Gruit hopped with juniper berries?

[Sttifyd35]

Hi, i would like to make a beer hopped with juniper instead of hops as my girlfriend is allergic to hops. Anyone know of how much juniper per gallon to use?

 

[Dgallo]

Hi, i would like to make a beer hopped with juniper instead of hops as my girlfriend is allergic to hops. Anyone know of how much juniper per gallon to use?

If I recall correctly in Grimm’s super spruce they are using .5 oz/gallon. That bring said I’m pretty sure they are also using it hotside to aid in extraction from berry. If your only going to add them post fermentation, I would freeze the juniper berries and then smash them with a rolling pin or mallet to break them up. Or do that and make a tincture with a clean high proof gin this help extraction and add the flavor

 

[Dgallo]

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[Miraculix]

Look up "the gruit beer thread" here on hbt.

Just as a disclaimer, you are aware of the fact that you will end up with a sour, right?

[Edit] Added Link to the main Gruit Thread.

 

[Sttifyd35]

I just had the crazy idea of using the berries. More or less i am just looking for some ideas for alternate bittering agents.

 

[Auger]

I just had the crazy idea of using the berries. More or less i am just looking for some ideas for alternate bittering agents.

Definitely look more into traditional gruits. There are a lot of alternative options for bittering using herbs other than hops.

As far as juniper specifically, I've found it can vary a LOT depending on the potency of the berries. For a Christmas ale, I did a recipe that used 4oz in a 5gal batch, which I found overpowering. For bittering, if you're not looking for a ton of juniper flavor I'd start closer to .25-.5oz/gal. Maybe try a one gal batch and try it out and adjust from there.

 

[jtrux]

If you can find a copy of the May-June 2012 copy of BYO there is a good article on gruit. You can use Heather, Mugwort, Creeping Charlie, Basil (to a lesser degree) etc

 

[Sttifyd35]

Definitely look more into traditional gruits. There are a lot of alternative options for bittering using herbs other than hops.

As far as juniper specifically, I've found it can vary a LOT depending on the potency of the berries. For a Christmas ale, I did a recipe that used 4oz in a 5gal batch, which I found overpowering. For bittering, if you're not looking for a ton of juniper flavor I'd start closer to .25-.5oz/gal. Maybe try a one gal batch and try it out and adjust from there.

Yeah im definitely starting off with a 1 gallon batch. Thank you for the advice. I guess my next question is when to add the juniper berries. Should i add them at the end of the boil, beginning, or half and half?

 

[Home_alone1]

If you can find a copy of the May-June 2012 copy of BYO there is a good article on gruit. You can use Heather, Mugwort, Creeping Charlie, Basil (to a lesser degree) etc

There is a recipe for gruit spices in one of my brewing books , after work I’ll look it up and post it here

 

[Sttifyd35]

There is a recipe for gruit spices in one of my brewing books , after work I’ll look it up and post it here

Cant wait to see what you post. Im very interested in brewing a gruit.

 

[lowtones84]

Look up "the gruit beer thread" here on hbt.

Just as a disclaimer, you are aware of the fact that you will end up with a sour, right?

Perhaps if you only use juniper berries, but not so with the "traditional" gruit herbs of yarrow, marsh rosemary, and sweet gale. These plants are bittering and anti-bacterial like hops are. I've made several gruits and only one of them was sour. Probably shouldn't have put that yarrow straight from a field in as a "dry hop"

Definitely look more into traditional gruits. There are a lot of alternative options for bittering using herbs other than hops.

I agree. Gruits can really be delicious, it's just not going to taste like beer that you're used to. You start to recognize the presence of hops in even beers that have very little, like American macros, after you drink gruit because it's such a different flavor. Use enough of those herbs and the buzz is certainly a little different too.

Although the website is pretty "old school" this company is great for ordering gruit herbs from: wildweeds.com

 

[Miraculix]

Perhaps if you only use juniper berries, but not so with the "traditional" gruit herbs of yarrow, marsh rosemary, and sweet gale. These plants are bittering and anti-bacterial like hops are. I've made several gruits and only one of them was sour. Probably shouldn't have put that yarrow straight from a field in as a "dry hop"



I agree. Gruits can really be delicious, it's just not going to taste like beer that you're used to. You start to recognize the presence of hops in even beers that have very little, like American macros, after you drink gruit because it's such a different flavor. Use enough of those herbs and the buzz is certainly a little different too.

Although the website is pretty "old school" this company is great for ordering gruit herbs from: wildweeds.com

I've made 20-30 herbal beers without hops and all of them soured with time given. Some quicker than others but ultimately all of them became at least tart. For me, sweet gale and ground ivy seem to be the ones which have the strongest antibacterial properties as those stayed within a non-sour range the longest.

I agree with the buzz and the taste, somewhere on the first page of the gruit beer thread I went I bit more into detail on this, if somebody is interested.

 

[lowtones84]

I've made 20-30 herbal beers without hops and all of them soured with time given. Some quicker than others but ultimately all of them became at least tart. For me, sweet gale and ground ivy seem to be the ones which have the strongest antibacterial properties as those stayed within a non-sour range the longest.

Interesting. I found a couple of bottles of gruit that I made almost two years ago and they're still not sour, I don't detect any tartness. I haven't made nearly as many as you have, however.

 

[Miraculix]

Interesting. I found a couple of bottles of gruit that I made almost two years ago and they're still not sour, I don't detect any tartness. I haven't made nearly as many as you have, however.

Yes, I heard this before.it seems to be something like a lucky shot. Maybe it depends on the quality of the herbs used, how fresh they are, maybe time of harvest plays a role as well. I haven't solved this puzzle yet but for now I expect a nice sour.

 

[Dgallo]

Yes, I heard this before.it seems to be something like a lucky shot. Maybe it depends on the quality of the herbs used, how fresh they are, maybe time of harvest pays a role as well. I haven't solved this puzzle yet but for now I expect a nice sour.

When are you adding your herbs that you’ve had such an issue with infections

 

[Miraculix]

When are you adding your herbs that you’ve had such an issue with infections

Beginning of the boil.