On Friday I brewed up some tree beer using Leyland Cypress boughs in the strike and sparge water as well as in the mash vessel. OG was ~1.050 and I split the boil to brew up a saison and a pale ale with galaxy and sultana (denali) hops. The saison is fermenting with a wild yeast culture I captured from my neighbor’s raw honey and the pale ale has Framgarden kveik. They’re both fermenting at 87°F/30.5°C
The Leyland Cypress gives the beer a pleasant evergreen/christmas tree flavor that’s a bit citrusy and not too overwhelming. I’ve brewed with this tree a number of times and thoroughly researched it so I’m fully confident that it is not toxic. I don’t measure the amount of tree I put in the beer, basically just put branches into the kettle until it’s annoying to try to add another one.
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
www.hunker.com/…/leyland-cypress-toxicity/
poisonousplants.massey.ac.nz/…/isocupr.html
No. Just no.
MuteDog@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I knew some armchair researcher was going to post this crap. Toxic to ruminants does not equal toxic to humans. All parts of the Poderosa pine from the needles to the inner bark were/are a staple food of native Americans. Isocupressic acid is not toxic to humans.
SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 4 days ago
Hey, I am just skimming through and see that you are saying that the ponderosa pine is edible, while making beer from the Leland Cypress. These plants are similar looking, but different species completely.
Here are a few more sources that advise that it can be toxic to humans.
myplantin.com/plant/6556
plantura.garden/uk/…/cypress-trees-overview
www.thespruce.com/leyland-cypress-trees-2132063#t…
Also note that a book on plant toxicology was referenced in the Wikipedia article.
I can’t say whether there would be any effect on you from making a beer from it, but I am concerned that you had said it was fine because the ponderosa pine is edible. I would consult a specialist before drinking any more of this brew.
Coolcoder360@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I don’t mean to insert myself in some “armchair researcher” discussion, but Leyland Cypress is from the family Cupressaceae, not Pinaceae like the Ponderosa pine.
So how does the Ponderosa pine being edible prove anything about the leyland cypress? They are in the same class of pinopsida, but diverge and have different orders, families, genuses, and species below that.
You’d be better off comparing the leyland cypress to other cypresses than to ponderosa pines for edibility I think.