Looking for gruit beer brewery of the year

Lahnstein | International Gruitday on February 1st was created to celebrate gruit beer, a beer with herbs instead or in addition to hops, according to medieval traditions and recipes. In former times, hops were not available for brewers in most regions. So they had to use herbs like gale, porse, rosemary, caraway or laurel to provide taste and shelflife to their beers.

Steve Beauchesne from Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada, founded International Gruitday in 2013. After he stopped brewing gruit beer, Dr. Markus Fohr from Lahnsteiner Brauerei at Lahnstein, Germany, took over the project in 2021 and started a new webpage.

He has been brewing gruit beer since 2014. His first recipe with sage, peppermint, juniper and some hops won a gold medal at the International Craft Beer Award 2015. In 2019, he recreated the recipe, now with aniseed, lemongrass and rosemary - and some hops again - and won another gold medal in 2020.

For the upcoming International Gruitday on 1 February 2025, an international jury is ready to select the "Gruitbeer Brewery of the Year 2025" for the first time. Every gruitery (gruit beer brewery) is invited to participate.

Further information can be found at www.gruitday.beer.