain.
A smaller quantity can be made if desired by reducing the Ingredients in proportion.


*The Land, NSW, 1953-09-04*

"Reader": A reader forwards this recipe for Horehound beer:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon horehound,
1 tablespoon hops,
1 tablespoon whole ginger (bruised),
1 tablespoon soapbark,
1 handful raisins.
Put all in a large saucepan of water and boil for 20 minutes.
Take off and pour into a kerosene tin and add
6 cups of sugar,
1½ teaspoons of cream of tartar,
1 teaspoon tartaric acid.

Let it stand all night and strain next morning. Put one bottle of lager or 2 teaspoonfuls of compressed yeast into it.
Colour with Parisian essence or burnt sugar.

Bottle and cork.



*The Sun, NSW, 1922-08-06*

This recipe Is reprinted for M.B. (Whitton):
Boll 1lb. treacle in 6 qts. water, with an ounce of hops, for 10 minutes, and just before removing from the fire put in two or three sprigs of horehound.

Set aside till just warm, when add a good cup of yeast, and strain.

Cover, and leave to ferment for a day or two. Then bottle.
If preferred, you can bottle at once and set a bottle a day by the fire to work quickly, keeping the rest in a cool place to retard fermentation.

A bitter beer can he made by using more horehound, or by boiling longer.



*The Sun, NSW, 1921-12-11*


This recipe Is sent by M.H.E. (North Sydney) to C.C.S. (Stanmore):

Boil six quarts water, 1oz. hops and 1lb. treacle together for about 10 minutes, and remove from the stove.
Just before taking off the fire add two or three sprigs of horehound.
Let stand until just warm, then add a good cup of yeast. Strain and cover, then let stand for a couple of days before bottling. Tie down thoroughly.



*The Prahan Telegraph, VIC, 1919-03-15*

"Joan" asks for a recipe for horehound beer.

Into two gallons of water put two large handfuls of loose hops, two or three sprigs of horehound, one small cupful of barley (not pearl) or wheat.

Boil all for twenty minutes. Strain onto 2 lb. of sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Put two gallons of cold water into a cask. Put in the horehound liquid, then add the small cupful of yeast and two tablespoonfuls of cream of tartar, and the well-whipped white of an egg.

The cream of tartar or yeast must be added while the liquid is warm. Colour with a little burnt sugar. Cork tightly and it will be ready for use in twenty four hours or a little longer.


*Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, NSW, 1931-10-02*

"Bushman," Ballandry.— The following is a recipe for Horehound Beer :
First, get true horehound, not the harsh grey wood with an unpleasant smell, which some people call horehound. The true is more like Balm of Gilead, and grows in hedges and sheep yards.

To a good handful of twigs allow three gallons of water.

Boil all together in a kerosene tin for 20 minutes (if you have any orange or lemon peels, it is an improvement), then add five cups of sugar.

Let cool, and add half cup of yeast. When the horehound rises to the top and bubbles, strain and bottle.
The twigs should be pieces about 12 or 15 inches long.



*The Queenslander, QLD, 1930-10-23*

MISS C.E.H. (Mt. Isa).—This is an old and tested recipe for making horehound beer:—

Make a strong decoction of horehound, and let it cool to about 80deg., add ½lb. sugar and 4oz. hops to each gallon of the liquid by straining into the vessel. Add a couple of bottles of ale or porter. Keep it in a moderately warm place, and let it ferment for a few days. When it begins to clear and settle remove to a cool place. Draw off and bottle when settled.



*Western Mail, WA, 1930-07-10*

Reader (Fernbrook) asks - will you publish a recipe for horehound beer.
A lot of horehound grows around here. Hore hound beer is a medicine as well as a beverage and I believe that it is made a lot in the Eastern States.

Horehound beer is made in the same way as hop beer. The quantity of horehound mentioned in the following recipe may not suit your taste. If the beer is not bitter enough after boiling or steeping in boiling water add more horehound and if it is too bitter add water.

Put 1oz. dried horehound or 4oz. of fresh horehound into six gallons of boiling water.
The horehound may be tied in a muslin bag.
Stand the vessel where the water will keep as near as possible to the boiling point without actually boiling for half an hour; or gently boil for a quarter of an hour. Severe boiling will drive off the aroma.

Strain the liquid into a perfectly clean cask in which it has room to work and dissolve 5lb. of brown sugar in it.

If it is desired to use ginger, obtain 1oz. of good whole ginger, bruise it well, tie it in muslin, and place it in the water, at the same time as the horehound.

When, the liquor has cooled to about 80deg. Fah, stir in a cupful of good brewers' yeast.

Allow the liquor to remain in the cask until it has finished working. When it has finished working it will settle and be quite clear It should not be moved or touched while it is working. Then strain it through fine cloth and bottle it.

It will be ready for use in three or four days, and will improve with keeping so long is it is well corked and tied down.



*The Land, NSW, 1921-12-16*

"Anxious" asks: Can you tell me how to make hore-hound beer?

Answer.—

If required for medicinal purposes, all that is required is: To every pint of boiling water add one ounce of leaves of
the white horehound (not the black), steep for two hours, and then strain.

If for a general drink, see recipe for hop beer in Women's Pages in this issue, and in place of hops substitute about two-thirds of white horehound leaves.

*Probably Referred-to Recipe "Hop Beer" (from the same newspaper) -*

_Take 4 gallons of water, 4oz. of hops, 4lb. of brown sugar, or less if not liked so sweet, 2 tablespoonsful of ground ginger, 1 spray of horehound.

Boil all together till the hops sink. When cool, strain and beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth, and mix with the beer; then put in a keg and cork.

It will be ready for use in two or three days. If liked a glass of brandy may be mixed with it._


----------



## Mardoo (20/5/16)

Awesome, mate! Thanks for following that through!


----------



## TimT (20/5/16)

There are a number of horehounds. White horehound, _Marrubrium vulgare_, is generally considered the better for brewing. Black horehound, _Ballota nigra_, is usable but apparently not particularly desirable (I haven't really tasted it). You can even get ornamental horehounds, oddly enough - my mother in law has one in her garden! They have a pretty pale grey-green leaf, a bit like sage, but have the true horehound taste. I presume they have few/none of the seeds that make the wild horehound such a formidable weed in agricultural areas. 

I experimented for a while using egg whites in my brews, partly to clarify, partly to add some nutrients to my brew, partly because I thought the alkalinity of egg whites might offset the acidity of some of my brews. Honestly I don't think it made any difference whatsoever. However, egg white is a very old clariftying ingredient, used that way in wines and meads. 

No idea about soapbark. Could be worth a go!


----------



## mr_wibble (22/5/16)

So ah, TimT ... please, are you going to munge all recipes above into something more useful and modern ?
It's just that I kind-a feel like you have a fair bit of experience with this sort of stuff.


----------



## TimT (22/5/16)

I'd be inclined to give the first recipe a go as it sounds quite like the ginger beer recipes that you still find people using. They make a very nice ginger beer too. Quantities for horehound aren't particularly necessary as the flavour is very strong and you really don't need to add much. 

Last December I used 100 g horehound for a 23 litre light ale and next time I do one I think I'll halve that amount again as the flavour is very noticeable.


----------



## TimT (22/5/16)

The second recipe (the one with ginger and soapbark) sounds good too. Ginger, as with horehound and hops, has a strong taste and a kind of spicy heat that really seems to dominate a brew. I really must use it more in my brewing.


----------

