Brewing a 16th Century Ale with wild yeast (new: psychotropic effects of Yarrow Ale)

I am making more of this today - the 4th batch - this will be my first batch made with dried herbs exclusively. It is the favorite with friends and family. I've learned to leave the bottles out for a couple weeks to build up carbonation and reduce the sweetness.

This Yarrow Ale is interesting in it's effects. At first it makes your face feel relaxed. About a half hour later you feel really sleepy and relaxed all over. About an hour after that, the sleepiness passes and you have a very calm awareness and heightened ability to think and reason. It's like it opens the mind to see a broader perspective which cuts down on stress. This is an effect mentioned in psychedelics like Psilocybin which are used in microdosing to treat brain injuries and PTSD.

I found it interesting that a friend who has a nervous twitch commented that it made his eyes stop twitching and he believe it lowered his stress levels. Another beer-loving friend with some PTSD also loved how it made him feel and wanted to start brewing this recipe as well. I find I dream more intellectual dreams (instead of stupid or stress dreams) after having about 8 ounces. So this will probably be our most commonly brewed beer. Unfortunately, I'm out of Yarrow and Chamomile after this and will have to wait until Summer to brew more.

Last Edited by ArchimedesGirl on 01/18/2023 04:55 PM

I'm so excited to have 15 lbs of fresh Black Cherries given to me today. I started a batch of Black Cherry Wine - one of our favorites. Meads and wines are my old playground. I was also given 18 lbs of blackberries and some raspberries too, so I'll be making a batch of blackberry wine as well. Or, if God sends me some free honey, I'll make mead. Woohoo!

Recipe for the creative and curious:

Black Cherry Wine or Mead

15 lbs of fresh black cherries, chopped and crushed.
3 lbs of Red Raspberries from the freezer.
12 -15 lbs of unrefined cane sugar (or 1 gallon plus 1 pint of honey)
2 quarts of tangerine juice
2 Tablespoons of tangerine or orange zest
2 cups of raisins (soaked in hot water and drained to remove sulfites) (for yeast nutrient)
1 quart of Yeast starter (the same Kveik I use for beer/ale)
1 cup of papaya skin (for pectic enzyme)
(and some cherry stems for tannin)
4 gallons of water


Chop the fruit and put it in a new laundry bag down inside of the fermentation bucket.

Dissolve the sugar in the water by heating it to a boil, then pour it over the fruit.

Only about half of the sugar water fits in the bucket with all the fruit there, but the fruit will be removed in a week, and then I will add the rest of the sugar water. Only using half of the sugar at first also helps the yeast get started.

The raisins, tangerine juice and zest, papaya skin, and yeast are added after the fruit-water mix cools to room temperature.

Ferment about 10 days in the Primary bucket or until bubbling slows down.

Remove net bag and pulp.

Siphon into glass carboy and attach airlock. Ferment for 1 - 2 months. Rack/siphon again into clean carboy. Wait another 2 - 3 months until bubbling stops. Bottle and age 6 months.


Photos coming later, I hope.

PS:In case anyone wonders, I did not remove all the cherry pits and stems. I squished the fruit with my hands and removed about half of the seeds. Those remaining did not influence the taste of the wine, as far as I can tell.

Last Edited by ArchimedesGirl on 04/28/2023 08:09 PM

I siphoned off the Black Cherry Wine today. It is wonderfullyl rich tasting. It still needs a couple months of fermentation in the carboy though. The Cranberry Claret is also still bubbling very slowly in the carboy. I was hoping to bottle it later this month, but it might need a full 4 months in the carboy.

And... I made a 17th Century Coriander Ale this week, that, in my opinion is more of a Metheglin: an herbal wine.

It is very sunny and sparkly, like a Champaign. Same wild yeast though.

I finally got a hydrometer and by the looks of it, this will finish out at somewhere between 8 - 12% ABV.

Easy recipe, nice citrus/floral bouquet. I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested.

Coriander Ale
based on another very old recipe from the 16th or 17th century with a few changes.

1.3 oz ground coriander
10 lbs sugar (8 brown, 2 zulka white cane)
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cardamom pods crushed
3 tangerines, juice and orange zest
3 limes, juice only
5 gallons water

Boil 30 minutes.

Add 1 tsp safron leaves. (optional, but awesome)

Cool pot in tub of cool water. Oxygenate by pouring wort back and forth from bucket to pot 3 times.

Pour into fermenter with 1 quart of last brew for Yeast. (Note: This is the Wild Yeast talked about earlier in the thread - caught in the Yarrow patch.)

Bubbling now.

Later, after tasting, I will add, if needed, more orange or lemon juice, cream of tartar (for foamy kraussen). I believe the fermentation on this will take longer because it had more sugar. The specific gravity at start was 1.185.

Wonderful smell.

Last Edited by ArchimedesGirl on 03/13/2023 06:19 PM

Man, that 16th Century Yarrow-Chamomile Ale goes fast around here. Friends and family alike are upping their trade offers and begging techniques to make sure they get dibs. I can't brew it fast enough. There are 4 five-gallon primaries brewing right now.

If someone else out there makes the same or similar, please share your experience and recipe.

Somethings I've learned about getting consistent results:

"If it's not broken don't fix it." If my last brew was great, then DON'T WASH the primary. Leave it scummy with the last brew as insurance the next one will be great too. Detergent residue is like inviting your mother-in-law along on your honeymoon. Bad chemistry!

Secondly, it's easier to keep a brew going than it is to store and care for a starter until "next time." Just keep brewing something.

Anyone else fermenting something right now? Pickles? Cheese? Wine or beer?

used to experiment with brewing things myself

mostly kombucha which id do monthly for a number of years

eventually gave it up as i developed some some probable yeast overgrowth issues in my body .

yarrow is a great herb tho . one of my favorites that id always look out for on foraging expeditions.

ground ivy or gill oer the ground (Glechoma hederacea) i recall as being one the key ingredients in one of oldest european beer recipes along with yarrow .

its an extremely common lawn weed , here in the northeast US at least . can be found mid to late spring and is characterised by small purple flowers . strong flavor , not too minty . never did end up using it in any brew recipes.

Nice. We love kombucha. I've found that doing a yearly yeast fast (no sugar or yeast) for a week or two has taken care of that for us.

I have heard that before - and find it fascinating, because like you said it is a prolific weed in some areas. It does not grow where I live now, but we used to tell horror stories about it as children - how it would cover you and hold you down if you fell asleep too near the ivy.

Yarrow grows here in the wild, so I will not have any shortage of that. The chamomile I have to cultivate, but it can be done.

Thanks for the comment!

I want to learn how to make kombucha

It's an easy start in brewing and super good for you. My favorite home-brew kombucha is:

4 black tea bags (quart size) and
2 peach tea bags (cup size) in
a gallon of water, sunbrewed in glass gallon jar.
Add 1 rounded cup of pure cane sugar and...

Stir until dissolved. Add your SCOBY and a half cup of kombucha. Cover with coffee filter and secure with rubber band. Put in undisturbed place out of the sunlight for 7 - 10 days at room temperature until still slightly too-sweet.

Strain and bottle. Store bottles at 60 - 65 degrees temp for 3 - 7 days to build up effervescence and finish burning up the sugar for a dryer brew. Then store in the frig and drink whenever you're ready.

Save your storebought kombucha bottles to put your own kombucha in later.

Last Edited by ArchimedesGirl on 04/03/2023 12:14 AM

Brewing a second carboy of Black Cherry Wine. The first turned out suprisingly drinkable right out of the carboy. But I distracted the thirsty warrior who was hoping for a bottle and poured him a cold Yarrow ale instead. He is content to wait another 6 months for the bottles to age.


The Cranberry Claret is bottled and aging as well. It's not as crystal clear as I'd hoped (too much pectin?) but it tastes great.


And the Yarrow and Chamomile are coming up in the garden, so there are two more buckets of that brewing. I have some stressed out family members who believe just a bottle of yarrow ale calms the mind and gives them inner clarity. I think that may be the case!