On Brewing with Herbs

By Master Richard the Poor of Ely

BEER:

These days, you can't make beer without Hops (Humulus lupulus). While now used to provide a bitter flavor to complement the sweetness of the barley malt, hops were originally used as a preservative. Also, they weren't universally used until near the end of Period. Before that, many other herbs were used. The most common were Alecost (Chrysanthemum balsamita) and Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea). Virtually any strong, slightly bitter herb can be used, either alone or in combination with others. Try Dandelion leaves (Taraxacum officinale).

Some beer styles (which may or may not be Period; consult your local listings) call for spices like Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) and Grains of Paradise (Aframomum melegueta). These usually appear in wheat beers or "summer" ales in conjunction with citrus fruits.

MEAD:

What Digby wrote was true in Period, and it still is:

"I conceive, that bitter and strong herbs, as Rosemary, bayes, Sweet-marjoram, Thyme, and the like, do conserve Meathe the better and longer, being used as it were instead of hops. But neither must they....be too much boiled: For the Volatile pure Spirit flies away very quickly. Therefore rather infuse them..."

Since when making mead, you have to add some tannins to feed the yeast, why not use some herbs as the source? Technically, meads that use herbs and spices for their flavor are called metheglins. Lemon and Ginger is one popular combination for mead.

WINE:

Most wines don't use any additionaly flavorings. One noteable exception is May Wine, which uses Sweet Woodruff (Asperula odorata). In the case of spiced or mulled wines, the spices (usually Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) and Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)) are most often added after the fermentation process has been completed.

LIQUEURS:

It is in the case of liqueurs that herbs and spices really come into their own. Many of the world's finest liqueurs owe their flavors entirely to herbs and spices. Anisette is made with Anise (Pimpinella anisum), Kummel uses Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and Caraway (Carum carvi), and Strega gets its taste from Angelica (Angelica archangelica). Some liqueurs, like Chartreuse and Benedictine, can use as many as one hundred herbs and spices!

Technically speaking, a liqueur is a tincture (an alcohol-based soultion). A lazy person can make a simple one by merely steeping bags of herbal teas in vodka and then adding honey to sweeten it to taste.

The number of flavor combinations thus available is extremely large, so feel free to come up with your own special secret recipies. Of course, that goes for beers and meads as well.

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