Once-again we are participating in Beers Made By Walking, a program that asks brewers to make beer inspired by plants found on nature walks. Our beer will be served during a special event, with other nature-infused brews, on October 26th at Belmont Station in Portland. The beer starts flowing at noon and some of the brewers will be available to talk from 2-4.
Michael Altman, a certified nutritionist and member of the American Herbalists Guild, blazed the trail this summer in our search for edible, flavorful, and medicinal plants for the brew. On our foray around Hyatt Reservoir, we discovered yarrow, mint, elderflower, and St. John’s Wort among others.
Our friends at Beer Made by Walking say “yarrow, mint, and elderflower perhaps are most familiar in beer history. Yarrow has been used as a bittering agent in beer, providing some medicinal value, and was used in gruits before the widespread use of hops. Elderfower has been used recently in a few different commercial beers, and a recent cider. It is appealing to many because of it’s soft citrusy character. Mint has also been used in beer and is certainly more common in tea. It is likely that many of the mint beers have used commercially available mints, so the use of a variety growing wild in the landscape is certainly appealing.”
(*photo by Larry Chase)
Beer Made By Walking
Style: Its Own Style
Color: Light Amber
Aroma: Spicy and Floral
Mouthfeel: Medium
Flavor: Honey, Yarrow, Perception of sweetness with slight sour character
Alcohol: 6.9% abv
IBU: 15 (estimate)
Original Extract: 14.8 Plato (% sugar in the wort)
Malt
- Organic 2-row
- Briess Special Roast
- Organic Carapils
- Acidulated
Adjunct
- Wildflower Honey (Willamette Valley) – 30% of fermentable sugar
Hops
- Bittering: Organic Magnum
Flavoring Plants – collected near Lake Hyatt
- Yarrow
- St. John’s Wort
