Has anyone had any experience with making a gruit beer?
For those that haven't heard of it, gruit (pronounced like 'grout') is related to the German word (kraut) and Dutch word (kruid) that mean herb. It was an herb mix used in beer before the widespread use of hops.
I've made a strong (9%) Belgian-style gruit beer that I'll be bottling next week and tasting in 6 weeks. I'd like to hear about what herbs others have used in gruit.
For my 23 litre batch, I used 1 oz of gruit herbs, in the following proportions:
25% each lavender, juniper, wormwood: 7.1 gm each
15% marjoram: 4.2 gm
5% each bay leaf and rosemary: 1.5 gm each
I also used a small quantity of hops.
Let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thanks.