Gruit


Gruit 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.

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. During the 11th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV awarded monopoly privileges of the production and sale of gruit 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 sahti 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 ..." 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 and late 16th century. In 16th-century Britain, a distinction was made between "ale", 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 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

Gruit is a combination of herbs, commonly including:
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.

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:
Beer nameGruit ingredientsBreweryCountry
Gruut Blond, Gruut Wit, Gruut Amber, Gruut Bruin, Gruut InfernoGentse Stadsbrouwerij GruutGhent, Belgium
FraochHeather flowers, sweet gale and gingerWilliams BrothersAlloa, Scotland
AlbaPine twigs and spruce budsWilliams BrothersAlloa, Scotland
GageleerSweet galeProefbrouwerijLochristi, Belgium
CervoiseHeather flowers, spices, hopsLancelotBrittany, France
ArtemisMugwort and wild bergamot Moonlight Brewing CompanySanta Rosa, California
Alaskan Winter AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsAlaskan Brewing CompanyAlaska, USA
Our Special AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsAnchor Brewing CompanySan Francisco, California
Spruce Tip AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsHaines Brewing CompanyAlaska
Spruce Tip GruitYoung Sitka spruce tipsWolf Tree BrewerySeal Rock, Oregon
Island Trails Spruce Tip Wheat WineYoung Sitka spruce tipsKodiak Island Brewing CompanyAlaska
Sitka Spruce Tip AleYoung Sitka spruce tipsBaranof Island Brewing CompanyAlaska
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 ingredients		Earth Eagle BrewingsPortsmouth, New Hampshire
Posca RusticaRecipe based on archeological research at The Archeosite D'Aubechies - Sweet woodruff
and bog myrtle are just two of a dozen different spices used.		Brasserie DupontWallonia, Belgium
NamastaleJuniper and rosemaryChurch Key BrewingCampbellford, Otario, Canada
DunesWormwood, mugwort, turmeric, lemongrass, and sageSolarc BrewingLos Angeles, California
Session GruitChamomile and elderberriesSolarc BrewingLos Angeles, California
EarlEarl Grey Tea, lemon verbena, and foraged rosemarySolarc BrewingLos Angeles, California
Wine TrashGranache grape must and Yarrow FlowerSolarc BrewingLos Angeles, California
Sun EaterRosemary and dried lemon peel4th Tap Brewing Co-opAustin, Texas
Jopen KoytSweet gale and other herbsJopenHaarlem, Netherlands
A River Runs GruitLavender, chamomile, rose hips, and elderberryRock Art BreweryMorrisville, Vermont
Spruce StoutSpruce TipsRock Art BreweryMorrisville, Vermont
Zingiberene Ginger GruitGingerSchmohz Brewing CompanyGrand Rapids, Michigan
Ancient Gruit AleWormwood, Grains of Paradise, Hand-picked Wild YarrowThe Beer DivinerCherry Plain, New York
Stop Trying to Make Gruit HappenBarrel aged Denizen's Brewing CompanySilver Spring, Maryland
Irish GruitGruit Heather tips, Rose hips Dunagan Brewing CompanyGig Harbor, Washington
GruitYarrow, sweet gale, and Labrador teaProper Brewing CompanySalt Lake City, Utah
Earthbound GruitMissouri Cedar branches, heather tips, basswood honeyDangerous Man Brewing Co.Minneapolis, Minnesota
NursiaStar Anise, caraway, ginger, and spruceAvery Brewing Co.Boulder, Colorado
Special HerbsLemongrass, hyssop, Sichuan peppercorns, and orange peelUpright BreweryPortland, Oregon
grootClove, juniper berry, rainbow peppercorn, and caraway seedOliphant BrewingSomerset, Wisconsin
Witchcraft Gruit AleDandelion, ginger, coriander, lavender, orange PeelLyonSmith BrewingKeuka Park, New York
Acqua PassataThyme, rhubarb, mugwortRetortoPodenzano, Piacenza, Italy
Cafe Amsterdam 10th Anniversary Gruit, 2009Sage, thyme, cinnamon, peppercorn. orange peel, 12% abvMidnight Sun Brewing CompanyAnchorage, Alaska
PalisadeOak bark, myrica galeJelling Bryghus ApSJelling, Denmark
The Witch Rosemary, sage, blackcurrantTorn 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.

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