I moved my brewery out of the garage today to enjoy some nice weather and to try an experimental batch of ESB. Many of you will see this and say why? I figured why not?
Yep, thats a pound of cleaned dandelions headed straight into my BK. I’m thinking about calling it “Yard of the Month”.
[attachment=0]Dandelion-re.jpg[/attachment]
hahahah, well i’m very curious how that will turn out.
dandelions are actually edible. but i wouldn’t recommend eating them
Neat idea. I love dandelion greens in a salad, and an acquaintance in college 42 years ago (the one who got me into homebrewing, actually) used to make a wine from dandelion flowers (and some raisins, I think) that was rather incredible.
I’ll be interested to know the result of this experiment, and what the greens contribute to the beer. Seems to me that there could be some interesting and different bitter notes from the D-greens.
Use to eat them all the time as a kid…salad at dinner. Probably a bit bitter unless your low on bittering hops. 
No bittering hops @ 60, they were replaced by the dandelions. They dandelions are for bittering. I used the whole plant including flowers, leaves, and partial roots. I kept my other hop additions.
I also make dandelion wine every year. But, only us the flower petals.
I didn’t realize dandelions were so commonly consumed. makes me re-think my statement. Maybe ill throw some in a my salad sometime
:cheers:
[quote=“S.Scoggin”]I didn’t realize dandelions were so commonly consumed. makes me re-think my statement. Maybe ill throw some in a my salad sometime
:cheers: [/quote]
Just make sure you pick them from some place that you know (100%) that no weedkiller/fertilizer or dog :shock: pee has been applied.
cheers.
Yep, make sure that they came from a lawn that has not been treated or fertilized.
Also, might be worth noting that the larger milky dandelions will be more bitter than the smaller younger ones. For this experimental batch I used a mix of 70% small / 30% large. Soaked everything for a few hours changing the water out periodically and scrubbed them down with a small veggie brush.
One thing I’ve learned about us homebrewers over the years is we can be some of the most creative lot. “Now, what if I were to put this in?”…
[quote=“StormyBrew”]
Just make sure you pick them from some place that you know (100%) that no weedkiller/fertilizer or dog :shock: pee has been applied.
cheers.[/quote]
Nothing wrong with a little dog in beer. It works for the Simpsons
“Hmmmm. Needs more dog.”
Love it!
I am curious how the dandelions will turn out in a beer. Interesting addition. Perhaps we are witnessing a new style of “lawnmower” beer.
I just moved a gallon of dandelion wine to secondary, it had a bad case of sulfide though. I treated with copper, hopefully this will remove the bad smell.
Dandelion greens for bittering, I’m not betting on this one. I figure if this would work we’d already have known about it. But you get points for thinking outside the box.
I’m not trying to take credit for the idea. I have been reading up on brewing with herbs and have seen that dandelions can be used as a bittering addition. Just wanted to try something out of my norm. Made for an interesting batch, thats for sure.
[quote=“tom sawyer”]I figure if this would work we’d already have known about it.[/quote]You didn’t get a chance to try New Belgium’s Dandelion Ale?
http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=12947286-c63a-448f-a7c0-7a264113a16c
Interesting. Didn’t even know that they made one. That reassures me that this may turn out alright. I know the fermenter is chugging along nicely.
Next project may be a stout with Sweet Woodruff.
That is Awesome!
Dandelions are a great dynamic accumilater with a deep tap root and provide a lot of minerals. not sure if it helps with beer but they specialize in the accumulation of calcium. I mulch my tomatoes with them to help with blossom end rot.
To which the answer is often “why the hell did I do that?”.
Don’t think she’s going to clear on her own.
[attachment=0]D ESB-1.jpg[/attachment]
Sample definitely has a bitterness that is hard to describe.
To which the answer is often “why the hell did I do that?”.[/quote]
The wise sage has spoken.
To which the answer is often “why the hell did I do that?”.[/quote]
The wise sage has spoken.[/quote]
It’s the voice of sad experience, man.
