Gruit (pronounced ; 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 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 (Grutgerechtigkeit, or "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 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 [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, that 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.

Common ingredients

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 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 gruits, or plants that once were used in it. Commercial examples include: 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.

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