Finally getting around to a Gruit

KingBrianI · 10-23-2010, 05:11 PM

After threatening to make a gruit for the last couple years, I'm finally going to make one today. The only problem is I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I've got two recipes pretty well figured out and I'll make them both at some point, I just need to figure out which one to do today and which one will wait. I'll be making a 1 gallon batch. Here are the choices:

Mugwort Ale

OG 1.060

70% maris otter
10% malted oats
10% torrified wheat
5% amber malt
5% brown malt

11 g mugwort for 60 minutes

ferment with wy1469

Heather Ale

OG 1.060

100% golden promise

approx. 2 cups of first runnings boiled down to thick syrup and added to other runnings.

Heather added in not yet determined amounts at 60 minutes and flameout

ferment with wy1469

I'm leaning towards doing the mugwort ale today and holding off on the heather ale. What do you guys think? I'll of course keep detailed progress notes since there is so little info out there on gruit. It seems like lots of people say they are doing one but never report back on results.

KingBrianI · 10-23-2010, 09:27 PM

No wonder there is so little info on the web about gruit. No one seems to give a flip about it! I ended up going with the mugwort ale since the only vote at the time I started was for it. I found some malted wheat which I used in place of the torrified wheat but otherwise the recipe was exactly as written above. I just started the boil and it smelled very good after adding the mugwort. Hopefully this ale turns out nice, it would be much easier to do it on a full scale than it was messing with that brew in a bag stove top ****. Talk about a pain in the ass. I'm going to have to make a mini mash tun if I keep doing small 1 gallon batches.

KingBrianI · 10-24-2010, 01:36 AM

I allowed it to cool naturally outside in the cool air. Just transferred to the fermenter. Straining out the mugwort was nasty. It looked like overcooked chopped spinach. Color ended up darker than I expected. I think I got a lot of caramelization during the boil since it was such a small amount of liquid. I had to keep adding water to the kettle during the boil since it was getting too low. I'm about to take an OG and a taste. Hope it's not awful!

KingBrianI · 10-24-2010, 01:50 AM

1.062 OG, woo hoo! I was worried because my mash temp was all over the place. That stove top mash in a bag thing is tough. Give me my mash tun any day. Flavor was pretty good. Tasted like regular wort but with very little bitterness. I'm not sure the mugwort added any but it will probably be more apparent once fermented. There was a nice sweet herbal flavor reminiscent of spearmint. Hoepfully that crazy mash created a really fermentable wort so this thing dries out so the lack of bitterness isn't a problem.

KingBrianI · 01-08-2011, 01:33 AM

I'm finally tasting a bottle of this. I'm pleasantly surprised. It pours a bright gold with very little head. Smell is of sweet, candy-like malt. Slight caramel. Perhaps a little indescribably herbal aroma. Flavor follows the aroma closely. Not much bitterness but it is dry enough to not be cloying. Finishes crisp with a very slight herbal lingering bitterness. Body is moderate-low. Carbonation is low. I'm getting a bit of a tartness on the palate. Overall, it's a very drinkable ale, refreshing and not at all unpleasant, though much different from the beers we are used to.

Henrythe9th · 01-08-2011, 03:56 AM

Im going to make a Scotch Fraoch very soon I have a lb of Heather tips.

do you every think your talking to yourself????

I'm going to use a little hops of the bittering and a little sweet gale

glad to here it was good

KingBrianI · 01-08-2011, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henrythe9th

do you every think your talking to yourself????

Very often actually. But I hope even though many of my posts don't get any responses, that someone reads them and finds them useful. I get frustrated when I search the internet on a topic and people talk about what they are going to do or what they did but never follow up. There could be so much more information out there if people would take a minute to post results, but few ever do and it causes those of us experimenting with something to repeat things that have already been done. Anyway, that's my long-winded explanation for why I try to follow up on the experiments I do, even though no one seems to care.

**LexusChris** · 01-08-2011, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingBrianI

Very often actually. But I hope even though many of my posts don't get any responses, that someone reads them and finds them useful. I get frustrated when I search the internet on a topic and people talk about what they are going to do or what they did but never follow up. There could be so much more information out there if people would take a minute to post results, but few ever do and it causes those of us experimenting with something to repeat things that have already been done. Anyway, that's my long-winded explanation for why I try to follow up on the experiments I do, even though no one seems to care.

+1 ... Thank you for the update!

--LexusChris

**GuldTuborg** · 01-08-2011, 08:20 PM

Keep us updated on the Mugwort.

"Sacred & Herbal Healing Beers" has a good section on heather ales, and an old recipe which was supposedly later used to make the commercial Fraoch (in its initial incarnation). I understand by the time it made its way to the States, it had some bittering hops added to the recipe. I've always wanted to try this recipe, but have just never found the time. It's also vague about whether to use fresh or dried heather, and I think that concern has caused my a bit of trepidation as well.

**triangulum33** · 11-22-2011, 09:49 PM

How did this gruit turn out?