Ok so I am the newbest of newb at brewing and just now delving into the information. I want to try to reproduce the ales that would have been around in the 10th-14th century. As I understand it there were no hops used in this time period and instead were bittered using various herbs and spices for instance wormwood. I have never done brewing of any sort but from what information I have gathered over the past 2 days is that an extremely simplified brewing process goes as follows  " Boil water, make mash, drain wort, sparge, boil wort, add spice, cool, put wort into fermentation container, pitch yeast." I understand (or atleast think I understand) that the boiling of the wort is to kill any remaining bacteria because it reaches at least a temperature of 160F. Also because that is the temperature that are best for hops to be added (?).  

What is to prevent me from the following process " boil water, make mash (mash includes some spices), drain wort, sparge,  cool., into fermentation container, pitch yeast"  If the water to make the mash goes in at ~175 degrees would that not sanitize the wort and grain itself?  If the herbs that I plan to bitter with (havent figured out what herbs and spices yet but it will not be hops) do not need me to do it at a specific temperature can I safely skip the boil step?

This is the first questions I have asked anyone on brewing so dont bust my balls too bad (unless you are into that sort of thing). There is such a thing as stupid questions and I plan to ask them all. Thanks for any help.

No busting on you here.  I am going to use an example, just to sort of show you what you are attempting...

Hi Guys.  I've never shot a rifle before, and I have never reloaded.  However, I really would like to recreate an authentic 450-577 martini loading.  Brass isn't available, so I think I can cut down, step-neck and load reformed brass 20 gauge cases, then load with compressed black powder using a drop tube.  I don't have a fully authentic paperpatched bullet, so I think I'll design one and have Lee custom cut the bullet mold.  So, what paper should I patch with?


again, not a flame, just an example.  If you want some success, try basic brewing.  Brew a batch or three of extract brews, something simple.  Then try all grain.  If you cannot get a decent brew with these methods, stop there.  You need to acquire skills and knowledge BEFORE you delve into experimentation.  Beer doesn't blow up like poor reloads (but vigorous fermentation can look like it!).  But poor brewing practices can really make for some truly nasty beverages...

Learn and brew first.  Acquire skill., then  experiment.  You'll likely need something more than just herbs and spices.  Hops do more than just flavor.  Bogwort has been used as a bittering and stabilizing additive instead of hops.

The boiling is done for more reasons than sanitizing.  BYO article

Depending on how much grain/water ratio, that 175 degree water could make the mash possibly end up at 165 or so and would denature all your malt enzymes needed to create sugar from starch...in my opinion, if you are just wanting to use non boiled herbs instead of the hops, get some malt extract and skip your "make mash, drain wort, sparge" step the first time you do anything.  Just one less thing you will have to fight with, since you need a setup with a false bottom, have to worry about temp/volume measurement concurrently, etc.

Personally, I would still boil for 15 mins with the extract, of course cooling is another thing that requires special equipment like the mash...(in 5-6 gallon batches anyway)

Try dandilion plants with as much of the root as possible. Saw a recipe where they used like a pound of dandilions instead of hops for a 5 gallon batch.

Also, make sure you are cooling the wort below 80 before adding the yeast (or putting the wort in the fermenter) you dont want to kill the yeast or melt your fermenter.