Adding nettles to ale

[rich27500]

Hello I want to try nettles in beer a bit like the river cottage stinger. has anyone tried this and what recipe (all grain,) did they use?
Thanks

 

[RobWalker]

I havn't, but subscribed...my dad's made nettle wine before and it was quite good!

 

[olriley]

Right, nettle season is upon us, so thread revival time. Rich, did you ever get around to trying this? If so can you report your experiences?

I'd like to try making a Stinger type ale - as well as a full nettle 'beer' like the one posted here.

Here's my starter for ten recipe for Stinger, anyone want to advance on it?

4500g pale malt
Bittering hops to about 35 EBU
Big wodge of nettle tips in at flameout

 

[olriley]

Okay, sorry to answer my own questions but some intel, I've found a malted nettle ale recipe here.

It's an extract recipe - I've never tried extract brewing and I'm no expert at conversions - but I think he uses the AG equivalent of around 3500g malt and 1.1kg cane sugar for a 5-gal brew length. He boils the nettles - 5 carrier bags full - for 30 mins and uses no hops.

So has anyone tried nettles in an ale? In the boil? With/without hops?

Edit:

one more recipe here
Thread on JimsBeerKit forum - good discussion but inconclusive

Edit 2:

Very interesting malted nettle recipe with honey and hops here

 

[RobWalker]

booze for free says 22L and 4 carrier bags full of nettles too, no hops. those versions also use white sugar and no malt extract. sounds awful to be honest. loads of recipes online seem to go on what i'd call outdated methods...why not just give a regular english ale a bash with say 10-15 IBU's from hops? or are you looking to go all out on it :lol:

i wouldn't want more than like 10 bottles of this :lol:

 

[olriley]

Heh, yeah I guess its curiousity more than anything. I'm definitely looking at a malt based recipe and I think you're right on the bitterness front, a combo of nettles and hops is called for.
Olly

 

[RobWalker]

ah yeah, i see. i'm sort of assuming you dont want to pick 5 carrier bags full, for some reason. anyway, those nettle ale recipes definitely are wines. i take it you want actual beer too...malt and hop style.

what i have found does say that mature leaves (once flowered) are bitter and can irritate. young nettle leaves seem perfectly floral and earthy though. i dont think they will supply much bitterness, so maybe just brew up a recipe you fancy leaving room in the flavour department for the nettles to come through - little aroma hops, not too strong on the malt, etc.

If I’m able to convince them to give it a try, however, most people find nettle tastes quite pleasant. It reminds me a bit of hay, but with some honey and lemon, it’s very good and can even be enjoyed as iced nettle tea.

Out of the five flavors, nettle tea is best defined as slightly bitter and salty, although neither flavor is that strong. Honey added to warm tea effectively reduces the level of bitterness

this might help too, it's a review of a commercial nettle beer. maybe flicking through will give you some insight to the flavour you're adding. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4442/24716

you'll also be pleased to know that this should have some mild medicinal benefits! :

anyway, sorry to ramble, but i hope this helps...

 

[wilsoa1111]

i tried a gruit using nettle teabags for bitterness- was a tad astringent a full pint was hardwork to say the least-
defo want the young tips, if a tea from them tastes good its ok to brew with,
but u will need that large amount, and defo only use for flameout... else :mrgreen:

 

[rich27500]

I actually gave up on this idea months ago having realised I like 'beer' made the normal way!

 

[olriley]

Wimp!

Thanks all. Will report if and when this happens