Our very own Beerblefish gruit, Viking Ale, has been pouring from cask all week in the taproom. It is a beautifully balanced herb beer. Not all of the ingredients are widely used in modern food and drink, so I thought it would be useful to discuss them in a blog post and see if we can pick out the flavours contributed to the ale by each different botanical.
Gruit is a term used to describe a blend of botanicals that flavours a beer, and the name of the style of beer that uses the blend. Before hops became the norm in beer production in the 14th and 15th century, all sorts of different herbs were used for the same reasons we use hops today; flavouring, bittering, and some even had antiseptic qualities to aid in preserving the beer.
Why drink one in the 21st Century? The style produces complex and interesting beers that adventurous drinkers love to explore, and brewers find really fun to make! The floral and herbal notes found in gruit ales are not found in your average hop-forward modern beer and drinking them gives a sense of connection to history.
Juniper – Familiar to fans of gin, juniper brings a resinous bitterness to the ale that balances the sweet malt character perfectly.
Heather –A bit more mellow than some of the other ingredients, the heather really rounds out the flavour and softens any sharp edges brought by juniper or myrtle. Contributes a woody aroma and a floral taste.
Myrtle – Sweet and resinous, Myrtle brings an aromatic pine-like note to the experience. A particularly important ingredient in many gruit ales as, like hops, it has a preservative effect and can help extend the shelf life of beer.
Yarrow – Bringing a sweet, perfume-like note, yarrow is subtle butgives the beer a really bright floral twist.
Kveik – In addition to the botanicals, we also couldn’t resist fermenting the beer with farmhouse yeast. Traditionally collected after each brew and passed down through generations of farmhouse brewers in Norway, Kveik (from the Old Norse word ‘kvikk’, meaning quick or lively) is now available commercially and we think it adds a touch of authenticity to our Viking Ale.
Skol!
