Wild & Foraged Homebrew
All recipes work with wild yeast if you don't have packets. Just takes longer. Cover with cloth, not lid - needs to breathe. Wait for bubbles. Trust the process.
Flower & Herb Wines
Dandelion Flowers
Dandelion Wine
1 gallon dandelion petals (no green)
1 gallon boiling water
3-4 cups honey or 3 lbs sugar
2 oranges & 2 lemons, sliced
Wine yeast or wild starter
Pick flowers midday when dry. Remove ALL green parts. Pour boiling water over petals, cover 3 days. Strain hard. Add honey/sugar and citrus, heat to dissolve. Cool to room temp, add yeast. Ferment 3 weeks covered. Rack to bottles, age 6 months minimum. Tastes like liquid sunshine.
Elderflowers
Elderflower Champagne
20 elderflower heads
1 gallon water
2 lbs sugar or 3 cups honey
2 lemons, juice and zest
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Pick flowers on sunny morning, shake out bugs. Dissolve sugar in warm water, cool. Add flowers, lemon, vinegar. Cover with cloth, stir daily. After 4-6 days when fizzy, strain into strong bottles. Ready in 2 weeks but can explode - open carefully outside. Makes sparkling summer wine.
Rose Petals
Wild Rose Petal Wine
2 quarts fragrant rose petals
1 gallon boiling water
3 lbs sugar or 4 cups honey
Juice of 2 lemons
Wine yeast optional
Use only unsprayed roses - wild roses are perfect. Pour boiling water over petals, steep 2 days. Strain, squeeze petals dry. Add sugar and lemon juice. Add yeast or let wild ferment. Takes 6 weeks to ferment, 3 months to clear. Pink color, floral taste. Very romantic.
Fruit Wines & Ciders
Wild Apples/Crabapples
Wild Apple Cider
Any amount of apples
NO water needed
Honey optional for higher alcohol
Crush apples (use clean rock, hammer, whatever). Press out juice through cloth. Pour juice in container, cover with cloth. Wild yeast on apple skins will start fermentation in 3-5 days. Bubbles = it's working. After 2-3 weeks, rack off sediment. Age 2+ months. For hard cider, add 1 cup honey per gallon before fermenting.
Elderberries
Elderberry Wine
3 lbs ripe elderberries
1 gallon boiling water
3 lbs sugar or 4 cups honey
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
Strip berries from stems with fork. Pour boiling water over berries, mash well. Let sit 3 days, stirring daily. Strain, squeeze out juice. Add sugar, lemon, cinnamon. Ferment 6 weeks. Rack and age 6 months. Deep purple, medicinal, fights flu. Worth the wait.
Blackberries/Wild Berries
Wild Berry Wine
4 lbs any wild berries
1 gallon water
2.5 lbs sugar or 3 cups honey
Yeast optional
Works with blackberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, or mix. Crush berries, add half the water (cold). Let sit 3 days covered, stir daily. Strain, squeeze dry. Dissolve sugar in rest of water (warm), add to juice. Wild ferment or add yeast. Ferment 6 weeks, rack, age 3+ months. Adjust sugar to berry tartness.
Simple Meads & Country Wines
Honey
Basic Wild Mead
3 lbs honey (any kind)
1 gallon spring water
Handful of raisins
Orange peel optional
Heat water to barely warm, dissolve honey. Cool to room temp. Add raisins (they have wild yeast) and orange peel. Pour in jar, cover with cloth. Stir daily first week. Will start bubbling in 5-10 days. Let ferment 2-3 months until clear. Rack carefully. Age 6+ months. Ancient drink of Vikings. Gets better with age.
Pine Needles
Pine Needle Beer
4 cups fresh pine needles (young tips best)
1 gallon water
1 cup sugar or honey
1/4 cup sourdough starter
Use only pine, fir, or spruce - NOT yew (poisonous). Simmer needles in water 30 minutes. Strain, add sugar while warm. Cool to room temp, add starter. Ferment 5-7 days until fizzy. Bottle in strong bottles, drink within 2 weeks. Low alcohol, high vitamin C. Tastes like Christmas.
Rose Hips
Rose Hip Wine
3 lbs rose hips (after frost)
1 gallon boiling water
2.5 lbs sugar or 3 cups honey
Juice of 2 lemons
Crush hips, pour boiling water over. Let sit 1 week, stir daily. Strain through fine cloth - tiny hairs are irritating. Add sugar and lemon juice. Let wild ferment or add yeast. Ferment 2 months, rack when clear. Age 6 months. High vitamin C, beautiful color, slightly tart.
Root & Vegetable Wines
Potatoes
Potato Wine (Prison Hooch Style)
10 lbs potatoes
1 gallon water
4 lbs sugar
2 lemons
Yeast or raisins for wild yeast
Scrub potatoes, chop, boil until soft. Strain potato water into fermenter. Add sugar while hot, dissolve. Add lemon juice. Cool, add yeast. Ferment 3 weeks. Rack carefully - lots of sediment. Age 3+ months. Surprisingly good, clear, strong. Depression-era classic.
Beets
Beet Wine
4 lbs beets
1 gallon water
2 lbs sugar
Handful of raisins
2 cloves
Scrub beets, chop, boil 45 minutes. Strain beet water, add sugar while hot. Cool, add raisins and cloves. Wild yeast from raisins starts fermentation. Takes 2 months to ferment, 6 months to age properly. Beautiful ruby color, earthy taste. Don't tell people it's beets until after they like it.
Quick & Dirty Brews
Ginger
Ginger Beer
4 oz fresh ginger, grated
1 cup sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
1 gallon water
1/4 teaspoon bread yeast or wild starter
Boil ginger in 2 cups water for 15 minutes. Strain, add sugar and lemon. Add cold water to make 1 gallon. Cool to room temp, add yeast. Bottle after 2-3 days when fizzy. Ready in 2-5 days. CAUTION: Can build serious pressure - open carefully. More ginger = more burn.
Prickly Pear
Prickly Pear Wine
4 lbs ripe prickly pear fruits
1 gallon water
3 lbs sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
Burn off spines with torch or roll in sand. Wearing gloves, chop fruits. Boil in water 30 minutes, mash well. Strain through several layers of cloth - invisible spines are painful. Add sugar and lemon to liquid. Cool, ferment with wild or packet yeast. 6 weeks fermenting, 3 months aging. Gorgeous magenta color.
Tips: Fermentation likes 65-75°F. Too cold = stuck, too hot = off flavors. "Racking" means siphoning clear liquid off the gunk at bottom. Always sanitize everything with boiling water. If it smells like rotten eggs, add more sugar. If nothing happens after a week, add yeast. When in doubt, wait it out - time fixes most problems.