Gruit


Gruit is a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit.
Historically, gruit is the term used in an area today covered by the Netherlands, Belgium and westernmost Germany. Today however, gruit is a colloquial term for any beer seasoned with gruit-like herbs.
Gruit is a combination of herbs, commonly including sweet gale, mugwort, yarrow, ground ivy, horehound, and Calluna heather. Gruit varied somewhat, each gruit producer including different herbs to produce unique flavors and effects. Other adjunct herbs include juniper berries, ginger, caraway seed, aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, mint and occasionally hops in variable proportions.

Historical context

The word gruit stems from an area now in the Netherlands, Belgium and westernmost Germany. Here, the sale of gruit was a monopoly held by various local authorities, and as such a de facto tax on beer. The word gruit could refer to the herb mixture itself or the monopoly of its sale. The earliest reference to gruit dates from the late 10th century, and although largely replaced by hops in the 14th and 15th century, gruit beer was locally produced in Westphalia up to the 17th century.
Outside the area where the gruit monopoly applied, other countries and regions produced ales containing spices, but they were not named gruit. For instance, some traditional types of unhopped beer such as sahti in Finland, which is spiced with juniper berries and twigs, have survived the advent of hops.
In both the area where gruit existed and outside it, the traditional spices were gradually replaced by hops, in a slow sweep across Europe occurring between the 11th century and the late 16th century. In 16th century Britain, a distinction was made between ale, which was unhopped, and beer, brought by Dutch merchants, which was hopped. Currently, however, ale usually refers to beer produced through a top-fermentation process, not unhopped beer.
The main factor for the replacement of spices by hops is that hops were cheaper and were better at rendering the beer keepable. This preservative effect is thought to have had a large impact on the early movement to switch over, although other plants commonly used in gruit mixes, for example sage, rosemary or bog myrtle, also have antiseptic properties likely to extend the shelf life of beer.
Spruce tips as a local food ingredient has a practical aspect as well; it is a plentiful resource in northern latitudes like Alaska, whereas hops must be imported from the lower 48 United States.

Modern brews

The 1990s microbrewery movement in North America and Europe saw a renewed interest in unhopped beers and several have tried their hand at reviving ales brewed with gruits, or plants that once were used in it. Commercial examples include:
Beer nameGruitBreweryLocation
Beann GulbanHeatherWhite HagSligo, Ireland
Golden State of MindChamomile, Coriander and Orange PeelAle IndustriesOakland, CA, USA
FraochHeather flowers, sweet gale and gingerWilliams BrothersScotland, UK
AlbaPine twigs and spruce budsWilliams BrothersScotland, UK
MyricaSweet galeHanlonsEngland, UK
GageleerSweet galeProefbrouwerijBelgium
CervoiseHeather flowers, spices, hopsLancelotBrittany, France
ArtemisMugwort and wild bergamot Moonlight Brewing CompanySanta Rosa, California, USA
Alaskan Winter AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsAlaskan Brewing CompanyAK
Our Special AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsAnchor Brewing CompanySan Francisco, CA, USA
Spruce Tip AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsHaines Brewing CompanyAK, USA
Spruce Tip GruitYoung Sitka spruce tipsWolf Tree BrewerySeal Rock, OR, USA
Island Trails Spruce Tip Wheat WineYoung Sitka spruce tipsKodiak Island Brewing CompanyAK, USA
Sitka Spruce Tip AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsBaranof Island Brewing CompanyAK
Bog WaterMyrica gale Beau's All Natural Brewing CompanyVanleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Spring Fever GruitOrganic barley, heather, and spicesSalt Spring Island BreweryBritish Columbia, Canada
Various Weekly OfferingsLocally foraged herbs, flowers, roots and berries as well as classic gruit ingredientsEarth Eagle BrewingsPortsmouth, NH, USA
Posca RusticaRecipe based on archeological research at The Archeosite D'AubechiesBrasserie DupontWallonia, Belgium
NamastaleJuniper and RosemaryChurch Key BrewingCampbellford, Ontario, Canada
DunesWormwood, mugwort, turmeric, lemongrass, and sageSolarc BrewingLos Angeles, CA, USA
Session GruitChamomile and elderberriesSolarc BrewingLos Angeles, CA, USA
EarlEarl Grey Tea, lemon verbena, and foraged rosemarySolarc BrewingLos Angeles, CA, USA
Wine TrashGranache grape must and Yarrow FlowerSolarc BrewingLos Angeles, CA, USA
Sun EaterRosemary and dried lemon peel4th Tap Brewing Co-opAustin, TX, USA
Jopen KoytSweet gale and other herbsJopenHaarlem, Netherlands
A River Runs GruitLavender, Chamomile, Rose hips, and ElderberryRock Art BreweryMorrisville, VT, USA
Spruce StoutSpruce TipsRock Art BreweryMorrisville, VT, USA
Zingiberene Ginger GruitGingerSchmohz Brewing CompanyGrand Rapids, MI, USA
Ancient Gruit AleWormwood, Grains of Paradise, Hand-picked Wild YarrowThe Beer DivinerCherry Plain, NY, USA
Stop Trying to Make Gruit HappenDenizen's Brewing CompanySilver Spring, MD, USA
GruitYarrow, sweet gale and Labrador teaProper Brewing CompanySalt Lake City, UT, USA
Earthbound GruitMissouri Cedar branches, heather tips, basswood honeyDangerous Man Brewing Co.Minneapolis, MN, USA
NursiaStar Anise, caraway, ginger, and spruceAvery Brewing Co.Boulder, CO, USA
Special HerbsLemongrass, hyssop, Sichuan peppercorns, and orange peelUpright BreweryPortland, Oregon, USA

Since 2013, craft brewers with an interest in making gruit ales have banded together to mark February 1 as International Gruit Day. The day is intended to raise awareness of and pay homage to the historical traditions of brewing with botanicals.

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