Adapted from Pascal Baudar’s The Wildcrafting Brewer.

Not much maple syrup flavour remains after fermenting. This beer tastes a lot like a straightforward ale—dandelion is quite bitter. Experiment with sugars. I’ve substituted syrup for molasses, which resulted it a more porter-like beer. 

I like to add something slightly floral like spruce tips or yarrow or chamomile to offset the dandelion.

Pick dandelions just before the flowers open—though you can add a few flowers to the recipe, too.

So far I’ve found I haven’t had to prime before bottling as fresh dandelion residue continues to ferment once bottled.

This ferments to about 3.8 – 5% ABV.

To learn more about the basics of home brewing, equipment, and terminology, check out Charlie Papazian’s The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing.

Makes about 1 gallon of beer.

Wild Yeast

Before you make your beer, you’ll have to make a wild yeast. Learn how on the Wild Yeast page.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon de-chlorinated water
• 1 lb maple syrup
• 1/2 lb fresh dandelion greens
• 14 g dandelion root, toasted/dried 
• 6 g dried spruce tips
• 1/2-3/4 cup wild yeast

Brew the Beer

1. Clean dandelions. Separate leaves from roots.
2. Chop dandelion roots. Roast in oven at 300˚F, stirring often, until the root is dark and crispy (about 15-20 minutes or so).
3. Combine ingredients in a big pot—reserve 2 g of spruce tips. 
4. Bring to a boil. Boil for 25 min. At 25 min, add remaining spruce tips. Boil for 5 more minutes.
5. Remove from heat and cool wort to 21˚C (70˚F).
6. Strain. Pitch wild yeast.
7. Pour into fermenting vessel and add an airlock. Ferment in a warm place (15-27˚C) until bubbling subsides significantly (about 10 days after active fermenting starts).
8. Bottle. Enjoy after 1-3 weeks.

If you are making a wild yeast for (beer) brewing, be sure to start it about a week before you brew your beer.

1. Combine 1 part sugar to 4 parts (de-chlorinated) water. I like to use unpasteurized honey as it contains a lot of yeast. 
2. Add some yeasty ingredients such as berries, flowers, leaves, bark—whatever you can find around your yard or kitchen.
3. Cover with a cheesecloth and put in a warm place. Stir at least 2-4 times a day until it becomes active.
4. After 2-5 days, bubbles and foam will appear at the top of your jar. Active fermentation has begun.