Friday 12 November 2010

42. Wormwood Hallucinogenic Bitter

I was sat in my office today and I realised that I what I thought was a Staples economy office chair was in fact the spleen of a lime green elephant called Keith. I was surprised at how comfortable Keith’s spleen was and marvelled that I could rotate through 360 degrees on it. In the floor where I usually leave my gym kit there was a Vogon being licked by an exclamation mark with an afro. I could see a phone ringing in Baltimore which struck me as odd because it was ringing in orange rather than red. Did all this happen or was just a side effect of the wort from my Wormwood Hallucinogenic Bitter? Is any of this real or are we just a reality TV show for a higher intelligence?

Two botanicals are being used in my hallucinogenic bitter are Wormwood and Salvia. Both of these herbs have a long history of use as a means to escape reality. The psychoactive agent in wormwood is thujone which is a gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor and 5-HT3 antagonist giving drifts in consciousness and at high levels causes spasms. The active compound in Salvia is salvinorin A which is a kappa opioid agonist which provides a range of psychedelic effects like vivid memories, merging object and overlapping realities.

To paraphrase a sample on Knock Out by Nosferatu from the neoclassic Assault on Precinct 13 "It's the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria"

The question is, is this responsible?

Tech Spec:

Malt: Pale ale malt, 140 crystal

Hops: Challenger

Yeast: Sharps

Spices: Wormwood and Salvina

OG: 1050

I’ve got to go now Keith wants his spleen back. Ik wil hakke!

7 comments:

ZakAvery said...

Of the two, the wormwood is the least likely to cause any reaction. Salvia is pretty potent substance, to say the least, and the presence of alcohol will enhance extraction of salvinorin A.

This might be one for a long night of Angerfist.

StringersBeer said...

I seem to remember that salvinorin is rapidly deactivated in the gut. Effects might depend on absorption via oral mucosa. i.e. nothing much if one was to swig it down. But gargle with it, or swill it around the mouth thoroughly, possible other story. So if there's any significant amount in the beer - mileage might vary a lot.

Who's to be the guinea pig?

Anonymous said...

You can read about wormwood being used in ancient Chinese 'rice wine' (more properly rice beer, of course) here. It's interesting stuff - talking about possible anti-cancer agents in ancient fermented beverages.

Stuart Howe said...

I am restricting consumption of this one to myself, Special Derek and Kelvin. Kelvin will be bringing round the greatest hits of Gong to listen to. I'm sure that it will be no more mind exapnding than a good cup of tea.

Beard Beer Blogger said...

Salvia is pretty shitty stuff, I think it is legal in the states because you always have a shitty trip, kind of a legal turn off to good psychedelics. From personal experience, salvia causes short term loss of connection with reality, and fear that that connection is lost forever. That being said, I have been considering a similar brew with wormwood, and marijuana (which is legal for me to use). I suspect one little swig of this will get your noodle going.

OccupyMedics said...

What are the amounts of your recipe. Mostly, the amount of wormwood and saliva. Was this for a 5 gallon brew?

Angus Boag said...

Salvia is bloody great, can't believe it's banned here (Australia) Kind of like a short-term shroom journey.

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