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Physicochemical characterization of spontaneously fermented gruit beer: historic revival and analysis

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Abstract

The term gruitbeer is used to describe an alcoholic beverage, which in some aspects was similar to beer. It was produced during the Middle Ages in the Lowlands (until about the 1600 s). Its characteristic attribute was the gruit substance, which was used in its production. The most widely accepted theory states that gruit was a mixture of spices, analogous to hops, which served only to impart sensory characteristics. However, gruit may have served to enhance the fermentation process and was essential for obtaining proper beer. It may have been a mixture of spices, wort, and grain shells. The role of grain shells may have been to provide fermentative organisms. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the possibility of obtaining beer by spontaneous fermentation methods, using a recreated version of gruit substance. For this purpose, a historical recipe was used, from which a malt “porridge” was obtained. The porridge was enriched with spices which could have been historically used, along with wheat or barley grains. The grains were used to be a source of microflora. The prepared gruit substance was added to the 8.3% (w/w) beer wort, yielding a wort extract of 11.3–11.6% (w/w) (depending on the variant), and a fermentation process was conducted. The resulting beers contained 4.29–4.63% (v/v) of alcohol and had a relatively low pH level (3.42–3.55). The results indicate that the examined approach could have been applied in the historical production of the gruit beer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, University of Agriculture in Kraków, ul. Balicka 122, 30-149, Kraków, Poland

    Krystian Klimczak, Monika Cioch-Skoneczny & Aleksander Poreda

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  1. Krystian Klimczak
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  2. Monika Cioch-Skoneczny
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  3. Aleksander Poreda
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Correspondence to Krystian Klimczak.

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Klimczak, K., Cioch-Skoneczny, M. & Poreda, A. Physicochemical characterization of spontaneously fermented gruit beer: historic revival and analysis. Eur Food Res Technol 250, 1123–1133 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-023-04450-3

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