Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 10 days

Yield: Serves 16

A wild beer that's sure to please all beer drinkers.

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Ingredients

>> 1 gallon water (3.75 L)
>> 0.2 ounce (2 g) wormwood
>> 0.2 ounce (2 g) common yarrow
>> 0.5 ounce (6 g) fresh ground ivy (creeping charlie)
>> 0.3 ounces (4 g) chopped dried dandelion roots
>> 3-4 crushed stems bitter dock 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm) long or 1 to 2 lemons
>> 1 1/4 pounds (680 g) brown sugar
>> Yeast (wild or commercial)

Instructions

Place the sugar, wormwood, yarrow, dandelion roots and bitter dock stems into a large pot with water (cut and squeeze the lemons if you used them). Bring to a light boil for 30 minutes. Add the fresh ground ivy after 15 minutes of boiling.

Remove from heat and strain the brew into the fermenter then add the yeast. Position the airlock or cover your fermenter with a paper towel or cheesecloth. Let the beer ferment for 10 days. Start counting when the fermentation is active (may take 2 to 3 days with a wild yeast starter). Siphon into swing-top bottles (16 oz - 500ml) and prime them with ½ teaspoon (2g) brown sugar for carbonation. Close the bottles and store somewhere not too hot. The beer will be ready to drink in around 3 weeks.

Thank you to Pascal Bauder, owner of Urban Outdoor Skills in Los Angeles for allowing his Belgium Beer recipe to appear on EdibleWildFood.com. Pascal is a wild food researcher and a self-styled 'culinary alchemist'. Be sure to visit Urban Outdoor Skills.

Wild Edibles in Recipe: Bitter Dock, Common Yarrow, Creeping Charlie, Dandelion

Wild Fungi in Recipe:

Edible Trees and Shrubs in Recipe:

Recipe Category: Beverages