I sometimes enjoy going back to my Celtic roots and making some medicinal herbal beer. Aside from making a somewhat pleasant drink, stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) are a great source of vitamin C and apparently help alleviate rheumatic pain. They can also be used to make soup and are an important plant for a variety of wildlife.
It’s a Belgian dream - a beer with a lot of health benefits. Different brewers use different methods for this recipe. What follows is what I do.
For more advice and inspiration on foraging, head to our foraging hub, where you'll find guides to popular plants to forage such as elder and bramble, an interview with expert forager and author John Wright, and recipe ideas including how to make watercress pesto and how to make pickled walnuts.
Take care
As the name suggests, stinging nettles can sting and cause swelling and itchy skin! The stem and leaves have tiny barbs to protect the plant. These contain a mix of formic acid, histamine, acetycholine and serotonin. Wear gloves when picking and handling them.
