Gruits?

I like them. There was one I remember from Scotland that was bottled and had spruce tips that was decent. Cambridge Brewing in Cambridge, MA makes some decent ones but the place that really made what I thought were the best ones I've had was Zero Gravity brewing at American Flatbread in Burlington, VT.

 

In the BA page of beer styles: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/styles/ you'll find the Gruits in the Herb and Spice beer category as you mentioned, and I've had the Midas Touch that you also mentioned. Dogfish Head is great at trying ancient recipes. I see Chateau Jihau on that list too, and it may also fall into the Gruit category, but I didn't dig deep enough to qualify it as such. There may be other Gruits further down that list too.

I also noticed under the Specialty Beer grouping the Finnish Sahti (https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/styles/148/) and the Scottish Gruit/Ancient Herbed Ale (https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/styles/70/) styles, both of which could also have beers that fit the general definition of Gruit. Other styles under that Specialty group could also fit, although I didn't look deeply enough to say that there are some.

I've had several beers in each of these lists, but all of them were a while ago when I was trying as many different beers as I could in the learning process. I don't recall much about any of them, thus I must have been neutral in my opinion about each of them, thus I didn't learn much. (I do recall really liking Chateau Jihau) So it might be time for me to revisit some of these beers that are easy to find to reinforce what I should have learned the first time.

 

As a Medieval rennactor I would love to try Gruit Ale, I am always looking for more realism. I havent pursued it as much as I should as they were hard to find and DFH didnt seem like me. But this thread is making me pumped enough try. Will let you know. If its anything like English Ale I will cherish it.

Cheers

 

I think I've only had one Sahti which was brewed by my local brewery (once) and it was not all that good to my tastes, but I drank it. I also watched Dark Horse Brewing's exhibition on National Homebrew Beer Day a number of years ago of creating an authentic Sahti by pouring the mash runnings through a slightly inclined, hollowed-out half log (like a trough) that was filled with juniper branches. (I think the tree variety of the log might also have been juniper, but I'm unsure of that.) They were going to put that beer on tap after fermentation, but sadly I don't recall going back to sample it.

 

Looks Like Midas Touch will be my first my first one unless I find something else.

 

I've not had Nordhouse but I typically don't pay much attention to Brewery Vivant's beers on store shelves. I look first at Bell's or Short's stuff. I always fully enjoy the beer and food when I visit Vivant's brewery in GR though. I'll look for Nordhouse and give it a try.

 

I enjoyed Midas Touch but Its rare I drink a strong ale. i like it but to me it didnt taste much different then a malt forward English Ale with not much hops.

 

Upright Special Herbs is probably the only Gruit I have had, and its amazing.


thats all i got folks

 

It’s not a favorite style of mine but it’s relative rarity makes it a true change of pace and the style has grown on me over time. The brewery I most associate with this style is William Brothers Brewing Company from Scotland. They release a holiday gift pack in Ontario most years called Historic Ales Of Scotland, which includes a few examples of the style.

 

You might be referring to Alba Scots Pine Ale. If that’s the one, it’s from William Brothers, mentioned in my previous post. Cheers.

 

My opinion? Yes please. Moar!

Haven't had a lot of them, but I find the style interesting, different, and,refreshingly, they all don't taste the same. Unlike some other styles.

 

This us the most interesting aspect of gruits to me, it opens up a whole world of flavor potential. I have to try every new to me one I see because (unless they are made with the same herbs) they each have totally different flavors. The best packaged ones I've had came from a brewery in mt pleasant, MI whose name I can't remember. I also love one that a tiny local brewery makes that is a dark and flavored with a variety of mushrooms. The same place also made a true root beer that was pretty pleasant

 

One of the breweries up here that gets dumped on a lot for a whole bunch of reasons has done a lot of them - 22 listed on this site - and always seem to have one or two available. I’ve liked the ones I’ve tried. I believe they have used a recipe or recipes provided to them by one of the esteemed writers for this site’s magazine.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15435/?view=beers&show=all

 

Just wanted to add, the brewery in mt pleasant MI that makes good gruits is called Mountain Town

 

I've had two of these. Midas Touch and Fraoch, a heather ale. Midas Touch is still around. Fraoch used to be readily available. Haven't seen it in a few years now. I like both and would love to see more of the style. I'm not sure why more aren't made. I will say Fraoch was too expensive. I remember it being around $5 or $6 for a single bottle at only 5% ABV.