Field Guide: Wildcraft Homebrew

Learn how to create delicious homebrews from found and foraged ingredients thanks to Gartur Stitch Farm.

Have you ever wondered how to make the most of seasonal gluts, or if you’d be able to turn the plants you forage into something you can drink, share and enjoy? Wonder no more, thanks to our new Field Guide.

We’re so excited to launch the first in our brand new series of Field Guides for practical skills! Wildcraft Homebrew is a collaboration between some of our favourite foragers and homebrewers. This beginner’s guide shows you how to ferment your own drinks using wild and domestic plants, along with ingredients you might already have in your cupboards at home. Using easy-to-follow recipes and helpful equipment lists, the Field Guide includes delicious homebrews like gorse wine, floral champagne, ginger beer, berry melomel, spruce tip soda and cyser.

With contributions from Jim Riach of Trossachs Biking and Bushcraft, Kerstin Grieve of Hens and a Garden, Mhairi Macpherson of Highland Seedlings and Leanne Townsend of Wild Food Stories and beautiful illustrations from Jai Bess Prints

From the introduction by Mairi MacPherson of Highland Seedlings:

“For us, homebrewing is a way of life. It’s not a hobby, but something we do because we have the equipment and setup, and because doing this gradually over the year is not only a source of great joy and purpose, but also much less effort than trekking to the shop. It’s cheaper too, once you’re set up. But most of all it’s joyful – making it, drinking it, and sharing it with friends and our community.”

The Field Guide has more than 60 beautifully illustrated pages of tutorials, recipes and essays about our (sometimes explosive) endeavours in homebrewing with found and foraged plants. We’ve pulled together years of experience to give you a practical, user-friendly guide to brewing your own wines, beers, meads, ferments and more.