Blackcurrant Leaves

I have too much respect for wine makers and craft brewers to take up home-brewing. But the idea of a fruity herby beer from foraged leaves was too tempting.  And when Fiona Falconer, from Wild About Food Ltd, mentioned a nettle beer we decided to have a go.

Blackcurrants are famous for packing a load of vitamin C, and they are just coming into season. Blackcurrant leaves are also edible, making a nourishing and delicious tea. Our nettles were mostly gone to seed – apart from one patch where we have been continuously picking – so it seemed like a good idea to mix the two, and make what turned out to be scrumptious brew.

To call itself a real beer, the drink should be malted. This one isn't, but then our version isn't really a real beer. This is fruity, fizzy herb drink that should be quaffed before the bottles begin to explode.

Another way to enjoy the taste of blackcurrant leaves, is to simply infuse them in boiling water to make a tea.

Blackcurrant Leaf and Nettle Beer

• 1 plastic shopping bag stuffed full of nettle tops. (At this stage you will need to be picking from a patch consistently to stop them going to seed. Once gone to seed it's too late to use them for this purpose. Cut them down and use the new shoots when they arrive again.)
• ½ a bag of blackcurrant leaves
• 8 L water
• 1kg sugar
• the rind of 2 lemons
  
• 1 large piece of ginger 
• 40g cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoons active yeast (for use in winemaking and brewing)

Place the washed nettles, blackcurrant leaves, ginger and the grated rind of the lemons into a large stockpot and add the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about half an hour. Strain into a large clean food grade bucket, then pour back into the saucepan and add the sugar and cream of tartar. Heat again, stirring all the time until the sugar is dissolved. Pour back into the bucket and add the yeast. Leave the bucket in the kitchen for about four days and then pour the contents into bottles. The beer will be fizzy and ready to drink after another week. Make sure to use either plastic bottles, or special wire topped beer bottles, and don't wait forever until you drink it, because the mixture gets more volatile and explosive as the weeks go on. Serve chilled.