Hobgoblin-ish Nettle Elderflower Thing

[earthwormgaz]

So I borrowed the Hobgoblin recipe from elsewhere on here. I started the brew and realised I had no steralising powder, but carried on anyway. I used salt water (boiling). Be interesting to see how that works out.

Anyway, after the mash, it didn't look very red. Isn't Hobgoblin a ruby ale?

When I got to the boil towards the end, I dumped in a carrier bag full of nettles from down the road and a hand full of elderflower from the bush in the garden (unwashed, I thought the boil would kill anything), as well as the proscribed hops.

Thoughts? Will this be rank or champion?

 

[PD]

Just a comment on adding the nettles and elderflowers to the brew. Be wary of where you collect these type of additives from, don't use them if they have been growing on the road side as they absorb too many nasties from traffic fumes etc. Try and get them from somewhere out in the " wild " away from any sort of aerial pollution and contaminants. Also I would never add them unless they had been thoroughly washed and rinsed if only to get the aroma off any passing dog or cat ! Why take the risk of adding a few small slugs or beasties ? I would prefer to sterilise them before hand in a solution or by boiling so that any wild yeasts etc don't get a foothold in the brew.

 

[Vossy1]

Love the brews name :lol:
Really looking forward to seeing what yo think of the brew can't see anything wrong with nettle or elderflower (as long as it's not the cat pee smelling type :sick: :lol: ), sounds quite nice :drink: I think a lot of brewers are too worried about just chucking stuff in, I say go for it.
I too wouldn't be picking stuff from road sides...having said that we made Damson Jam last year with fruit from Manchester Airport :whistle:

 

[earthwormgaz]

The elderflower was from the garden so should be fine. The nettles were from the end of a road although it's a quiet one and more next to a field than the road side ... hopefully it'll be okay?

I can rack the stuff off in a week anyway, and have a sneaky taster!

 

[PD]

Vossy.... do you label your bottles with the ingredients .... flavoured with essence of slug, traces of agapanthea villosoviridescens and phyllobius pomaceus.... :sick: :rofl:

 

[earthwormgaz]

Vossy.... do you label your bottles with the ingredients .... flavoured with essence of slug, traces of agapanthea villosoviridescens and phyllobius pomaceus.... :sick: :rofl:

You wor?

 

[earthwormgaz]

Drinking a pint of this now! :drink:

The nettle comes through strong drinking it, overpowering the hops I think. It's actually quite nice, different!

I think I'll do something a bit more run of the mill next time though, a best and an IPA or something and keep this back for the odd pint.

The weird thing was I drank some after 2 weeks, and it gave me a BANGING headache the next day and got me steaming on 2 pints. It seems fine now though.

 

[EskiBrew]

The nettle comes through strong drinking it, overpowering the hops I think. It's actually quite nice, different!

:? :hmm: :lol:
Glad you like it :thumb: