How to Make a Beer Without Hops

Gruit ale can be an interesting challenge for the experienced home brewer.

Beer that is brewed without hops is known as gruit ale. Hops are used to flavor and preserve beer and have been used almost exclusively in the brewing of beer for the last few centuries. Gruit ale, however, is created using a wide variety of vegetable or herb additives for flavoring and preserving but has rarely been seen since medieval times. Please note that the following guidelines are for an experienced home brewer because the process of creating a gruit ale is relatively challenging; you may need to investigate online home brewery supply stores to find the best ingredients.

Things You'll Need

• 6-gallon brew kettle
• Grain mill
• Thermometer
• Sparge water tank
• Grain straining bag
• Muslin bag
• Siphon
• Wort chiller
• Fermenter, lid, airlock
• 3 lb (1.3 kg) German pilsner malt
• 11 or 12 gallons of filtered water
• 13 lb (6 kg) English pale malt
• 4 lb (2 kg) crystal malt
• 2 lb (1 kg) German Munich malt
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming
• 1 tablespoon of Irish moss
• 2 oz (50 to 60 g) yarrow
• 2 oz (50 to 60 g) wild rosemary
• 2 oz (50 to 60 g) bog myrtle
• Wyeast 1028 London ale yeast

Instructions

Brewing a Gruit Ale

1. Roast the German pilsner malt at 350 F (175 C) for 20 minutes.

2. Heat 5 1/2 gallons of water to 180 F (80 C).

3. Create a mash by crushing the malted grain (using a grain mill) one type at a time, beginning with the English pale malt and including the roasted German pilsner malt. Add the crushed grains to the heated water.

4. Maintain the temperature of the mash for 85 minutes at 156 F (70 C) to allow for complex glucose chains to broken down into fermentable sugars. This step is known as saccharification rest.

5. Raise the mash temperature to 165 F (76 C) and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. This step, known as the "mash out," terminates enzymatic activity and improves the flow of the sugar solution, now called wort.

6. Spray the wort with 6 gallons (23 L) of water at 170 F (76 C) using the sparge water tank. Spray the wort gently and evenly. This process is called "sparging".

7. Add the wort into the brew kettle and boil for 30 minutes.

8. Gently add 1 oz (28 g) of each herb and continue boiling for another 30 minutes.

9. Remove from boil, strain the wort using the grain straining bag and quickly cool it to a temperature of 70 F (21 C) using the wort chiller.

10. Pour the wort into the fermenter and add the yeast. Be very careful when pouring.

11. Add the remaining herbs into the muslin bag and hang in the fermenter. Seal the fermenter with its lid and airlock.

12. Allow the beer to ferment for 3 weeks, then siphon it into bottles, prime and cap.

Tips & Warnings

• If all is done correctly, you should have the following:

• - Final volume: 5.5 gallons (21 L)

• - Original gravity: 1.088

• - Final gravity: 1.028

• - Alcohol: 8%

References

• Gruit Ale & Unhopped Beers: Basic Gruit Ale
• Alternative Beverage: Beer Making Glossary
• Alternative Beverage: Beer Making Glossary

Resources

• Jim's Beer Kit: Sparging? Wot's That, Then?