Now that we’ve covered how to grow, harvest, preserve, and brew beer with flowers, I have some recommendations for various flowers and the beers they’ll work best with. That said, don’t take my word as gospel—experiment to your heart’s content!
Be sure you plan your garden well in advance—you might need up to three years before you can harvest a significant amount if you’re growing perennials. With perennials, the general rule is this: the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap. So while your first and second years might yield a few blooms, by year three you should have a pretty robust crop. In the meantime, if you can’t wait that long, head over to a spice shop or a natural foods store to fill in the gaps. If you are using dried buds, be mindful that the measurements will be different from freshly cut blooms: a good rule of thumb is that you need about 1/3 the amount of dried flowers as of fresh (so if your recipe calls for 1 cup of fresh flowers, you will use 1/3 cup of dried flowers).
And, of course, it bears saying that some flower species can be toxic. If you’re going to use a flower outside this list—and I encourage you to do so!—do your research to make sure it’s safe to consume before you toss it into the mix.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is one of the most popular flowers to brew with, and even living in the temperate desert of Colorado, mine has at least a dozen new blooms every day. That said, the hibiscus requires daily water if you don’t have a sprinkler trained on it.
Recommended for: saisons, sours, IPAs, red ales, wits, pale ales, wheats, tripels, Hefeweizens, Belgian ales, and pale lagers.
Lavender
Lavender is a hearty, drought-resistant perennial that blooms early in the summer. If you harvest it early enough, you might be able to get a second round of blooms. Be sparing with this one—it’s quite strong, and you could end up with a soapy-tasting beer.
Recommended for: wits, saisons, IPAs, gruits, sours, pale ales, Belgian ales, and wheats.
Rose
While roses tend to grow in most zones without issue, they require a bit more care than other flowers if you want frequent, full blooms. You’ll also want to research the aroma characteristics of various roses to find exactly what you want—just like craft beer, there are so many rose varieties and hybrids out there, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one you love.
Recommended for: sours, amber ales, IPAs, American pale ales, wheats, blondes, saisons, ryes, tripels, wits, dubbels, stouts, weissbiers, and Pilsners.
Chamomile
Plant chamomile seeds in the fall for a spring growth, or grow them in containers indoors, but be sure that either location allows for lots of sunlight. Frequent trimming and deadheading will encourage new blooms.
Recommended for: wits, wheats, Kölsches, saisons, gruits, American ales, and blondes.
Jasmine
Jasmines thrive in tropical to sub-tropical climates, but can grow in temperate climates if they’re sheltered. They come in vine and bush varieties, so you can buy based on the space you have. Not all varieties are fragrant, but the ones that are will make your garden smell divine. They require a bit more care than other plants.
Recommended for: IPAs, American pale ales, Kölsches, saisons, sours, Pilsners, and wheats.
Elderflower (elderberry)
This ornamental shrub can grow to be quite large, so you’ll want to plan its placement well. Harvest the flowers in July, and the berries in late summer. Use caution with this plant: you’ll want to be very careful to harvest only the flowers and berries, discarding the rest, and be sure to boil your berries before you use them to brew—they contain a chemical similar to cyanide.
Elderflower is recommended for: sours, saisons, stouts, tripels, helles, Hefeweizens, pale ales, wheats, blondes, IPAs, wits, and Pilsners. Try your hand at Twist One of this Tripel recipe.
Elderberry is recommended for: black ales, wild ales, sours, stouts, saisons, porters, blondes, wheats, lagers, and quadrupels.
Dandelion
Many of us already have dandelions growing wild in our yards. Before you reach for the herbicide, think of the types of beers you could brew with them. We have a cyser recipe and a saison recipe you might want to try.
Recommended for: blondes, wild ales, IPAs, pale ales, saisons, gruits, bitters, and tripels.
Heather
Heather is available in more than 500 varieties and is very low-maintenance. They bloom in the late summer through early fall and come in a variety of colors. Be sure to research the available varieties and decide which is best for your purposes.
Recommended for: gruits, saisons, lagers, stouts, porters, and IPAs.
Morning Glory
This fast-growing vine comes in a variety of colors and is quite fragrant throughout the warmer months. However, they bloom early in the morning and the flowers die off before the end of the day, so you’ll have to get in touch with your inner morning person for this one. Careful with the seeds: they contain a hallucinogen, so you’ll want to be sure to only use the petals.
Recommended for: stouts, IPAs, pale ales, and porters.
What flowers have you brewed with? Please share your experience in the comments!