homebrewandbeer.com

Well, i was reading the months "Brew Cellar News" that i got with my Beer & Brewer magazine and inside it has a small article on medieval beer which was slightly interesting, further on it had this recipe.

to 20 litres of water add the following for a 1 hour boil up:
3.0Kg Amber Malt Extract
150gms Light Crystal Malt
0.6kg Yellow box honey
30Gms Fuggles Hop Pellets

Add at 30 minutes and boil for 30 minutes:
30Gms Fuggles Hop Bellets
125Gms French Oak Chips

Add at 35 minutes and boil for 25 Minutes:
9x Chamomile Tea Bags

Cool the wort and add 2x Morgans Premium ale+Yeast and ferment as usual.

this is referred to as being quite potent in the article about the medieval beers

i haven't tried this and will make it in a few months when i'm more confident but i thought i would chuck up this anyway.
anyone tried this or done something similar, interesting move with the teabags i thought

At the very least, it should be an interesting beer, although I am unsure of what they mean by "potency". From the recipe you've given (and I'm assuming liquid extract is being used), I reckon you could expect a smidge more than 6.6% ABV - which, to me, is not overly strong. I don't believe chamomile exhibits any major psychoactivity by itself, nor do I know if it either synergises with or potentiates alcohol. I will ask a herbalist friend and get back to you on that, if you like...

of course you can get back to me, i thought the same that it wouldn't do anything.

Well, I've had a discussion with her and this is what I was told.

Chamomile tea is often sold as a relaxing alternative to "normal" tea. As such it contains no caffeine but does contain several active compounds. There is one study conducted in the 1970s that suggested a strong sedative effect from a dose of two cups of chamomile tea, however the results can be called into question. It is likely that this sedative principle is most likely a volatile compound that is adversely effected by prolonged storage and rough handling, and is therefore largely absent from commercial chamomile tea products. Medicinal grade chamomile is available that contains more of these volatile compounds, however again it is unlikely that the equivalent of 9 teabags of this material, dissolved in 20l of liquid would have any noticeable effect.

It has been suggested that chamomile might display a potentiating or additive effect in conjunction with alcohol. It is suggested that chamomile may inhibit some enzymes that are involved in the metabolism of alcohol. This is more likely to be the cause of any increased "potency" rather than the action of chamomile alone. Certainly, a 6.5% + beer is nothing to be sneezed at, and if the chamomile did increase the effect of the alcohol, you may be well advised to avoid operating heavy machinery after consumption.

Personally, my biggest concern is the combination of flavours... hops, malt, oak, honey and chamomile. It will definitely be interesting, but as to whether it's a "good interesting" or a "bad interesting" is something I am unsure of.

Also, if the recipe is based on any medieval translation, be aware that there are several medicinal herbs that have been known as chamomile. Matricaria recutita is also called German Chamomile, and is what you'll usually find in teabags. Note that you have also have Anthemis nobilis which goes by a few names including Roman Chamomile, English Chamomile and Garden Chamomile. It too has mild sedative properties... just to further confuse things!

WOW..

certainly interesting info, i knew there were different types/styles of Chamomile but i figued 1 or 2 ( i did a quick search and there is many....lol)

i directly copied the recipe from the little magazine, but it seems to be popular on the internet to experiment with chamomile.

The Spoils of Wort: Chamomile Beer
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2009/1/7/93259/35886

its really beginning to fan my interest, i know i have used chamomile tea as a digestion aide and to help my partner relax for a good night sleep (maybe i'll get her to drink the beer instead..... ) but whatever the case being at 6.5% + its going to be an interesting night, but i do doubt the effect of the chamolile as it will be signifcantly diluted and i don't want to drink 9 cups of tea to see what effects it will have on me.

skurvy84 wrote:... and i don't want to drink 9 cups of tea to see what effects it will have on me.

Yeah, but I want to see what the effect is on you. It's for science.

Interesting concept Skurv be sure to post results.
6.5 abv with mild sedative tea ,hope it puts you to sleep before you fall down drunk

I made what I called a 'Belgian honey relaxer' a while ago:

1 x Coopers Wheat Kit (out of date by miles but was OK)
~1Kg honey
A bag of chamomile (about 50g from memory) added at end of boil. I think it was 2-3 handfuls of dried flowers
Pitched onto leftover 3944 (belgian wit) yeast cake

It's not bad, but it has a strong chamomile flavour that may not be for everyone (I certainly can't drink too much of it).

Cheers,

Tim

It's defintely a recipe I've got my eye on doing.

Here's my AG variation, ready for tomorrow night

4.5 kg. Australian Traditional Ale
.125 kg. Crystal Malt 60°L
.08 kg. Melanoidin Malt
.5 kg. English Amber Malt
.5 kg. Honey
30 g. Fuggle 4.4 %AA @ 60 min.
30 g. Fuggle 4.4 %AA @ 30 min.
100 g American Oak Chips @30min
9 teabags Chamomile Tea @25min
Yeast : WYeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Criticism more than welcome.

i have no idea about AG but sure, it looks the goods .

like i said, i have't done this yet, not to confident withthe boiling and the crystal malts whatsits and fuggles hops pellets and french oak chips.

im guess it would be interesting at first but with age would get better and better, like most things

Well it's almost ready to be bottled.
Unfortunately I stuffed up my evaporation rates, so it's a tad diluted.
Also a wasp somehow made it's way into the mash, so I guess that adds to the honey theme hey?!
OG= 1044 ish
FG = 1006 ish

Taste is very interesting, All three flavours, honey, chamomile and oak are coming through and melding nicely together. Should be an interesting drop.

petesbrew wrote: Also a wasp somehow made it's way into the mash, so I guess that adds to the honey theme hey?!

Anyway, that looks like an interesting recipe and Lachy that is some very interesting info on chamomile.

I'm just thinking though, as far as herbs go, surely there are others with a better flavour that also have a soothing effect?

Cloves for one, if you like the flavour

Bottled last night.
OG dropped to 1002.
Very interesting flavour... shall post again when I taste it.

Definitely a strange beer. The honey, chamomile and oak chips are all fighting each other to be the dominating flavour.
Maybe it would've been a lot more balanced if the oak was french rather than american.

Entered in the Schwartz Brewery Winter Warmer competition,
One judge decribed it as bizarre, another as revolting! (18/50), however another judge gave it 34/50.