Gruit (alternately grut or gruyt) is a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. The terms gruit and grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit. Today, however, gruit is a colloquial term misapplied to a beer seasoned with gruit-like herbs.
The word "gruit" stems from an area now in the Netherlands, Belgium, and northwestern Germany. The word refers to the herb mixture originally used to enhance the flavour of beers before the general use of hops. The earliest reference to gruit dates from the late 10th century. During the 11th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV awarded monopoly privileges of the production and sale of gruit (Grutgerechtigkeit, or "grut licence") to different local authorities, and as such imposed a de facto tax on beer. [lower-alpha 1] The control of gruit restricted entry to local beer markets—brewers in a diocese were not allowed to sell beer brewed without the local gruit, and imports were similarly restricted. The gruit licensing system also exerted control over brewers within a city, as the holder of a Grutgerechtigkeit could calculate how much beer each brewer could make based on how much gruit was sold to them. [1] Outside the area where the gruit monopoly applied, other countries and regions produced ales containing spices, but they were not called gruit. For instance, some traditional types of unhopped beer such as sahti in Finland, which is spiced with juniper sprigs, have survived the advent of hops. [2] [3]
Specific gruit recipes were often guarded secrets. In 1420, the town council of Cologne "...directed a knowledgeable woman to teach a certain brewer, and no one else, how to make [gruit]..." [4] Although largely replaced by hops in the 14th and 15th centuries, gruit flavored beer was locally produced in Westphalia until at least the 17th century. [5]
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 (in the south and east of the Holy Roman Empire) and the late 16th century (Great Britain). In 16th-century Britain, a distinction was made between "ale" (which was unhopped), and the "beer" brought in by Dutch merchants, that was hopped. [6] In more recent centuries, however, the words "beer" and "ale" have been synonymous, as is still largely the case in British English, although recently there has been an increase in the use [lower-alpha 2] where "ale" means beer other than lager beer.
The main factor for the replacement of spices by hops is that hops were cheaper (especially in the gruit area, where the price of beer flavouring spices was artificially kept high) and were better at rendering the beer more stable. 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.[ citation needed ] Spruce tips as a local food ingredient have a practical aspect as well; it is a plentiful resource in northern latitudes such as Finland and Alaska, while in Alaska hops must be imported from the lower 48 United States. [7]
Gruit is a combination of herbs, commonly including:
Gruit recipes varied somewhat; each gruit producer included 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 (although gruit today is often sought out specifically for its lack of hops).[ citation needed ]
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The 1990s microbrewery movement in North America and Europe renewed interest in unhopped beers, and several have tried reviving ales brewed with gruits, or plants that once were used in it. Commercial examples include:
| Beer name | Gruit ingredients | Brewery | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gruut Blond, Gruut Wit, Gruut Amber, Gruut Bruin, Gruut Inferno | Gentse Stadsbrouwerij Gruut | Ghent, Belgium | |
| Beann Gulban | Heather | White Hag | Sligo, Ireland |
| Wolf & Gruit | Mint, cinnamon, ginger, verbena, sage | Brokreacja | Zator, Poland |
| Golden State of Mind | Chamomile, coriander, and orange peel | Ale Industries | Oakland, CA, US |
| Fraoch | Heather flowers, sweet gale and ginger | Williams Brothers | Alloa, Scotland |
| Alba | Pine twigs and spruce buds | Williams Brothers | Alloa, Scotland, UK |
| Myrica | Sweet gale | Hanlons | Devon, England, UK |
| Gageleer | Sweet gale | Proefbrouwerij | Lochristi, Belgium |
| Cervoise | Heather flowers, spices, hops | Lancelot | Brittany, France |
| Artemis | Mugwort and wild bergamot (Also known as bee balm or horsemint) | Moonlight Brewing Company | Santa Rosa, CA, USA |
| Alaskan Winter Ale | Young Sitka spruce tips | Alaskan Brewing Company | Alaska, [8] USA |
| Our Special Ale | Young Sitka spruce tips | Anchor Brewing Company | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Spruce Tip Ale | Young Sitka spruce tips | Haines Brewing Company | Alaska, USA |
| Spruce Tip Gruit | Young Sitka spruce tips | Wolf Tree Brewery | Seal Rock, OR, USA |
| Island Trails Spruce Tip Wheat Wine | Young Sitka spruce tips | Kodiak Island Brewing Company | Alaska, USA |
| Sitka Spruce Tip Ale | Young Sitka spruce tips | Baranof Island Brewing Company | Alaska, [9] [10] USA |
| Bog Water | Myrica gale (bog myrtle) | Beau's All Natural Brewing Company | Vanleek Hill, Ontario, Canada |
| Spring Fever Gruit | Organic barley, heather, and spices | Salt Spring Island Brewery | British Columbia, Canada |
| Various Weekly Offerings | Locally foraged herbs, flowers, roots, and berries as well as classic gruit ingredients | Earth Eagle Brewings | Portsmouth, NH, USA |
| Posca Rustica | Recipe based on archeological research at The Archeosite D'Aubechies - Sweet woodruff (wild baby's breath) and bog myrtle are just two of a dozen different spices used. | Brasserie Dupont | Wallonia, Belgium |
| Namastale | Juniper and rosemary | Church Key Brewing | Campbellford, ON, Canada |
| Dunes | Wormwood, mugwort, turmeric, lemongrass, and sage | Solarc Brewing | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Session Gruit | Chamomile and elderberries | Solarc Brewing | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Earl | Earl Grey Tea, lemon verbena, and foraged rosemary | Solarc Brewing | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Wine Trash | Granache grape must and Yarrow Flower | Solarc Brewing | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Sun Eater | Rosemary and dried lemon peel | 4th Tap Brewing Co-op | Austin, TX, USA |
| Jopen Koyt | Sweet gale and other herbs | Jopen | Haarlem, Netherlands |
| A River Runs Gruit | Lavender, chamomile, rose hips, and elderberry | Rock Art Brewery | Morrisville, VT, USA |
| Spruce Stout | Spruce Tips | Rock Art Brewery | Morrisville, VT, USA |
| Zingiberene Ginger Gruit | Ginger | Schmohz Brewing Company | Grand Rapids, MI, USA |
| Ancient Gruit Ale | Wormwood, Grains of Paradise, Hand-picked Wild Yarrow | The Beer Diviner | Cherry Plain, NY, USA |
| Stop Trying to Make Gruit Happen | Barrel aged (6.5%) | Denizen's Brewing Company | Silver Spring, MD, USA |
| Irish Gruit | Gruit Heather tips, Rose hips (5.7%) | Dunagan Brewing Company | Gig Harbor, WA, USA |
| Gruit | Yarrow, sweet gale, and Labrador tea | Proper Brewing Company | Salt Lake City, UT, USA |
| Earthbound Gruit | Missouri Cedar branches, heather tips, basswood honey | Dangerous Man Brewing Co. | Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| Nursia | Star Anise, caraway, ginger, and spruce | Avery Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO, USA |
| Special Herbs | Lemongrass, hyssop, Sichuan peppercorns, and orange peel | Upright Brewery | Portland, Oregon, USA |
| groot | Clove, juniper berry, rainbow peppercorn, and caraway seed | Oliphant Brewing | Somerset, WI, USA |
| Witchcraft Gruit Ale | Dandelion, ginger, coriander, lavender, orange Peel | LyonSmith Brewing | Keuka Park, NY, USA |
| Acqua Passata | Thyme, rhubarb, mugwort | Retorto | Podenzano, Piacenza, Italy |
| Palisade | Oak bark, myrica gale | Jelling Bryghus ApS | Jelling, Denmark |
Since 2013, craft brewers with an interest in making gruit flavored ales have banded together to mark 1 February as International Gruit Day. [11] The day is intended to raise awareness of and pay homage to the historical traditions of brewing with botanicals.
Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea. Beer is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation.
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Spruce beer is a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees. Spruce beer can refer to either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
Dogfish Head Brewery is a brewing company based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam and Mariah Calagione and, as of 2019, owned by the Boston Beer Company. It opened in 1995 and produces 262,000 barrels of beer annually.
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Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.
In brewing, adjuncts are unmalted grains or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient. This is often done with the intention of cutting costs, but sometimes also to create an additional feature, such as better foam retention, flavours or nutritional value or additives. Both solid and liquid adjuncts are commonly used.
Rye beer is a beer in which rye is substituted for some portion of the malted barley.
Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
Beer is one of the oldest human-produced drinks. The first chemically confirmed barley-beer – from the area of Mesopotamia, part of modern-day Iraq – dates back to the 5th millennium BCE. The written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia records the use of beer, and the drink has spread throughout the world; a 3,900-year-old Sumerian poem honouring Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing, contains the oldest surviving beer-recipe, describing the production of beer from barley bread, and in China, residue on pottery dating from around 5,000 years ago shows that beer was brewed using barley and other grains.
Alvinne is a small brewery in the hamlet of Moen near the Belgian city of Zwevegem, founded in 2002.
The Smisje Brewery, with a tiny production of only 200 hectoliters per year, is one of the smallest existing Belgian craft breweries. Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog", the same name as his earlier printing business. Brandt is also a bee-keeper, which accounts for the prominent use of honey in some of the brewery's offerings, including its first commercial beer, which was named 't Smisje or "the little blacksmith" to reflect the hand-crafted nature of the product as well as a local landmark blacksmith's house near the brewery's original location.
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Gotlandsdricka is a traditional homebrewed alcoholic beverage made on the island of Gotland, Sweden. It is a kind of ale, closely related to the Finnish sahti, and Norwegian Maltøl with a smoky, bitter-sweet, spicy (juniper) flavor. It is similar to gruit.
A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during various seasons, per climatic conditions during the time of the year, and also as a tradition. Furthermore, seasonal beer is produced based upon seasons, holidays, festivals and events.
Experimental beer is beer that is produced in or as a new style, using a new recipe, or as a type of beer that does not fit within present beer style criteria or definitions. The term also encompasses minor beer styles that are not covered under any of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) categories, with the exception of Belgian beers. Such minor beer styles may serve "as an incubator" for new potential categories, and may attain an official category if the style becomes of interest to the general public at a sufficient level. The Great American Beer Festival has an experimental beer category as a part of its competition, for which awards are given, as does the World Beer Cup, which also provides awards for beers in this category. The Oregon State Fair has a home brew competition that includes a category for specialty and experimental beers.
Ale is a type of beer originating in medieval England, brewed using a warm fermentation method. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
Beer in Sussex is beer produced in the historic county of Sussex in England, East Sussex and West Sussex..
