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right ive made some nettle beer, spent ages on thursday collecting nettles and got it all brewed up and its certainly fermenting BUT.............................

it smells worse than the compost heap!, im just worried its going to taste like it smells and it smells awfull, it will be ready to bottle on monday morning but ive not dared taste it yet!

this is my first go at home brewing by the way!

cheers
hyperion

I'm not a beer maker in any way, but this sounds fishy. If you rot nettles down in water, they make a very good plant food - and smell terrible. I'm not at all sure that they should smell terrible in the short soaking time necessary for beer. I'd be wary, if I were you, until someone who does make beer comes along with better advice.

Mike

EDIT: One thing just struck me. It's October. All the nettle beer recipes I've seen call for young nettles***, and all the nettles anywhere near me have seeded and look very old and tough. Maybe it's a spring thing?

*** Young nettles with mittens on - my favourite "Olde Farmhouse Receipt Book" quotation - "Pick only young nettles wearing mittens".

well i didnt find ant wearing mittens but there were plenty of young nettles about and i onlt took the tips of each plant! maybe i steeped them too long??

if it does taste rubbish maybe i could use it as organic weed killer??

cheers
hyperion

hyperion wrote:

if it does taste rubbish maybe i could use it as organic weed killer??

More like a very good fertiliser!

well i just bottled it up and i ave to say it looked, smelt and tasted ok after another day bubbling away so things are looking up!

cheers
hyperion

re nettle beer
no problems with the nettle soup ! what are the expectations for nettle beer ? green beer sounds very odd , wait for halloween !

imoet wrote:re nettle beer
no problems with the nettle soup ! what are the expectations for nettle beer ? green beer sounds very odd , wait for halloween !

it actually looks alot like cloudy lemonade and tastes a bit like ginger beer!