Gruit

[patchedboard]

I'm looking to make a gruit and want to bitter with Heather and or bog myrtle. Has anyone made such a thing and where do I find heather and bog myrtle and how much should I use and when should I add it to the boil? Thanks!

 

[ruppe]

I use 2 oz of heather tips. The only place I could find them was at my home brew store.

 

[Grod1]

Where do you find it? google. how much? to taste.

 

[olephart]

I use 2 oz of heather tips. The only place I could find them was at my home brew store.

... Are we talking about 2 oz of heather tips in a five gallon batch?



I found this great site about Gruit;
http://www.gruitale.com/recipes_en.htm , saved it as a favorite, went back about a week later and it's gone...:smack:

Just did a quick search and found out it's archived https://web.archive.org/web/20160309134729/http://gruitale.com/recipes_en.htm


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=396874

 

[LexusChris]

I've used Bog Myrtle a few times, and really enjoy its aromatic properties.. So I tend to use it late in the boil... 0.5 to 1.0 grams in last 10 minutes. I've also tried dry herb'ing with it in the fermenters, to keep the aromatic thing going.

Bog Mrytle is often sold as Sweet Gale (myrica gale) and it has been very hard to find lately. Google search using the various names for it... then buy a bunch, and sell me some!

Never tried Heather Tips.
--LexusChris

 

[RPh_Guy]

I've never done anything like this.

That said, before tossing semi-random amounts of crazy ingredients into MY wort, I would test out the strength/taste of each by making tea....
For example boil 6 cups of water (covered to avoid volume loss), and then add some of whatever. Pull off 1-cup samples every 10 minutes. Cool and taste. Sure the flavor will change in the beer but this might provide a rough idea.

Explore that site you provided. It gives ideas about amounts and boil lengths.

Dandelion leaves can also be used for gruit bittering (7 leaves per gallon boiled 60 minutes). I bet you could find some of those! I saw a recipe combining the dandelion with black pepper and lemon zest.

Hope this helps.