Voyageur Press
Gardening for the Homebrewer:
Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
Rainy Side Gardener's Debbie Teashon and writer Wendy Tweten co-authored book for those who want only the freshest ingredients for their brews from liqueurs to perry to beer.
When we finally put the book to bed, Wendy and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. The book now brewed, we waited for it to come of age through our publishers. It finally arrived in September 2015 when we began the journey of being published authors.
Jump down to reviews and interviews about the book...
- Interviews
- Reviews
- Shops where the book has been seen
- Liqueur Recipes
- Schedule of author's upcoming speaking engagements or interviews.
- Direct link to Amazon.com
Interviews and appearances on radio, tv, newspapers, or online
- Guests on Gardening with Ciscoe show, Debbie and Wendy talk about the book, and plants you can grow in your garden. They even liqueured up the host! Fun. Part one and two below.
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Gardening Know How
Q&A with Wendy Tweten AND Debbie Teashon, co-authors of “Gardening For The Homebrewer”. Read on for an interview with the book’s co-authors. - Sleighbells And Spirits: Louisiana Eats! Hosts A Holiday Cocktail Party
Poppy Tooker interviews Debbie about the drink perry. Don't know perry? Listen to the podcast that aired on NPR radio in the southern region of the country. Listen to the whole program or if only interested in the perry portion that begins around 31:20. -
Teashon's appearance on Garden Time TV
William and Debbie make a cucumber/mint liqueur.
Reviews and Articles
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Educate Beer
"What we really like about this book is how it covers not only the obvious plants for homebrewing but also some plants that may not be typically thought of as something a homebrewer can grow." -
Home Brewing Store Directory
"Without a doubt, this book gets two thumbs up. It is written to be engaging and approachable for the average home brewer who may not have any deep knowledge of gardening. The authors know what you need to know, and they give that to you without bogging the book down with extra information that is not necessary. -
Brew Drink Run Podcast Episode 100 -- Raymond's Book Corner (The Review begins at 36:54, but the whole Podcast is a fun listen.)
"I have been looking at this book, it's a very cool book ... I am personally inspired by this ... It's like a physical Pinterest... A lot of cool information on there ..." Thank you Raymond! -
Agnes Street Gardens
"This is a nifty guide to growing your own ingredients for homebrewing all manner of different and unique drinks. The photography is outstanding. The book is organized by different groups of drinks with clear growing and processing instructions for each plant or fruit ingredient. Examples include: beer, wine, ciders, liqueuers and infused spirits. An excellent introduction for gardeners who want to grow and brew their own liquid refreshment." -
Gruits afternoon!
"Many home brewers grow their own ingredients leading to the publication of several books including The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks by Amy Stuart [Stewart] and Gardening for the Home Brewer by Wendy Tweten and Debbie Teashon."
(Although not a review, I include this link here because a mention of our book led me to find Raymond's thoughts on gruit bier and well worth a read if you have an interest in gruit. In the book we wrote about making this historical beer using ingredients you can grow in you garden.) -
Brewvana.net
"This is a fun book to inspire ideas and maybe even reawaken my gumption for getting out and playing in the soil to further my hobby." -
bwisegardening
"The book is very practical and written with good horticultural information. Each product to grow has it's own inset with growing information and how to use it in brewing.
My favorite part, though, was the "Talk ____ like a Pro" where they give tips on how to use the correct terminology when talking certain beverage brewing. There is also some historical or fun facts about the different beverages that make this a nice little book to have on the side table to peruse." - "A fascinating book about gardening with plants for making your own beer, wine, cider, and herb infused liqueurs. The witty text is laden with information about the best apples and pears for cider and all the different sorts of grapes and hops..." ~ Skyler Walker
- "I came to this book as a past truck farmer, so the wide variety of plants profiled really appealed to me, reviving great farm memories. The concise plant info, histories and terrific photos make it a truly pleasurable read, suitable for novices or pros. I loved the fresh, wry tone and after reading about gruit, scrumpy and perry I was more than ready for a delicious beverage from the garden..." ~ Sue Nevler
- "This book is delightful!! I am so pleased to see all the helpful gardening information about SO many plants! There's a tremendous amount of info for beginners or longtime gardeners. The photos are so lovely and inviting. It's a tough winter read tho, it makes me want to jump up and head out to the yard!! I've been gardening off and on for 50 years, and have worked in the gardening industry for almost 30..." ~ Sylvia S Smith
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"...And of course my fav thing is on the cover
Big yummy mug of homebrew." ~ Michelle Cuneo -
Camboposted
" The authors give down-to-earth advice on the tools and materials gardeners need to get going, including which plants you'll need and how to grow the most productive garden." - "Adventurous, delicious and fun too! The photographs are luscious. Full of fun experimentations. I enjoy this book!" ~ Cynthia Levenstein
- "Informative and entertaining! The authors have a terrific sense of humor, making this book a very enjoyable read! Lots of good information and great gardening tips." ~ Jeanne M. Keyes
- "I finished this book feeling enthused about the possibilities. Since I hate food waste, it offered me an alternative to canning, freezing, giving away, or wasting the bounty in my garden. It also gave me great advice for growing things ... whether I use the plants for food, libations, or simply as a colorful accent in my yard." ~ Cynthia Hall
- "I like how this book is written. I like the side tips that cover everything from pruning to cleaning and more. I also like the humor — you don’t usually find humor in a gardening book, and it adds a nice touch." ~ Bryan Carey
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Oregonian
"Pop the cork on homemade perry: Pear-based booze." -
Detroit News
"This introduction to the wide variety of plants that can be used for fermentation or infusions will open up a whole new world for those DIYers that want to try their hand at growing their own." - Portland Press Herald Maine Gardener: Natural gifts for gardeners bring ideas for new growth. "This book combines two of my passions: gardening and beer. It describes how to grow and use plants in making not only beer, but also wine (both grape and fruit), ciders, perry (or pear cider) and liqueurs."
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Great Beer Now -
"Gardening for the Homebrewer is a useful hands- on guide and I like how it includes so many little tidbits of information. Yes, there are lots of books and advice on gardening, but this book includes helpful tips on things not often covered in other gardening books, like proper cleaning of your freshly harvested food, knowing the right time to harvest, selecting a potting container, sorting and eliminating food items not fit for consumption, and so on. The book also contains its share of humor, which is not something found in the typical book on this subject." -
The Texas Gardener's Seeds - November 4, 2015
"A perfect how-to gift for the potential home-brewer, there is an informative chapter on growing hops, malt and barley for "big beer ingredients." Beer, however, "can be so much more," including gruit derived from combinations of various common herbs (yarrow, rosemary, horehound, and the like).
Giving pears 'the dignity of their own chapter,' the authors undertake to revive a mostly forgotten tradition of perry-making. 'Perry is 100 percent pressed perry pears" - 20 pounds yields one gallon - resulting in a libation that "tends to be sweeter, smoother and more delicate than cider.'" -
Kitsap Sun - October 11, 2015
"Tweten and Teashon have a winner in this easy-to-use, appeallingly presented how-to book. Even if you don't want to try your hand at homebrewing quite yet, I recommend getting this book just for the photos, words, and information. It's a great way to while away some time when resting up from a hard day of gardening. Maybe even with a glass of purchased perry to sip while reading." -
New School Beer
"This is the rare beer book that I have not seen before and wins extra points for originality ... The 3rd chapter on brewing herbs and other fermentables is a favorite. It starts off discussing the great obscure beer style of the “Gruit”, a style pre-dating the use of hops in beer that used native herbs, spices, fruits, grains etc. to ferment, spice, bitter the beer. There are cool sections on popular Gruit plants like Yarrow, wild Rosemary, Heather and more with a full breakdown on everything from the height, soil, growth habit, pruning, propagation, spacing, everything..." -
Food and Beverage Magazine
"Gardening for the Homebrewer is their new release with a hefty chapter titled: Pity the Pear. The authors delve into the indignity of the pear, its lumping into the apple cider category, and their quest to place dignity where it’s deserved..." -
Fine Gardening: The Vegetable Gardener
"Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry and More is a complete guide to getting started. The authors give down-to-earth advice on the tools and materials gardeners need to get going, including which plants you'll need and how to grow the most productive garden." - "Gardening For The Homebrewer is a very accessible and easy-to-read book that can turn any home gardener into a home brewer in no time. There is a great deal of detailed information if that's what you want, even down to the specific varieties of plants to be used, but even a novice should be able to proceed very quickly to experiment with and produce a variety of very interesting libations. Details intermixed with humor? How can you go wrong?" - Toledoboomer
Seen in these stores and photographed!
You can buy the book directly from the publisher Voyageur Press, or see their list of online book retailers, including Indie bookstores. Compare online prices!
Check your local bookstores for a copy too. If you don't see it and want to support your local bookstore, request they carry it from Voyageur Press. (If you send us a photograph of the book on their shelves, we will put it here with a link back to the bookstore's web or Facebook page.)
These are shops with photos of the book on their shelves.
University Book Store at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show. You can also buy it online through them.
Time Enough Books in Ilwaco, Washington.
Photo courtesy of Skyler Walker
Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California
Photo courtesty of Sue Goetz
Liqueur Recipes
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Goddess Liqueur
Taste of citrus with complex undertones to delight your taste buds! -
Strawberry Liqueur — A Taste of Summer
Liqueur made from your garden to glass. - Garden Mint Recipe
Posted on GardenTime TV.
Schedule of author's upcoming speaking engagements or interviews.
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Spring Green Art Fest May 6-7, 2016
Lynnwood, Washington
Concocting Cocktails from the Garden
A lively look at alcohol based libations that stem from your own backyard. Debbie will share the making of fresh and delicious liqueurs that taste all the better with homegrown ingredients. Herbs for liqueurs, fruit for wine, hops for beer, apples for cider — learn how easy it is to make delicious liqueur recipes from ingredients grown in your Northwest garden. You will be the life of the party!
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton
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