Gruit

Gruit (pronounced ; alternatively 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 applied to a beer produced with hops that is seasoned with gruit-like herbs.Verberg, Susan. 2018. "'The Rise and Fall of Gruit'. the Brewery History Society, Brewery History (2018) 174, 46-78", no. 174 (August): 46–78. ‌

Historical context 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.Verberg, Susan. (2018). "The Rise and Fall of Gruit". Brewery History 174, pp. 46–78. The Brewery History Society. During the 11th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV awarded monopoly privileges of the production and sale of gruit ( 'grut licence') to different local authorities, and as such imposed a de facto tax on beer. 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. 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 in Finland, which is spiced with juniper sprigs, have survived the advent of hops.

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]". Although largely replaced by hops in the 14th and 15th centuries, gruit-flavoured beer was locally produced in Westphalia until at least the 17th century.

In both the area where gruit existed and outside it, the traditional spices were progressively substituted by hops, in a slow transition across Europe occurring between the 11th century (in the South and East of the Holy Roman Empire) and 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, which was hopped. 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 (originating in the United States) 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. 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.

Common ingredients Historically, the main gruit additives seemed to be bog myrtle or marsh rosemary, plus laurel berries and laserwort = Siler montanum = Laserpitium siler (not Ferula drudeana or other Ferula species).CHAPTER 3 Reconstructing Medieval Gruit Beer: Separating Facts from Fiction Susan Verberg, in John A. Geck, Rosemary O’Neill, Noelle Phillips Editors Beer and Brewing in Medieval Culture and Contemporary Medievalism, palgrave.(2022) p66

However, today gruit is a combination of herbs, commonly including: Common heather (Calluna vulgaris). Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) Sweet gale (Myrica gale) Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Gruit recipes varied somewhat; each gruit producer included different herbs to produce unique flavours and effects. Other adjunct herbs include marsh rosemary, laurel berries, laserwort, juniper berries, ginger, caraway seed, aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, mint, resin, and occasionally hops in variable proportions (although gruit today is often sought out specifically for its lack of hops).

Modern brews

The 1990s microbrewery movement in North America and Europe renewed interest in unhopped beers, and several have tried reviving ales brewed with gruit, 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 GruutGhent, Belgium Fraoch Heather flowers, sweet gale and ginger Williams Brothers Alloa, Scotland Alba Pine twigs and spruce buds Williams Brothers Alloa, Scotland Gageleer Sweet gale Proefbrouwerij Lochristi, Belgium Cervoise Heather flowers, spices, hops Lancelot Brittany, France Artemis Mugwort and wild bergamot (also known as bee balm) Moonlight Brewing Company Santa Rosa, California Alaskan Winter Ale Young Sitka spruce tips Alaskan Brewing Company Alaska, USA Our Special Ale Young Sitka spruce tips Anchor Brewing Company San Francisco, California Spruce Tip Ale Young Sitka spruce tips Haines Brewing Company Alaska Spruce Tip Gruit Young Sitka spruce tips Wolf Tree Brewery Seal Rock, Oregon Island Trails Spruce Tip Wheat Wine Young Sitka spruce tips Kodiak Island Brewing Company Alaska Sitka Spruce Tip Ale Young Sitka spruce tips Baranof Island Brewing Company Alaska 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, New Hampshire Posca Rustica Recipe based on archeological research at The Archeosite D'Aubechies – sweet woodruff (wild baby's breath) and bog myrtle among "a dozen" others Brasserie Dupont Wallonia, Belgium Namastale Juniper and rosemary Church Key Brewing Campbellford, Ontario, Canada Dunes Wormwood, mugwort, turmeric, lemongrass, and sage Solarc Brewing Los Angeles, California Session Gruit Chamomile and elderberries Solarc Brewing Los Angeles, California Earl Earl Grey tea, lemon verbena, and foraged rosemary Solarc Brewing Los Angeles, California Wine Trash Granache grape must and yarrow flower Solarc Brewing Los Angeles, California Sun Eater Rosemary and dried lemon peel 4th Tap Brewing Co-op Austin, Texas Jopen Koyt Sweet gale and other herbs Jopen Haarlem, NetherlandsA River Runs GruitLavender, chamomile, rose hips, and elderberryRock Art Brewery Morrisville, VermontSpruce StoutSpruce tipsRock Art Brewery Morrisville, VermontZingiberene Ginger GruitGingerSchmohz Brewing Company Grand Rapids, MichiganAncient Gruit AleWormwood, grains of paradise, wild yarrowThe Beer Diviner Cherry Plain, New YorkStop Trying to Make Gruit HappenBarrel aged (6.5%)Denizen's Brewing Company Silver Spring, MarylandIrish GruitHeather tips, rose hips (5.7%)Dunagan Brewing Company Gig Harbor, WashingtonGruitYarrow, sweet gale, and Labrador teaProper Brewing Company Salt Lake City, UtahEarthbound GruitMissouri cedar branches, heather tips, basswood honeyDangerous Man Brewing Co. Minneapolis, MinnesotaNursiaStar anise, caraway, ginger, and spruceAvery Brewing Co. Boulder, ColoradoSpecial HerbsLemongrass, hyssop, Sichuan peppercorns, and orange peelUpright BreweryPortland, OregongrootClove, juniper berry, rainbow peppercorn, and caraway seedOliphant Brewing Somerset, WisconsinWitchcraft Gruit AleDandelion, ginger, coriander, lavender, orange peelLyonSmith BrewingKeuka Park, New YorkAcqua PassataThyme, rhubarb, mugwortRetorto Podenzano, Piacenza, ItalyCafe Amsterdam 10th Anniversary Gruit, 2009 Sage, thyme, cinnamon, peppercorn. orange peelMidnight Sun Brewing CompanyAnchorage, AlaskaPalisadeOak bark, myrica galeJelling Bryghus ApSJelling, DenmarkThe Witch (seasonal)Rosemary, sage, blackcurrant Torn Label Brewing CompanyKansas City, Missouri

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

Gruit

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