Style: Celtic Gruit
Brewery: South Plains Brewing Co.
Origin: Sweden
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 5.3%
Price: 27kr
Systembolaget: 32350
Gruit is a term used as early as the 10th Century, used to describe a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, which was popular before the extensive use of hops. This has been produced with a mix of mugwort (gråbo), yarrow (rölleka), heather (ljung) and bog myrtle (pors). South Plains are based in Malmö. They refuse to can their beers, stating that the plastic lining inside cans can cause health problem for humans (health authorities state that a small amount of BPA is safe, however). This tasting was a celebration of slightly weird beers, so when I found this beer I thought it would be a perfect addition to the program.
This was clear golden in colour with high carbonation noticed straight away from the pour. Big, mossy tones came through first in the aroma, along with an earthy funkiness that must be attributed to the blend of herbs used to flavour this beer. There was a slight sourness in the aroma, along with a hint of ripe banana creeps through as well. The acidity hit first when the beer was sipped, with big lemon notes exploding on the palate. The earthy notes are well hidden but come forward more in the aftertaste. The sourness was almost overwhelming, with grapefruit peel tones continuing to form after swallowing.
This was the first gruit I’ve ever tried, so I’m not sure if it’s usual for the style or not. I wasn’t expecting such a big acidic note to the beer though, and I think it would have been better if that had been dialled back slightly to let the herbal and wheat notes through more. If I’m honest, I wasn’t a big fan of this as it felt so unbalanced. This is a beer where a little goes a long way, and I don’t think I’d go back for a second glass, sadly.