Pseudo-Gruit – Chartreuse Tart Saison – Herbed as an Afterthought

  I've recently been getting in to beer mixology, experimenting with adding various bitter herbs to my beer, being inspired by Gruit, the herbed, pre-hops style of medieval ale. My most recent Belgian Saison homebrew was a little bit "meh," so I thought "why not spice things up?" These days I'm pretty much always keeping a jug of …

Mongolian Airag (Kumis) – Champagne of the Steppe – A Fool’s Journey down the Silk Road

My inauthentic attempt at replicating 14th century Mongolian airag, a lightly fermented drink produced of mare's milk. The neem honey is marvelously floral and a little bit spicy. Not spicy hot, but earthy spice. It's absolutely remarkable and boldly stands out from standard honey. For the one I dared serve, scroll down to 2nd attempt. …

Circe’s Elixir – Ancient Greek Ale

"And she mixed them a potion with barley and cheese and pale honey added to Pramnian wine, but put into the mixture malignant drugs to make them forgetful of their own country. After she'd given them this and they’d drunk it down, next she struck them with her wand and drove them into her pig …

Twin Suns Saison

Next to my forthcoming Circe's Elixir, Twin Suns Saison has been my most involved beer to date. This is Morgue Brewing's first "official" collaboration, as the label playfully notes: "A spectacularly sophisticated nectar collaboratively brewed by Morgue Brewing with wildflower honey lovingly handcrafted by the bees of Hamilton Hives and artistically accented with label art …

Cidre Artisanal de Ardennes

I got fancy this time. 4 gallons organic farm fresh apple cider Belgian Ardennes Wyeast 3522 yeast Tastes great, of course. Wonderful Belgian aroma. Clean semi-dry taste. Largely all of the spices precipitated out, to my dismay. Perhaps it would be best to "dry hop" with some spices. I'm trying that now with my 2015 …