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i have been attempting to refine my nettle beer recipe and have finally settled on nettle and mint, equal parts of each for the initial tea. i have noticed tiny crystals forming in the bottles, this is obviously a natural chemical process, has anyone come across this? and what are they ? my recipe is . one preserving pan of nettle and one of mint. Only young / early nettle tops used. 5 litre water, boiled down to a tea. strained. 1lb white granulated sugar.1oz cream of tartar( no idea why this is added several recipe recommend, always added it) 5g yeast (allinson dryed bakers yeast, gives good results final brew around 9%) . Brewed in demijohn for a week, raked off and left to two weeks before drinking.

I'm not sure at all, but there are wine recipes which use tartaric acid and which are designed for extremely long maturation. The idea of the tartaric acid is that it promotes the deposition of crystals of succinic acid, thus improving the wine. I know nothing about the chemistry of nettles and mint, though - but succinic acid is my guess. Harmless, by the way.

Mike