![Woodland Wonders - Bottle](../img/beers/woodland-wonders/hopsylvania-woodland-wonders-bottle.jpg)
![Descânt - Bottle](../img/beers/descant/hopsylvania-descant-bottle.jpg)
Descânt
Wildflower Honey Gruit
Homebrew SeriesNamed after the epic song from Dordeduh, "Descânt" is an ale made with seven different herbs, organic polyfloral honey and historical barley. This single-malt no-hop beer was fermented with a wild yeast strain that was personally captured in the Bavarian Alps from where most of the herbs were also foraged. Bottled on the day of the vernal equinox, this wild gruit is a celebration of the renewal power of spring with all its floral enchantments.
View on Untappd- Last brewedFebruary 1, 2024
- Alcohol5.6%
- MaltsFrankonian Heritage Barley
- HerbsYarrow (Achilea millefolium),
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris),
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria),
Linden (Tilia × europaea),
Wild Oregano (Origanum vulgare),
Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum),
Wild Rose (Rosa canina) - YeastHopsylvania HWY-001
- ExtrasPolyfloral Honey
![Descânt - Label Design](../img/beers/descant/hopsylvania-descant-label.jpg)
After several years of experimenting with floral farmhouse ales and even a few sour ales and ancient brews, I wanted to finally make a truly wild beer with hyper-local ingredients. No stranger to foraging herbs for my beers, I did my research and created a mixture that would honour the historical gruit recipe. What's more, I decided to brew this on International Gruit Day, celebrating Nature's herbal gifts and all the historical brews that came before it. I used dry Yarrow (Achilea millefolium) and Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) for bittering and antiseptic, with a late addition of Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) leaves, then finally added fresh Linden (Tilia × europaea) and Yarrow flowers at flameout for a burst of aroma.
For fermentation I used a wild yeast culture (HWY-001) that I had personally collected in the Bavarian Alps from elderflowers, and meticulously propagated for over half a year. This high-attenuation strain ferments cleanly, leaving a smooth mouthfeel despite the lack of residual sugars, while also bringing its own floral flavors and even a bit of funk.
![Hopsylvania Wild Yeast 001 - Elderflower](../img/hwy-001.png)
Once the fermentation was nearly done, I added a blend of flowers and wildflower honey to the fermentation vessel for a bump in sugars along with a final floral burst of Linden, Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum), Wild Oregano (Origanum vulgare), and Wild Rose (Rosa canina). Made with historical Frankonian malt from Rhön Malz, the resulting beer pours a bright golden color, with intense floral aromatics reminiscent of spring meadows where everything is in bloom. With an underlying honey flavor it's smooth even if slightly tart, making it especially refreshing on warm summer days.
![Descânt - Pencil Drawing](../img/beers/descant/hopsylvania-descant-artwork-1.jpg)
![Descânt - Ink Illustration](../img/beers/descant/hopsylvania-descant-artwork-2.jpg)
![Descânt - Digital Print](../img/beers/descant/hopsylvania-descant-artwork-3.jpg)
The Artwork
Inspired by the Dordeduh album from whose song it also gets its name — which means "chant/spell" in Romanian — this features a World Tree spiraling between the heavens and the underworld, with an ouroboros infinitely intertwined through its eight branches and eight roots, one for each song on the album. As above, so below. Much like this serpent, the circular album also ends in its own beginning in a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth.
![Descânt - Artwork](../img/beers/descant/hopsylvania-descant-artwork.jpg)
Availability
This is a homebrewed beer that is not available for sale or distribution of any kind. It was brewed at home in small quantities to be shared only with family and friends, simply out of passion for the craft and as a tribute to the music that inspired it.
- Non-commercial
- No selling
- No distribution
Other Beers
Check out some of the other things I brewed that might be similar to this one, or alternatively just explore the full range regardless of their style.
![Woodland Wonders - Bottle](../img/beers/woodland-wonders/hopsylvania-woodland-wonders-bottle.jpg)
![Rustic Roots - Bottle](../img/beers/rustic-roots/hopsylvania-rustic-roots-bottle.jpg)
Rustic Roots
Juniper Farmhouse Ale
![Visions Of Summer - Bottle](../img/beers/visions-of-summer/hopsylvania-visions-of-summer-bottle.jpg)
Visions Of Summer
Yarrow-Oregano Braggot
![Sparks Of Disillusion - Bottle](../img/beers/sparks-of-disillusion/hopsylvania-sparks-of-disillusion-bottle.jpg)