Beer Brewing Herbs

If you like beer you may be interested in growing some of your own ingredients. Hops are the most common herb used in beer and are used for  bittering. They are relatively easy to grow and make a nice vine to grow up your deck or elsewhere.

hops

I've been reading "The Homebrewer's Garden" by Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher which details many of the other herbs that are and have been used in beer.  I was not only amazed at how many herbs have been used in beer but also realized that I grow many of these herbs.

Hops are my favorite as I am a fan of great IPA's. They not only bitter the beer it but to create a variety of unique flavor profiles that include floral, piney and citrus. There are some beers that taste very similar to grapefruit juice just becasue of the hops they use. If you are not a beer drinker you may not realize that there are actually many different varieties of hops all producing different aromas and flavors in a beer because of their alpha and beta acids.
 
We grow hops here on the farm and use them in dream pillows as they are a good for destress and to promote sleep. You may have experienced relaxation after you've had a few beers! Hops are also good for skin care and help decrease irritation and promote hydration. I've written about the benefits of hops before, here.

thyme

There are additional herbs that are used in beer for bittering, flavoring and giving the beer a nice aroma.

Herbs used for bittering include yarrow, horehound, sage, dandelion, costmary, and clary sage. They are typically added at the beginning of the boil phase and need to be balanced with hops which are also bitter.

Flavoring herbs include rosemary, hyssop, borage, oregano, mint, bee balm/monarda, lemon balm, sweet woodruff, marjoram and thyme. Add these carefully as they can have rather strong flavors. They can be added at the beginning or near the end of the boil.

Other herbs can be added for aroma including rosemary, hyssop, lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, bee balm, elder flowers. If adding them for aroma they are added toward the end of the boil. 

Yarrow apparently was commonly used to bitter beer before hops were used, a beer known now as Gruit Ale. I don't know if any commercial brewers use this but I did find a lot of interest in it on several beer brewing websites.

Other herbs that I grow that are used in beers are Horehound, Coriander, Summer savory, Nasturtium, Raspberry Fruit, Rhubarb, Rose Hips and Valerian leaf. Not mentioned in the book, but herbs I think would be great in beer include rose petals, red clover, violets, calendula, salad burnett, and feverfew.

I'd love to taste a good hoppy IPA that is flavored with lavender. I've seen several Saison styles with lavender but never an IPA. So, local breweries, make my dream come true please!

Besides using these herbs in beer, they can be used for skin care and bath herbs. Beer Spa is a concept that is gaining in popularity and many of these herbs can be used in conjunction with beer to provide skin benefits. We just put on a beer spa event and hope to do more in our area.

Spring Herbal Vinegar

I've been meaning to make some herbal vinegar while the chive blossoms are still here. They turn a vinegar a lovely pink color. I finally got around to it today. I cut some of my favorite herbs from the garden; chive blossoms, roses, tarragon, salad burnett, sage, oregano and red clover. I'm not sure how this will taste but I can't imagine any herb combination not tasting good. This time of year its nice to preserve all these spring herbs by putting them in vinegar. If you want to do this just clip a few herbs and loosely fill a 16 oz jar with herbs. Fill the jar with vinegar. I used white because I wanted the color of the herbs to come through. You can use any mild flavored vinegar though. I wouldn't use red wine or balsamic vinegar though as they might overpower the taste of the herbs.

I like doing different herb vinegars over the summer as tasting them over the winter can bring back those memories of summer. Later in the summer I might do a blend of lavender, calendula, mint, nasturtium and basil or Tulsi. I'll use these vinegars in the winter in my salad dressings. What herbs do you like to preserve in vinegar?

Brewers Herbs

Beer is an ancient drink (and food) that I happen to be quite fond of. I especially like beer with lots of floral hops. Hops were not always used in beer though, and may not have been used until the 9th century. Before that, a mixture of herbs referred to as gruit was used to flavor beer. Although I don't brew beer, I do grow hops and other herbs so am interested in what herbs are used in beer. I recently read "The Homebrewer's Garden" by Joe and Dennis Fisher to learn more about herbs in brewing, a very interesting book by the way.

Here are some of the herbs from this book that grow in my gardens.

Anise Hyssop - provides a licorice flavor to beer.
Basil - adds a slightly bitter, spicy flavor.
Bee Balm - often used as a tea, bee  balm provides a bitter, minty flavor.
Borage - gives a spicy, cucumber like flavor to beer. This herb can also be steeped in wine.
Chamomile (Roman) - is said to be one of the 'secret' herbs in Celis White beer. It gives an apple-like flavoring.
Clary Sage - provides a balsamlike aroma to beer.
Coriander - this is a flavoring in one of my favorite beers; Belgian Whites.
Dandelion - yet another use for this common weed. Use the tender spring leaves in your salad and the larger leaves later in the season to bitter your beer.
Elder - the berries are best know for making wine, but they can also be used to flavor beer. The flowers can be used for 'dry hopping' as well.
Oregano - adds a distinctive flavor to beer.

Horehound - this herb can add a warm, menthol flavor. I wonder if horehound beer can be used to control coughs?
Hyssop officinalis - this herb is used in Benedictine and Chartreuse. Using it in beer provides a minty, medicinal scent.
Juniper - commonly used in gin, juniper can contribute this taste to beer as well.
Lavender - oh, the many uses of sweet lavender. I would love to try a pale ale flavored with lavender. Let me know if you know of one.
Lemon Balm - this is used in many liquours and can add a lemon scent/flavor to beer.
Mint - there are many types of  mint, and although I love a mint tea, I don't know how this would be in beer.
Rhubarb - great in a fruit crisp, this is one fruit that would be interesting in beer.
Rose hips - apparently rose hips are used in some beers from Poland and impart a citrus flavor and red color to beer.
Rosemary - before the use of hops in beer, rosemary was quite popular.
Sage - was used in fifteenth century English beer recipes and adds bitterness and camphorlike scent.
Savory, Summer - provide a peppery, oregano-like flavor and aroma.
Spruce - was popular during the American Revolution spruce adds distinct, woods taste that is popular in winter beers.
Sweet Woodruff - this herb is what makes May wine what it is but can also be used to add a mild, sweet aroma to beer.
Thyme - used to give beer a spicy aroma.
Valerian root - is commonly used as a sedative so what better place to use it than beer?
Yarrow - both the leaves and flowers can be used to bitter beer.

I'd love to see more 'herbal' beers so I hope that if you are a brewer this gives you some ideas - and don't hesitate to share with me! I'd love to write reviews!

Herbal Spunk Shampoo

Our customers said they wanted an all natural shampoo with gentle surfactants and now we've got one. As always, we started with beneficial herbs. We choose southernwood, sage, horsetail, green tea and catnip to improve hair growth, strength and shine. Peppermint and rosemary help improve blood circulation to the scalp which also contributes to healthier hair follicles and better hair growth. Panthenol, a B vitamin, binds to the hair shaft to seal it and improve shine. Along with glycerin and aloe, panthenol moisturizes the hair and scalp.

This shampoo also contains very good conditioners including a guar gum derivative to leave hair soft, shiny, easy to comb and will protect color treated hair. You won't need to use a separate conditioner afterward.

The gentle surfactants in this shampoo will not strip the hair or dry the scalp.

We think you will love this shampoo. Try it and tell us what you think.
http://sagescript.com/bathandshower.htm

Ingredients:
water, decyl glucoside, sodium lauroyl lactylate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, glycerin, panthenol, camellia sinensis (green tea) extract, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, benzyl alcohol, dehydroacetic acid, artemisia abrotanum (Southernwood), extract, salvia officinalis (sage) extract, mentha piperita (peppermint) extract, Nepeta cataria (catnip) extract, rosmarinis officinalis.

Herbal Advent Wreath

After pulling my advent wreath out of the cupboard this weekend I realized it was time for a new one. I bought a clear glass bowl to display soaps in but it gave me the idea to use it to hold a fresh cut herb/greens wreath. After googling for ideas I realized it was not a completely unique idea but I did put my uniqueness to it. I put some florist's foam in the dish which is about 4 inches high. I pushed the 4 candles in the foam; it actually should be 3 purple to symbolize royalty and 1 pink that is lit the 3rd Sunday of Advent as a reminder that it is half over. For some reason I never seem to get the right candles. I then went outside to look for whatever I could find green or at least gray. I picked four small branches off a juniper bush, some thyme, rue, lavender, sage, hyssop and some beautiful red berries which I believe are from a cotoneaster bush. Following is the meaning of these herbs:

Lavender for purity, cleanliness and virtue
Sage branches represent immortality
Rue is an herb of grace used for driving away evil.
Thyme is an herb used for courage.
Hyssop is for purification

I started by putting the juniper branches into the foam and then filling in with the herbs. The berries worked great in the middle to hide the foam. I love the way it looks.

Herbs for Winter Health

Echinacea

This is a good time of year to go over 'must-have' herbs for winter health. Since I am feeling "under the weather" today it also makes it a good time to review. Herbs that I have found most useful to treat and prevent colds and flu include elderberry, echinacea, thyme, sage and garlic. Infection is a combination of exposure to a critical number of bacteria or virus and the immune system not being able to handle the exposure. The herbs mentioned have both antiviral and antibacterial properties and several also have immune stimulating properties.

Elderberry is an important herb for flu and medical studies have found it to be effective. It contains neuraminidase activity, the same activity of the drug commonly used to treat the flu, Tamiflu. The best part is that elderberry tastes delicious. You can make a syrup from elderberry using these instructions. You can also make a liquor with elderberry by covering the elderberries with vodka, let set for two weeks and then add honey to taste. Alternatively, you can leave it with just vodka and use it as a tincture.

Thyme is a traditional herb used for bronchitis and upper respiratory tract infections. Thyme can be used in a number of ways; added directly to tea or make thyme honey to add to tea or use as a cough remedy.

Sage is a great herb to use for a sore throat. It too can be used to make a honey or as a tea itself. Echinacea is best used as a tincture; you can make this yourself (directions coming in another blog) or you can buy this. If you have Echinacea in your yard you want to harvest, this is the time of year to dig up the roots to make your tinctures; after the aerial parts of the plant have died back.

Garlic is a valuable herb that stimulates the immune system and has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal activity. I like using garlic fresh as garlic toast. To do this first make a piece of toast from whole wheat bread. Then rub a garlic clove over the rough surface of the toast so that the garlic goes all over the surface of the toast. It may bite a little when you eat it, but it does great good!

For more information on what you can do for minor infections see my book "The Antibiotic Alternative". This month I am celebrating the 10th anniversary of its publication. You can see more about this book here.

Colorado Aromatics sells a product I call Thyma-Flu, a play on the drug name, Tamiflu. This product is a mix of immune stimulating herbs and antiviral herbs. You add drinking alcohol of your choice to the herbs to make a tincture. Take this at the first sign of cold or flu to prevent the symptoms from arising.
You can find this product here.

Sixth Picture Meme

Games are fun especially when the lead to an easy blog post. Maggie at Prairieland herbs blog tagged me for this "6th picture meme". By the way, here is the definition of meme given by wordnet.princeton.edu: "a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)." The rules of this meme are:

1.Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures

2.Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder

3.Post that picture on your blog and tell the story that goes along with the picture.

4.Tag 6 other people that you know or don’t know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

This had me a little worried as my computer is full of quite a few crazy pictures my son takes, so I was happy to see that the sixth folder was just herbs. These were pictures I took in my garden several years ago shortly after getting a digital camera. The top picture here is the sixth picture. It is a sage (Salvia officinalis) called Bergarten. It has shorter and rounder leaves than the typical garden sage and is a very low and dense grower. I remember getting it at a Herb Society plant exchange. It grew very nicely for me but now that we have moved I do not have one anymore. Perhaps that will change this spring! I use sage as a culinary herb but also as a tea to gargle with for a sore throat. Actually, my son right now has a red inflammed eye and I gave him a sage tea on a washcloth to put on it. Seems to be doing much better now.

Because this folder was full of herb pictures of course I had to post a few more. The second picture is that of blue spruce which I use alot for distillation. It has a nice woodsy aroma. The next picture is a mullein (Verbascum) rosette. Although I like to keep a couple mulleins growing, it is hard to control their spread. The flowers of mullein infused in oil along with garlic can be used as eardrops for ear pain.

The blogs I am tagging for this are:

Mountain Mary's Blog

Leos Favorites

Rosemary House

Violet Lady at Home

Mary Ann Kudera

Inner Ki Journal

I hope they like to play!

Herbs For Winter Health Class

Now is the time to start stocking up on your herbal medicines for winter; elderberry syrup, echinacea tincture, thyme honey, sage tea. I will be teaching a class at the Gardens at Spring Creek in Ft. Collins Thursday night October 7 from 6:30-8:30 on winter health. Learn both how to keep your immune system strong and to treat minor conditions before they become major. Nobody can completely avoid cold and flu viruses, but we can do our best to prevent getting sick from them. During class we will make a winter tonic to take home. To sign up go to www.fcgov.com/horticulture or call 970-416-2280.

Antibiotic Use Linked to Increase Cancer Risk

More alarming news today in the field of medicine; a new study finds that antibiotic use increased the risk of several types of cancers including breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. Similar studies have been done in the past and this study supports the evidence. Scientists looked at data from over 3 million patients. Antibiotic use has been linked to other major issues the most severe being that of antibiotic resistance. This link to cancer is even more significant to health and the risk increases with increased antibiotic use. Of course antibiotics are necessary at times and can save lives, but since their inception in the 1940's they have been both misused and overused. It is always good to question an antibiotic prescription and ask if it is really necessary. Oftentimes a physician will prescribe an antibiotic just for patient satisfaction.

Most antibiotics are prescribed for self limiting illnesses that tend to improve on their own such as children's middle ear infection (otitis media) or bronchitis. Research studies have found that antibiotics are unnecessary for uncomplicated cases of both of these conditions.

There are also many ways that herbs can help relieve symptoms of these conditions. Gargle with sage tea for a sore throat. Make eardrops by infusing garlic in a little olive oil. Essential oil of lavender can be added to that to soothe a fuss child. For more information see my book "The Antibiotic Alternative."

The relationship between antibiotics and cancer is not known and how antibiotics would influence a cell to grow uncontrollably as in cancer has not yet been identified.
International Journal of Cancer 2008 Aug 14, doi: 10.1002/ijc.23622

Wedding Herbs

My younger brother finally tied the knot so to speak and got married. For his wedding I put together an assortment of herbs as an 'Herbal Blessing'. Sometimes these herb mixes can be used instead of rice to toss at the couple with wishes of good luck. They don't have the problems that rice has with expanding in a bird's stomach and they don't have the problems of causing weeds like seeds do. They can also be placed in a bowl for guests to scoop out some to put into small organza bags. However, the place where my brother's wedding was did not allow anything loose like this so they put the herbs in organza bags before the wedding and set them in the reception area for guests to take.

Each herb has a specific meaning. Although flowers and herbs have probably always had meanings, they were popularized during Victorian times when polite people would never openly talk about their feelings but would rather send their messages (especially those that dealt with love) in the form of flowers. Even though we tend to speak quite freely now, using herbs to send a message adds a nice touch.


Here are the herbs and their meanings that I included in this combination:
Rose for Love
Lavender for Devotion
Rosemary for Remembrance
Larkspur for Joy
Sage for Virtue
Chamomile for Patience
Thyme for Strength

Mother's Day Tussie Mussie

I miss my Mom. She died two years ago. When she was alive I remember giving her a tussie mussie one year for Mothers Day. This year I will walk my garden (and look in my dried collection) to see what plants I have to pay tribute to her on this Mothers Day.

Basil for the unconditional love she gave me and my siblings.
Rosemary for remembering her and the lessons she taught me.
Sage for her endless wisdom and to represent my grief.
Scented geranium for our happy times together.
Lavender for her devotion to her family.
Thyme for her strength and courage in raising 8 children.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's!