13th Century Grut Bier
Professor Fritz Briem in Freising, Bavaria, Germany 🇩🇪
Brewed at/by: Schlossbrauerei Au-HallertauTraditional Beer - Gruit Regular Out of Production
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Score
6.51
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Before the German Purity Law "Reinheitsgebot" of 1516 it was common practice to use any kind of different spices, herbs, fruits and other plants to provide balance to beer. Hops was not yet well known at this time.
Grut bier has roots in many cultures and each culture had it’s own “special ingredients": Egyptians, Native Americans, Arabian Tribes, Gaulles, Germanic Tribes and the Vikings.
This interpretation of a traditional Grut Bier is spiced with Lorbeer (Bay Leaves), Ingwer (Ginger), Kummel (Caraway), Anis (Anise), Rosemarin (Rosemarie) & Enzian (Gentian). It is brewed with water, wheat & barley malt, "pollinated wild hops" and fermented using top fermenting yeast.
- Dr. Fritz Briem
Historic Signature Series
Grut bier has roots in many cultures and each culture had it’s own “special ingredients": Egyptians, Native Americans, Arabian Tribes, Gaulles, Germanic Tribes and the Vikings.
This interpretation of a traditional Grut Bier is spiced with Lorbeer (Bay Leaves), Ingwer (Ginger), Kummel (Caraway), Anis (Anise), Rosemarin (Rosemarie) & Enzian (Gentian). It is brewed with water, wheat & barley malt, "pollinated wild hops" and fermented using top fermenting yeast.
- Dr. Fritz Briem
Historic Signature Series
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6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
500ml brown bottle. Poured a cloudy light-orange, almost yellow color. Aroma was very floral, with heavy doses of various spices. Anise, caraway, sweet malts. Heavy on the herbs. I was careful with the pour, as there were quite a few floaties in my bottle that I just wasn’t in the mood for.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Oct 2010
at 22:54
6.1/10
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Appearance 2
Aroma 4
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Minty, rosemary, and candi sugar bouquet, almost mouthwash-like. Shimmering yellow, no head. Tart and herbal flavor of lemon, carraway, and anise. Delightfully flavorful. A good concotion.
Tried
from Can
on 06 Mar 2010
at 20:40
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Colour as freshly pressed pineapple juice; very carbonated to medium, irregular and lively white head. Very strong aromatic smell of fresh herbs as lavender, rosemary, bog myrtle, ginger, and other similes. Smells like the mix for roast lambrack - and a pot from the bathroom shelf. Very obvious rosemary in the tate - the lambrack reappearing - or Mediterranean crisps - spritzy sourness. Refreshing despite the soapy aromatics, the CO² undoubtely helping. Medium bodied at best. Interesting? Absolutely and more so. Refreshing? No doubt. Drinkable? Ye-es... but I doubt in large quantities. Many thanks to Der Doppelbock for this one!
Tried
on 10 Sep 2009
at 14:02
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Pours pale gold into a shaker. Bright white head recedes to skim surface. Ginger, rosemary, caraway and anise aromas. Grainy green effervescent tea upfront with a lasting sour perfume finish.
Tried
on 25 Aug 2009
at 18:46
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
16.9 ounce bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a hazy pale peach color with a thin head. Average head retention and lacing. Aroma is dominated by the ginger but also has some sage and lavender like herbal notes. Taste is very dry with strong citrus and ginger notes as well as a faint nondescript herbalness. Thin bodied. Interesting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jul 2009
at 23:08
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours a hazy white with a white head over it. Aroma is salty, gatorade powder, chamomile, bay leaves, fennel, pepper, ash, caramel, and other various spices. Taste is very herbal with rosemary, fig and very much tea like. Light carbonation. Very strange and I am glad to have had it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Apr 2009
at 11:14
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Cloudy yellow with no head. That is one spicy mamma jamma! Rosemary, black pepper, flowers, cinnamon and mint al lin there. Complex herbal palate is fairly peppery and finishes with a distinct rosemary note. Very refreshing, almost gingery. I could drink a lot of this - have I met a gruit I don’t like yet?
Tried
on 23 Feb 2009
at 00:12
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Half-liter bottle. Definite herbal medicine smell when opened. As I pour, smell offers lots of ginger and some menthol. Hazy yellow with a few strings of bubbles and a head that’s gone quickly. Taste brings in that ginger, but then I also catch the anise (licorice), caraway and bay. That was with the list of spices on the to guide me, of course, I’m guessing that ’gentian’ is the source of the camphor note. In fact, it’s pretty good for my stuffy nose and sore throat that’s kept me off beer the past few days. A nicer herbal brew than anything from Celestial Seasonings, for sure. hopscotch is right: if this beer were around more often, I’d keep some handy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Nov 2008
at 00:19
8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 10
Texture 6
Overall 8
Really enjoyed this one. It was reminiscent of some of the pumpkin-spice beers I’ve tried over the years. Didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. The kummel and anis seed are very noticeable in the flavor. The palate was a bit thin. Very pleasant, spicy aroma. Appearance a bit on the thin side--looks like a kristal-weisse, though not much of a head on this beer. Not sure I’d want to drink more than one of these at a time, but it was certainly worth a try, for the more adventurous.
Tried
on 27 Oct 2008
at 15:01
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle from South Bay Drug. Hazy, dirty gold color with a light white head. Spice. Think there’s bay and ginger aromas. A bit thin with frothy carbonation. Flavor is "grutty". Bay and ginger predominate. A good and different beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Oct 2008
at 19:46