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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 Drink 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. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329178689_The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Gruit_The_Brewery_History_Society_Brewery_History_2018_174_46-78.
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 flavored 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 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.
Gruit recipes varied somewhat; each gruit producer included different herbs to produce unique flavors and effects. Other adjuncts herbs include marsh rosemary, Laurus nobilis, laserwort, juniper berry, ginger, caraway seed, aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, Mentha, resin, and occasionally hops in variable proportions (although gruit today is often sought out specifically for its lack of hops).
Since 2013, craft brewers with an interest in making gruit flavored 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 with botanicals.
Common ingredients
Gruit is a combination of herbs, commonly including:
Modern brews
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:
Ghent, Belgium Alloa, Scotland Alloa, Scotland, UK Lochristi, Belgium Brittany, France Santa Rosa, CA, USA Alaska, USA San Francisco, CA, USA Alaska, USA Seal Rock, Oregon, USA Alaska, USA Alaska, USA Vanleek Hill, Ontario, Canada British Columbia, Canada Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA Wallonia, Belgium Campbellford, ON, Canada Los Angeles, CA, USA Los Angeles, CA, USA Los Angeles, CA, USA Los Angeles, CA, USA Austin, Texas, USA Haarlem, Netherlands A River Runs Gruit Lavender, chamomile, rose hips, and elderberry Rock Art Brewery Morrisville, Vermont, USA
Spruce Stout Spruce Tips Rock Art Brewery Morrisville, VT, USA Zingiberene Ginger Gruit Ginger Schmohz Brewing Company Grand Rapids, Michigan, 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, Maryland, 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, Utah, USA Earthbound Gruit Missouri Cedar branches, heather tips, basswood honey Dangerous Man Brewing Co. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Nursia Star Anise, caraway, ginger, and spruce Avery Brewing Co. Boulder, Colorado, 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, Wisconsin, 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
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