Bex’s Wild Mushroom Medicinal Brew

A deeply earthy, fermented tonic crafted from medicinal mushrooms, wild herbs and traditional roots. Turkey tail, chaga and artist’s bracket are slowly simmered to create a rich, nourishing brew, balanced with meadowsweet, burdock and a hint of mugwort. Naturally fermented for gentle fizz and complexity, this wild-crafted drink is a wonderful way to explore the flavours and traditions of medicinal mushroom brewing at home. 🍄🌿✨

Ingredients for a 1ltr swing-top bottle 

2 Ltrs water (will reduce during simmering)

35g turkey tail mushrooms

30 g chaga mushrooms

20g artists bracket

2tbs meadowsweet

2tbs burdock root

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup (118 ml) molasses or

(100 g) brown sugar

3-4 mugwort leaves

⅓ cup (78 ml) Culture Starter (I used wild soda starter and sauerkraut starter)

Method

1. Place all your ingredients (except the burdock, Meadowsweet, mugwort leaves, culture starter and molasses if using molasses) in a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 to 4 hours. The volume of water should reduce to around half the original amount.
2. Add the burdock, meadowsweet and mugwort leaves 30 minutes before you end the simmering. 
3. Remove the pot from the heat, put on the lid, and set the pot into cold water to cool down the brew. You may need to change the cold water a couple of times to accelerate the cooling. Or just leave on the side.
4. When it’s lukewarm or colder, strain the mixture into your swing-top bottle, then add the starter and molasses (if using). You want the contents to reach up to the bottom of the bottle’s neck, but no higher. If you need more liquid, it’s okay to add some water. Ferment for 2 to 4 days at room temperature and check the carbonation. If it’s decent, place the bottle in the fridge. Every couple of days, check the bottle and burp if necessary.

You can use a different swing top jar until fermented to required level as it will lessen then likelihood of exploding bottles

This type of brew is best enjoyed within 2 weeks (in my opinion), but feel free to experiment with aging it a bit longer. If you do so, make sure to keep an eye on the pressure inside the bottle and burp it as needed. It will continue fermenting in the fridge.