Henbane & Alcohol - Erowid Exp - 'Old Family Recip

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Old Family Recipe

Henbane & Alcohol
by Alvaterssklave
Citation: Alvaterssklave. "Old Family Recipe: An Experience
with Henbane & Alcohol (exp72632)". Erowid.org. Jul 28, 2008.
erowid.org/exp/72632
DOSE: oral Hyoscyamus niger (extract)

oral Alcohol - Beer/Wine
BODY WEIGHT: 282 lb
The misinformation on
henbane has gotten really
bad. If you’re looking for a
crazy, LSD high, FORGET IT.
Let me start by saying that
my family has been using
henbane in hombrewing for
hundreds of years, and the
reports one reads on the
Internet about its deadly
effects are ridiculously
overstated. My grandfather
drank Pilsenkraut-spiked
beer and whiskey his whole
life, and was never seriously
affected, other than the
mild “nonsense-speaking”
effects that the weed can
have once it really grabs
onto someone. That
probably sounds terrible,
but it’s harmless, and can
be profound.
My mother’s family is
“Karpatendeutsch,” meaning
Germans from Slovakia and
Transylvania. “Pilsner” is
originally simply beer made
with henbane instead of
hops or henbane mixed with
hops. I brew it regularly,
drink it regularly and am not
a babbling “shaman” or
smelly hippie.
Let me tell you how we

make it, first.
5 gallons of clean, non-

chlorinated water
7 pounds of fermentable
malt extract, available at
brewing supply stores
About 1 ½ ounces henbane
leaf and flower, dried
1 ounce of hops to taste
Yeast (I recommend
Munton’s Ale)
Boil water, add malt, boil

malt together with hops for
one hour.
Using a separate tea-bag

infuser, add the henbane
about 15 minutes before
the end of the boil. Leave
the henbane infuser in as
the beer cools. Take the
infuser out when beer is 80
degrees, add yeast and
ferment somewhere dark
and cool. Read up on
brewing elsewhere, as
cleanliness is essential.
Prime, bottle and age about

a month. Drink at about 55
degrees.
With all that out of the way,

let me say that drinking
more than six beers or so
may indeed be dangerous. I
don’t know, as the beer is so
filling and the taste so
strong (kind of like an
earthy licorice) that I don’t
think anyone I know has
ever downed more than six
beers. If someone reads
this and drinks 15 real
Pilseners and dies, that
sounds like karma to me.
So everything in
moderation, huh kids?
Here are some effects I

notice from Pilsener. I had a
few just last night while
barbecuing.
1. Time becomes a bit

strange. For example,
grilling chicken can be a
long and tedious wait, trying
to cook the meat evenly
through; before I knew it,
the meat was perfectly
done and it seemed like the
meat had only been on the
grill for ten seconds, even
though it was about 40
minutes.
2. Vision can become a bit

weird, too. Photographs
may look very detailed or
deeply shadowed, almost 3-
D. People can look like they
are made of rubber or latex.
3. I have to be careful what I

do when I have Pilsener in
my belly as my pain
threshold goes through the
roof; I can hurt myself badly
and not feel it for hours. No
power tools!
4. If I really push it and start
getting to the 6 or 7 beer
range, I can get a little
delirious. My wife told me I
once wandered around the
house, wetting towels and
telling her we had to get our
daughter’s fever down. My
little girl was not sick at the
time and I don’t remember
the episode.
5. Henbane can give me
terrible, horrifying
nightmares if I eat too much
while I drink it. These are
nightmares that will haunt
you, buddy, so be careful.
After a few beers (and a
bowl of cereal) I once
dreamt that my dead next
door neighbor was trying to
get into my house after
clawing her way out of the
grave; I have never
forgotten what a gruesome
dream it was. If you drink
Pilsenser, DO NOT EAT
BEFORE BEDTIME.
6. The hangover from

overdoing Pilsener includes
diarrhea, muscle aches and
cramps and a headache
that will make me suicidal.
Okay. So that all sounds

bad. But Pilsener is a
sometimes thing that can
be a lot of fun and can be
VERY relaxing. It’s
especially good on cold,
holiday nights with lots of
pretty tree lights and carols.
I don’t drink more than three
in one evening and I don’t
do it more than a couple
times a month. I consider it
a part of my ethnic heritage,
and I enjoy the taste.
I hesitate to mention it, but
henbane leaves can be
steeped in hard liquor for a
few days to get the same
effects. Just be careful as
the effects are stronger and
it takes FAR, FAR, FAR less
of this alcohol to give the
effects. Add about ¼ ounce
to a bottle of vodka and
leave it alone for a few
weeks. Then have a shot or
two. DO NOT OVERDO IT.
That’s the mantra for
henbane: DO NOT OVERDO
IT. You’ll be sorry if you do.
Exp Year: 2008 ExpID: 72632

Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 28, 2008 Views: 60,619
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Hyoscyamus niger (278), Alcohol (61) : Retrospective /
Summary (11), Preparation / Recipes (30), Small Group
(2-9) (17)
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EROWID Experience Vaults About

Old Family Recipe

DOSE: oral Hyoscyamus niger (extract)

BODY WEIGHT: 282 lb

Let me tell you how we

5 gallons of clean, non-

Boil water, add malt, boil

Using a separate tea-bag

Prime, bottle and age about

With all that out of the way,

Here are some effects I

1. Time becomes a bit

2. Vision can become a bit

3. I have to be careful what I

6. The hangover from

Okay. So that all sounds

Exp Year: 2008 ExpID: 72632

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions

Erowid Experience Vault © 1995-2023 Erowid

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