Tuesday Beer Trivia: Herbal Healing Beers

The following explanations are taken from Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harrod Buhner.

Question 1: Gruit ale was a combination of three mild to moderately narcotic herbs: sweet gale also called bog myrtle, yarrow, and wild rosemary. Adjunct herbs were juniper berries, ginger, caraway seed, aniseed, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The properties of gruit ale were typically highly intoxicating, causing narcotic, aphrodisiacal, and psychotropic effects when consumed in high quantity.

Question 2: Saccharo is a Greek word that means “sugar” or “sweet.” The suffix of Saccharomyces, -myces, means fungus. Essentially, it is a fungus that likes to eat sugar, just as the name implies.

Question 3: From Robert Gayre: “from the earliest of times men have recognized that honey, and particularly mead, have strong revitalizing qualities, as well as healing virtues. As a consequence of this is was believed to be an elixir to prolong life.” Mead, if consumed regularly, was claimed to restore youthfulness, increase sexual drive, prevent illness, and cure diseases such as arthritis, stomach ulceration, bronchitis, impotency, general weakness and debility, heart disease, and cancer.

Question 4: Spruce beer is one of the more well-known and remembered beers of ancient times. If it is made properly, it is a pleasing and refreshing drink that doesn’t cause drowsiness. Unlike some of the heavily hopped ales, there are claims that it invigorates the spirit and uplifts the energy. Discoverers of Canada cured themselves of scurvy by drinking this beer and since that time it has become a common remedy in Canada, the Northern States, and Europe.

Question 5: Hops have lots of relaxant qualities, which is why they are used to induce sleep. People traditionally used pillows stuffed with hops to help aid in sleep, however, sometimes sleeping on hop pillows creates a drugged feeling when waking up. The strong antibacterial actions makes them useful for wound powders or salves. The natural astringency of hops is also a positive factor in cleaning wounds. Hops contain a high amount of estrogen, so much so that some believe hops are equally as effective as the pharmaceutical form of estrogen.