Where to find gruit ingredients?

[Ski]

So I have just finished my second all grain brew, and being a bit of a nerd I liked the idea of reading up about historical brewing, and being really quite a big nerd quite like the idea of making a historical brew and taste something that people would have drunk 500 years ago!

So I am thinking of putting together a gruit (a mix of herbs and such to take the place of hops ) and was wondering if anyone knew a good place to get hold of things like bog mrytle and yarrow (in the uk) ?

failing any way to order these online I think I will probably go on a hike and dig up whatever I can find to go one step further and brew using the plants found in my local area, and maybe recreate what homebrewers living in my very house would have drunk 500 years ago!

here's hoping history tastes good

any advice is welcome!

 

[BrewerBear]

http://gruitale.com/intro_en.htm not a where to find but has some recipes and other info.

 

[Zamial]

Some of that may be found in specialty herb shops or metaphysical stores. At least that is where I would start.

 

[dinnerstick]

a google search turned up this (sweet gale = bog myrtle, as long as it is latin name Myrica gale...) can't vouch for the shop though
http://www.love2brew.com/Brewer-s-Garden-Sweet-Gale-p/fa013.htm
there's a nice writeup on gruit on the dutch homebrew championship 2013 website (since the clone beer competition this year is a popular gruit from jopen, revived from a 15th century recipe) but alas it's in dutch
http://www.kwbg.nl/templates/kwbg/downloads/artikelen_bier/KWBG_Gruitbier.pdf

 

[Ski]

ah thanks for the info and links guys! I might try some google translate as my dutch isnt the best :s

I think I will try and reduce the hops and put in some gruit for my first go so at least I can rely on a bit of a shelf life, I think I might try some pine needles as well from the christmas tree and really have a festive beer brewing!