First Brew at Aslan Acres

We're (still) settling into our new digs, a place we decided to refer to as "Aslan Acres".  In honor of the name, I decided to make use of the local flora (just shy of 19 acres, with about half of it wooded...) and brew a dandelion beer.

I'd actually run across a recipe for dandelion beer in Buhner's Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers (starting on pg 278) a while back, and thought about trying it out.  However, I just wasn't in a location with a great deal of the plant.  Now, I am much more cognizant of the plant, because there is another plant in the fields that has a yellow flower similar to the dandelion, but isn't a dandelion at all.

Anyway, there are basically two ways I've found to make dandelion beer.  One is to just use dandelion plants, sugar and yeast, and the other is to add the dandelions to what is seen a more traditional "beer"; that is, one that uses malt.

Other similar recipes can be found here, and here.

I decided to start out with my first attempt being based on CJJ Berry's recipe (circa 1963, from Buhner's book).  I made some very minor variations to the listed recipe.

Brew Day: 9 July 2017

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb dandelion leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 oz fresh ginger, sliced thin
- 1 lb sugar
- 1 oz cream of tartar

Yeast: Safale US-05

Place leaves, rind of the lemon (exclude white pith), and ginger in a muslin bag, boil in 1 gal of water for 20 min.  Add sugar, cream of tartar, and juice from the lemon.  Cool to 80 deg F, pitch yeast.

Most recipes that I've seen suggest fermenting for three days, then transferring to bottles, with no mention of priming sugar.  From there, it's 1 to 3 weeks until it's ready to drink.

Addendum, 10 Jul: As I've done with previous brews, I went to check to see how this one was going along.  The yeast seems to have kicked off nicely, and was happily munching away on the sugar.  With this brew, there is no krausen, so the blow-off bottle remains clear, and there is a steady stream of bubbles flowing out of the end of the blow-off tube.

Addendum, 16 Jul: Bottled today; got 9 good bottles.  There still bubbles coming from the blow-off tube, so hopefully, enough fermentation action will continue to carbonate the brew a little.

Addendum, 26 Jul: Tried one bottle tonight, after chilling in the fridge for 2 nights.  The beer is very well carbonated, even without the use of priming sugar.  It pours a cloudy yellow, with a full head that dissipates quickly.  There isn't much of anything in the nose, but my wife described the taste as being similar to a shandy.  Very light and refreshing, with a great deal of lemon flavor. This wouldn't hurt to have a bit more ginger, but it is very light and has a good flavor to it.  There is a small amount of sweetness on the tongue just before the lemon citrus hits.  I let this one sit for 6 days before bottling, when recipes called for 3 days.  I could probably let this go a bit longer (maybe 10 days) and that might result in a bit lower carbonation.  All in all, a nice beverage, and something I'll definitely do again.  Something else...this is completely gluten free!

This is clearly a spring brew, as that's when the plants seem to proliferate.  If I can find an sufficient source of the plant nearby in the near future (we're into summer at this point...), I'll try another brew.  Variations of this recipe can include, but are not limited to:

- Instead of sugar, use locally grown honey
- Use the entire plant, including the tap root (not just the leaves)
- As described in Leda Meredith's The Forager's Feast, try roasting the roots of the plant