Corruptive Hops

[Jase71]

www.absinthesalon.com.au

 

[bum]

$165?!

Uh...I'll stick with my Stone's, thanks.

 

[KingPython]

I'll keep it in mind. I need to get some 10L fermenters too just to do my crazy shit.

 

[manticle]

$165?!

Uh...I'll stick with my Stone's, thanks.

I'll take a bottle of lagavulin and 6 x700 mL bottles of Chimay thanks Dave.

Keep the change.

 

[Jase71]

I'll keep it in mind. I need to get some 10L fermenters too just to do my crazy shit.

I was actually looking at those wort kits from St Peters Brewery the other day at the HBS - you get some beer and a free container for small batches - they are also pre-drilled and bunged for a tap. Only really appropriate for guys who are using kit cans anyway, because theres not any real craft to adding some water and yeast, waiting a week then bottling. But I might try one soon, if for nothing else than to try another style and get my free container

 

[KingPython]

Are these the Ezybrew kits? I'm walking distance from St Peters Brewery maybe I should knock on the door and get some?

 

[Jase71]

Are these the Ezybrew kits? I'm walking distance from St Peters Brewery maybe I should knock on the door and get some?

I think they're called Brewers Selection. Let us know if you are happy with the outcome if you grab a few.

Out of interest, have you been to that brewery for a beer ? My local bottle shop guy suggested we go there sometime for a tasting session, I recall he said it was the first Monday of each month or something like that ?

 

[flattop]

I had cannabis beer in Amsterdam last year, not being a cannabis user i just had the one.
It did nothing from a cannabis point of view or a beer point of beer, i would have preferred a Hoegaarden to be honest....

Henry the 8th wasn't too good with herbal remedies, he died of an STD... probably a just revenge for banning hops....

 

[KingPython]

I've seen their beers around, checked the usual review sites and seem to be hit and miss maybe I should actually buy a bottle of the stuff.

Anyway a wormwood beer would mostly taste like aniseed anyway it's would be more for the experimentation factor.

 

[dr K]

look like bum has been hanging around the "vault"
Tax and beer have always been close companions, the so called German Purity Law being the most obvious, the Dutch tax on mash tun size gave us turbid mashing.
If the (Catholic) priests of England controlled the gruit market then you see some pretty strong lobbying against the introduction of hops to England, so it would be of some interest to know exactly when H VIII wrote this tract. For, as everyone knows old Henry VIII was a good part of his life a devout Catholic, a great student and author of many tracts supporting the Church of Rome, for which he was conferred the honour of "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope himself, in fact pre-decimal currency in Australia (coins at any rate) from memory had that very title struck with monarch, as do current British coins. I suspect it was before he figured marriage was not so sanctimonious (an attitude picked up by our very own American Rupert Murdoch as well).

K

 

[Dazza_devil]

I found some more information from another source. According to the book 'A Modern Herbal' by Mrs M. Grieve F.R.H.S.
"The planting of Hops was forbidden in the reign of Henry VI, but half a century later the cultivation was introduced from Flanders, though only to a limited extent, and it did not become sufficient for the needs of the kingdom till the end of the seventeenth century. The prejudice against the use of Hops was at first great. Henry VIII forbade brewers to put hops and sulphur into ale, Parliament having been petitioned against the Hop as 'a wicked weed that would spoil the taste of drink and endanger the people' In the fifth year of Edward VI, however, privelidges were granted to hop growers"

There's a whole history of it there, all very interesting.

 

[King Brown]

I wonder if wormwood is a controlled substance.....

Wormwood can be bought from most health food stores as a remedy for worms

I'm reading an interesting book atm called the homebrewers garden by Joe and Dennis fisher. It has loads of info about growing your own herbs for brewing and recipes to make traditional style herbal ales. Its a good read if you want to have a crack at not only making your own gruit mix but growing your own herbs to make it with!

 

[dr K]

Eddy 6 was 14 going on 15 in the fifth year of his reign...go alcopops !!!

K

 

[muckanic]

There's as much thujone in some sages as there is in wormwood. Sage, incidentally, has nicotine-like effects and is one of a number of herbs that have been prescribed to combat Alzheimers and dementia. But back to wormwood. With absinthe, Artemesia Absinthium is typically distilled because of its bitter taste, whereas a more pleasant variety is steeped to provide the green colour.

Dried elderberries make a reasonable hops substitute (coz of the tannin), and have the bonus of forming a red head.

 

[Dazza_devil]

According to The Modern Herbal ,
Inferior absinthe is generally adulterated with copper, which produces the characteristic green colour.

Three varieties of Wormwood of differing strength
Common Wormwood - Artemisia absinthiuim - used to extract absinthol
Roman Worwood - Artemisia pontica - used by the Germans to make Wormwood wine
Sea Wormwood - Artemisia maratima - used as a tonic

There are a lot of medicanal properties mentioned some of which would counteract the result of long term alcohol abuse. As is a case with other herbs I've looked at in this use so far. eg, wormwood was prescribed for gout, juice of the fresh tops also prescribed as being good against obstructions of the liver. Hop tea was said to be an excellent drink in cases of delerium tremens and also a tonic for the liver.
The more I look into this the more I'm beginning to think that this may have been a reason for the addition of a great deal of gruit ingredients. Was it coincidence that they also had bittering qualities or was it just the way nature intended it to be?

Cheers

 

[muckanic]

Anyway a wormwood beer would mostly taste like aniseed anyway it's would be more for the experimentation factor.

The aniseed in absinthe usually comes from fennel and/or star anise. I have seen the latter still used in Belgian wits. For that matter, a typical gin spice-bill provides a heap of inspiration for beer (possibly excluding the juniper berries, but coriander and citrus peel are often in there). There are urban rumours that the essential oil of many of these spices is also psychoactive in sufficient quantity.

 

[Dazza_devil]

There are urban rumours that the essential oil of these spices is also psychoactive in sufficient quantity.

From the The Modern Herbal , about the ones you mention.

Sage - 'The volatile oil is said to be a violent epileptiform convulsant, resembling the essential oils of absinthe and nutmeg
Fennel - best varieties yield 4 - 5% volatile oils Anethol (the chief constituant of Anise Oil) and Fenchone (used for bittering many commercial oils).
Star Anise - volatile oil 90% Anethol prescribed for bronchitis and spasmodic asthma, a carminative.
Coriander - used as a flavouring to disguise the taste of active purgatives and if used too freely the seeds become narcotic.

 

[KingPython]

The aniseed in absinthe usually comes from fennel and/or star anise. I have seen the latter still used in Belgian wits. For that matter, a typical gin spice-bill provides a heap of inspiration for beer (possibly excluding the juniper berries, but coriander and citrus peel are often in there). There are urban rumours that the essential oil of many of these spices is also psychoactive in sufficient quantity.

My mistake then.

 

[brettprevans]

there are qwuite a few nurseries and specialst plant suppliers in Aust that supply wormwood. do a seach on wormwood in AHB and you'll ge a few threads with the retailers. I think I may have posted them at aosme stage.

If you really wanting to do a pyschotropic beer, do a bit more research. worwood isnt good for the body. you can use other plants that yeild a good effect (shrooms etc).

 

[Dazza_devil]

Anyway I think I'll be stickin' with hops. Stuff King Henry. I can't imagine the sulphur would of been too good for you though.