G is for Gruit

G is for Gruit

It’s tempting. Don’t do it.

If you say, “I am Groot,” I’m gonna be pretty upset.

Where beer is defined as a fermented beverage that minimally has malted grains, hops, and yeast, a gruit (sometimes spelled gruut) lacks hops. Instead of hops, gruits often utilize rosemary, heather, bog myrtle, or yarrow to counter the sweetness of the malt.

Gruits are brewed the same way as beers. Fermentation takes place the same way. The herbs, like heather, are added in the same way as hops might be. And, in the end, the gruit  may taste very similar to its beer counterpart.

The oldest ales tend to be gruits, with hops only entering into common use during medieval times.

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I’m participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge. The goal is to write a post prompted by a letter of the alphabet on each day of April (except Sunday). My theme this year is brewing. Visit my other A to Z posts by clicking here.