Hops have been the bittering herbs for beer for a few centuries now. In more recent years here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s as if brewers have gotten drunk off the bitter Hops brings to the feremeter- Extreme IPA has become the standard beer here, with extreme being the important element in that moniker. These beers are quite medicinal in strength. Between the higher alcohol levels that draw higher levels of medicinal constituents out of the hops and the sheer volume of hops brewers are using, Extreme IPA beers are starting to taste more like tinctures than like beers. If that’s your jam, great. But, if hops isn’t the best herb for you, it’ll come as a relief to know that there are a lot of other herbs you can try!
How Does Bitter Work in Brewing Beer?
Part of the job of the bitters we add to beer is to help support healthy digestion and part of it is to offer a balance to the sweet-fiery flavors inherent in a well-made beer. Digestively, the bitter elements support the liver’s ability to produce good bile and, more importantly, to usher chemicals through the two-step detoxification system the liver uses for clearing waste from our systems. Alcohol is processed by the liver using this system, and the bitter herbs we add to our beers are there in part to support the process.
The key to a well-bittered beer really is in understanding your audience. Modern beer drinkers have gradually gotten used to heavier and heavier doses of hops in their beers. They’re craving bitter at the extreme end of the scale. While I may have loads of theories on why so many of us want such an intensely bitter experience, the reality is that not everyone loves a super-bitter beer just as not everyone loves a super sweet soda or a super sour lemonade. Too much bitter can overwhelm folks who have a healthy digestive system. Too much bitter can create symptoms of excessive dryness in folks who already have a tendency toward dryness. If you’re brewing for an audience that doesn’t actually want or need the extremely bitter, you can try using a lighter compliment of hops. Or, better yet, you can break with tradition all together.
Hops Came Along Later
Traditionally, local herbs were used for bittering any fermentation, regardless of whether it was barley-based, honey-based, or made from any other sources. We still have historical references to a variety of bitter beers that didn’t use hops, including Gruit and Mugwort. The reality is that brewers of yore were practical people. They used what they had on-hand, which is part of why many modern recipes for herbal beers may not include a lick of barley. Back then, the definition of what made a Beer was highly personal, local, and cultural.
Then, the Church got involved. Church leaders in Prussia saw an opportunity to increase revenues by defining what makes a beer, including strictly limiting the ingredients that could be used. They chose crops, like hops and barley, that they could easily control and grow. Our modern expectation for Beer is based on those definitions, and in recent years we’ve sought our creativity in exploring the limits of Hops as a good bittering herb within that definition.
Let’s Break Tradition: Herbs for Better Beer Bittering
I’ve tried a variety of different herbs for bittering beer through the years. My favorite by far is Dandelion root. It’s got a warm, earthy flavor that compliments the sweetness of the maltier barleys I like best. I often add a compliment of Dandelion tops for added bittering when I’m using Dandelion root, but you could go with one of the other with ease.
- Sage is another of my favorites for bittering beers. I like it in lighter brown beers, like Nut Browns or Reds. The scent of sage is reminiscent of hops when you use it lightly, so it satisfies the part of me that habitually expects Hops. I love that Sage doesn’t have the sedative effect of Hops. Instead, Sage quiets the mind, allowing energy to flow through body-mind. For me, that’s better than the put-me-to-sleep action of Hops.
- Calendula is one of my favorites for lighter beers. Calendula offers a spark of color and a lightly bitter flavor that reminds me of sunshine and warm afternoons. Although technically Calendula isn’t a stimulant, it’s definitely not a nervine or depressant, either. My own experience of Calendula is a very light energy boost, like the kind you get when you listen to a Celtic Reel or a Salsa. Calendula makes me want to dance. It’s got some lovely tanic and microbial-fighting properties that encourage healthy tone in the digestive system, too.
- Motherwort offers a warm, relaxed element to both light and darker beers. I like it especially in malty dark beers, like Stouts and Porters. Those beers are more nourishing, containing literally more nutrients and energy than their lighter cousins. Motherwort’s nervine and heart-healthy elements paired with that extra nourishment make those darker beers feel like comfort food.
- Wormwood has a reputation for crazy when it comes to alcohol. Absinth has a huge reputation, not necessarily well-deserved, for making people do crazy and foolish thing. That’s partly because Wormwood, like Mugwort, enhances alcohol’s ability to get you drunk. That means it takes less beer to make you tipsy, lower your inhibitions, and generally loosen whatever’s got you tense. Wormwood is a tasty bittering herb in beers. I like it best in medium-brown to darker ales myself, but it can be quite tasty in lighter beers so long as you don’t overdo it. Wormwood’s flavor is definitely a departure from the Hops we’re so used to!
- Burdock Root makes a good, gentle bittering herb for beers where the prominent bitter should come from the malt. Think Stouts, Imperial Stouts, Porters, and Scottish or Scotch Ale. Burdock Root supports the lower digestive system in particular and the whole digestive process in general. It’s got a sweetness that covers up the bitter elements well. When you add that to beers where the focus is already on a slightly sweet, malty bitter, you have a bittering herb that blends and supports instead of hogging center-stage.
- Reishi adds a wonderful bitter to beers while contributing a whole lot of good adaptogen properties to a variety of beers. Reishi mushrooms have a woody, bitter, earthy flavor reminiscent of dried wood. They add a bit of energy-increasing, immune-modulating medicine to the brew, too. I like them better in medium- to dark-beers, but that’s probably because I’m partial to those in general. Reishi could be an absolutely delicious bittering herb for lighter beers. Imagine Reishi partnered with a little Elderflower or even Elderberry in a effervescent Belgian-style beer. That could work!
- Pine tips or Douglas-fir needles are a serious departure from the usual Hoppy flavors we’re used to. They add a virility to lighter beers that’s distinctive and refreshing, kind of a shock, really. The first Pine-tip beer I tried was an affront to my sensibilities. I had to sit with it for about half an hour before the light, resinous woody scent and flavors lured me into the forest. About half an hour after that, I looked around and realized I’d been converted. The flavor of the forest that Pine carried into that brew connected me with a primal energy of growth and resilience and renewal just like a good pine-tip our Douglas-fir needle tea does.
- Coffee – I know that sounds absolutely crazy, but it’s not as nuts as you’d think. Coffee contributes an earthy fire to dark, malty beers. Pair it with Hops in medium to dark beers to balance the sedation elements of hops while getting a lovely boost for the digestive system. Coffee is a natural laxative with loads of antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation overall and especially in the digestive system.
How Much Herb to Add to Your Beer
The amount of herb to add as you’re bittering depends a lot on what you want to accomplish with it. Until Extreme IPAs became the standard, an ounce of two (30-60g) of a particularly bitter strain of hops, like Brewer’s Gold or Northern Brewer was all you needed for a five-gallon (18 L) batch of brown ale. For a less bitter strain, like Cascade hops, you’d double that. The amount of herb, in this case hops, that you use is fairly small if you’re not going for an extremely bitter brew. If you’d like to hit a level on par with those Extreme IPAs, aim for several times what you’d otherwise use.
Dry herbs or fresh herbs…which is best?
That, too, depends on which herbs you’re using and what you want them to do. If, for instance, you’re looking for the scent to really come through, fresh herbs will do you best. You’ll also want to add them later, at the aroma hop stage of the brewing. If the bitter you’re aiming to extract doesn’t come from the volatile or essential oils of the plant, dry will do you just fine and may even give you an easier extraction. Dry plants, especially roots, stand up well to the boiling process you’ll be using, so they won’t break down and clog your strainer when it’s time to transfer the wort into the carboy.
I recommend playing with it. Try brewing a Dandelion Porter from the Extract or All-Grain Recipe using the amounts of Dandelion, Sage, and Calendula in this recipe or this recipe to start. It’ll give you a lightly bittered beer by modern standards or a balanced, moderately bittered beer by those older standards. It’ll also give you a good idea of how much Dandelion root and tops will contribute to the bitter elements of your beer. With that in mind, you can play with other herbs and other styles of beer and you can adjust the quantities of herb you use from a place of experience, giving you a leg-up as you experiment.
