sea buckthorn

[dad_of_jon]

Hi, just passed what looks to be sea buckthorn from the a484 midway between llanelli and loughor. Anyone else see - harvested any. There was a piece on countryfile recently and brewdog used it in lizard bride I believe one of my favorite beers they've done.

 

[Leon103]

Was it yesterday that it was on? Was listening but saw people eating it.

It is used in gin by a lot of distillers. Down llanelli on Friday, may go looking

 

[Clint]

Hugh Fernleywhittingswhatshisname used them in a fizzy wine type brew.

 

[marshbrewer]

I have never harvested any but Axholme brewery use them in the excellent Cleethorpes Pale Ale.

 

[peebee]

A nightmare to harvest them. I think the clue to that is in the name (ouch!). And, unlike blackthorn (sloes), they just won't pull off the branches without squishing.

Apparently commercial picking is somewhat destructive.

 

[Clint]

Think there's a load growing in the borders of the work car park...lots of yellow berries...might have a closer look tomorrow having googled an ID.

 

[geigercntr]

Apparently commercial picking is somewhat destructive.

But as it's a fairly invasive non native species, a bit of destruction won't be too big a deal I'd wager

 

[Headlands]

I don't think sea buckthorn is non-native. It's been around our coasts for probably longer than humans have.

Did you see Ray Mears picking it and processing it?

 

[dad_of_jon]

here it is last year

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.6...4!1sWcSqjWF3f2WPJ41EZ14W0w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I didn't see the big bush today but there's a fair amount of it a little further along. too windy today to try and pick some.

 

[geigercntr]

I don't think sea buckthorn is non-native. It's been around our coasts for probably longer than humans have.

Did you see Ray Mears picking it and processing it?

Fair enough: I thought it originated in China.

In Ireland it's classified as an INNS (invasive non-native species) too (link: https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/8765/Hippophae-rhamnoides/Details) and the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee says (emphasis mine!):

This form of dune vegetation is mainly found on Atlantic coasts in the EU. The New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora (Preston et al. 2002) maps the native distribution of Hippophae as ranging patchily from
Northumberland down to Dungeness/Camber in Sussex. However, Dargie (2002) extends the native range
up to Dunbar on the east coast of Scotland. Elsewhere sea-buckthorn has been planted, and is generally
regarded as a conservation problem as it tends to invade other dune habitats and change the nutrient status
of the soil where it grows.

[link: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/Article17/FCS2007-H2160-audit-Final.pdf]

... having said that, it's not (or at least as far as I can see) classified as INNS in the UK. Populations are well established too. That said, I don't think anybody will be too bothered if homebrewers fill a few bags :)

 

[peebee]

... That said, I don't think anybody will be too bothered if homebrewers fill a few bags :)

Thanks for link, reminds me that thorns weren't a problem picking these things, I was thinking of sumit else.

But what I said about squishy berries is right! "Fill a few bags" will be a messy business; you can't just "pluck" berries off. I believe serious pickers use some form of comb? And the resulting sludge is processed for juice alone (leaving behind the debris and bits of branch). For adding to beer juice is what you want anyway.

 

[geigercntr]

Yeah, I've only picked them once and it was a while back. IIRC I used secateurs to trim a few bits off and froze them. While still frozen I used a fork to remove the berries.

Used mine to flavour a vodka. Came out quite well. Loads of citrus

 

[dad_of_jon]

I've picked about half 250g worth - couldnt reach the rest, then on the cycle home saw a bush around the corner from me, low in height, great crop, only.... withered . next year it's mine all mine I tell you!