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I am Gruit

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pokerfacepablo

pokerfacepablo

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 17, 2012
806
2
0
44
St. Cloud, MN
Came across the word Gruit on my local Ren Fest page and became intrigued. It brought me to some website that gave a little more info. Gruit is term used for a beer that is made with herbs instead of hops. Gruits were quite popular back in the days due to sanctions by church and state. This enticed me to buy a book called "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers" which does include sections to mead making. From there I came up with my first Gruit recipe.

[TABLE="class: brewpartitems"]
[TR="class: brewpartcolumnlabel"]
[TD]Amount[/TD]
[TD] Fermentable[/TD]
[TD] PPG[/TD]
[TD="width: 12%"] °L[/TD]
[TD="width: 12%"] Bill %[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1 lb[/TD]
[TD]Molasses[/TD]
[TD]36[/TD]
[TD]80[/TD]
[TD]5.6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4 lb[/TD]
[TD]American - Pale 2-Row[/TD]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]1.8[/TD]
[TD]22.2%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1.5 lb[/TD]
[TD]Flaked Oats[/TD]
[TD]33[/TD]
[TD]2.2[/TD]
[TD]8.3%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3 lb[/TD]
[TD]Honey[/TD]
[TD]42[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]16.7%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2 lb[/TD]
[TD]American - Caramel / Crystal 120L[/TD]
[TD]33[/TD]
[TD]120[/TD]
[TD]11.1%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1 lb[/TD]
[TD]Flaked Barley[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]2.2[/TD]
[TD]5.6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1 lb[/TD]
[TD]American - Black Malt[/TD]
[TD]28[/TD]
[TD]500[/TD]
[TD]5.6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1 lb[/TD]
[TD]American - Chocolate[/TD]
[TD]29[/TD]
[TD]350[/TD]
[TD]5.6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]1 lb[/TD]
[TD]Belgian - Caramel Pils[/TD]
[TD]34[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]5.6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0.5 lb[/TD]
[TD]Torrified Wheat[/TD]
[TD]36[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]2.8%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]2 lb[/TD]
[TD]Dry Malt Extract - Dark[/TD]
[TD]44[/TD]
[TD]30[/TD]
[TD]11.1%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 10%"] 18 lb[/TD]
[TD="width: 54%"] Total[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Other Ingredients
[TABLE="class: brewpartitems"]
[TR="class: brewpartcolumnlabel"]
[TD] Amount[/TD]
[TD] Name[/TD]
[TD="width: 20%"] Type[/TD]
[TD="width: 12%"] Use[/TD]
[TD="width: 24%"] Time[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Bog Myrtle[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]30 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1 oz[/TD]
[TD]Mugwort[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]30 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Lemon grass[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Orange peel[/TD]
[TD]Flavor[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Chamomile flowers[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Bog Myrtle[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Mugwort[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0.5 each[/TD]
[TD]Vanilla bean[/TD]
[TD]Spice[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]0.25 oz[/TD]
[TD]Wormwood[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]60 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0.25 oz[/TD]
[TD]Yarrow[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]30 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Elderflower[/TD]
[TD]Herb[/TD]
[TD]Boil[/TD]
[TD]5 min[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0.5 oz[/TD]
[TD]Indian Sarsparilla[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Last edited:
Oh man that sounds like a winner! How strong is the Indian Sarsaparilla? I just had a bottle of hard root beer a friend brought over to try and I thought it would have been better blended with a sweet mead. Sarsaparilla along with those other herbs sounds like a great combination.

Now i want a root beer.
 
The root I bought didn't seem super strong but .5 Oz should leave a hint. I've used an extract when making soda that was far superior.
This stuff smells awfully flowery blowing out the airlock. I love it, something different.
Man, everyone is into that hard root beer. What kind was it?
 
The wormwood and bog myrtle add the bitterness. The rest is for flavor and aroma. Smells like a cup of tea is brewing with each blast from the air lock. I started last Wednesday so the activity is slowing down. With the yeast cake and herbs compacting, I'll get roughly 4 gallons tops... they do add up. The color is dark brown, typical of a stout. 7% when done fermenting.
 
Well fermentation is complete so I'm going to rack this one to a 3 gallon carboy. Most of the herbs have fell to the bottom so I'm going to transfer and let it clear some more. I don't want it sitting on the herbs too long. They smelled pretty potent during fermentation so the sooner I can get it off. Keep you posted on the tasting notes when transferring.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
pokerfacepablo said:
The root I bought didn't seem super strong but .5 Oz should leave a hint. I've used an extract when making soda that was far superior.
This stuff smells awfully flowery blowing out the airlock. I love it, something different.
Man, everyone is into that hard root beer. What kind was it?
Click to expand...

Good question. I liked it so when I go get a six pack this weekend I'll post a pic.


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
Thanks Mannye, I'll be watching.

Well this is a floral bomb. As soon as I removed the airlock, a bouquet of flowers punched me in the nose. I taste the dark malt and molasses up front. The herbs give it fruity and a medicinal after taste... it's not a bad thing because that's what gruits were meant for.
A big difference between beer and my gruit is the bitterness. The bitterness from the hops in most beers that I drink are usually the first thing I taste. My gruit, the herb bitterness is found in the after taste and it's rather slow to hit the tongue.
Honey is hidden in the background. Give it a few months and hopefully the flower bomb goes down.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Sounds very nice!


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
I still haven't gotten more hard root beer but I have to go fill the tanks tomorrow so that's an excuse to stop at Total Wine and pick some up.


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
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