Hopbush - Dodona Viscosa

[Linz]

Found this with a little bit of a search.....

"The names Hopbush, Hopseed bush or Native Hops were all given it because early British colonists in India or Australia --or both places-- used its seedpods for beer flavoring. When immature the seedpods can be viscid and may be bitter; but they mature to a flavorless dry papery texture; they remind me of dry ripe seeds from elm trees. Though Stephen Facciola in his 1998 book Coruncopia II writes that Hopbush seeds are edible, the one I chewed proved bitter and astringent."

and

"The common name applied to Dodonaea is "Hop Bushes", because the colourful fruits resemble the fruits used in brewing. Dodonaea is in no way related to the "Hops" (Humulus lupulus) which is used for making beer"


So do we have any Agricultural types in the science field that might be able to help to answer whether it can be used in a brew...."SAFELY"??

 

[BjornJ]

you may have seen these already, just linking to them here:

http://anpsa.org.au/APOL2007/feb07-2.html

"So impressed were the early colonists with the similarity in looks and taste, which its winged seed capsules had to hops, they were inspired to successfully brew a tangy, bitter but drinkable beer. The name 'Hop bush' still remains its popular common name."


http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2007/do...ea-viscosa.html
Dodonaeas are known as hop bush as they were used to make beer by early European Australians.

Doesn't sound all that nice based on
1: Bitter but drinkable beer. In the 17x0 and early 18x0s, where things generally were rough and bad..
2: When hops made it here (James Squire or not), the whole thing of "hopbush ale" thing went away. There may have been a good reason.


But it sounds like another great idea to try.
Been reading of Barry's attempts at native Australian things like lemon myrtle, etc at bottling time and keep telling myself to venture into this.
Trying this thing sounds even better, more along the lines of gruit before hops came to Europe.

Bjorn

 

[proudscum]

have seen one of these bushes when i went to the gasworks market in port/south melbourne.stumbled across it as i was going for a piss.so it could be a sign as it was outside the toilets.....hmmm hopbush interesting name but didnt think anymore about it till now.