E-Malt.com News article: USA, DE: Dogfish Head Beer and the Portsmouth Brewery go back to local and create 'gruit'

"Fru-it Gru-it" is a collaborative brew combining the talents of brewers Tod Mott and Sam Calagione with indigenous ingredients from their home areas. It will take about three weeks to brew, hearkening to before hops were used in brews, to back before the 11th century, when many different types of herbs and spices were used to balance beer's sweetness in a concoction called a "gruit," Seacoastonline.com reported on August, 3.

Something else historic — neither of these renowned brewers has tried this before.

"I hadn't brewed it and I had been very interested in it," says Mott. "We're going back to local all the time, we're in the age of returning to local, using what's nearby. That's what a gruit has always been. "

The gruit will be based on an amber porter and combines traditional ingredients along with flavors that reflect New England and Delaware. During the boil, 30 pounds of plums will be introduced to the brew kettle. In addition to the stone fruit, an assortment of lavender, stinging nettles, yarrow, sweet gale and mugwort will infuse their essence to this unique concoction. Finally, 30 pounds of peaches will be added to the fermenter before the wort is mixed with brewers yeast.

"The recipe was an iterative e-mail back and forth and it's all about what flavors we're layering on other flavors," says Caligione. "We've never done a gruit at Dogfish. We've made a braggot (mead with honey and hops) and mead but this is a first. I did a lot of research on what gruits were originally. There were basically four ingredients that were common — rosemary, yarrow, the sweet gale and mugwort but I found 60 others too. When you think about gruit history, it was the dominant malt-based brew for over 700 years so they have a larger tradition in the beer world than hops-based brews. But for this recipe we're going on brewer's intuition. We've both played with herbs and spices in brews and we're adding the fruit because a lot of these botanicals have citrus."

Caligone often "plays" with herbs and spices in his popular brews as well as with historic recreations and variations. Their Ta Henket (released in 2010) was created to incorporate ancient ingredients and techniques described in Egyptian hieroglyphics, brewed with emmer, loaves of hearth baked bread, dom-palm fruit, chamomile, and zatar. Mott's Thaizenhiemer brew uses flavors from lemongrass and galangal.

Many of the ingredients in this Fru-it- Gru-it have medicinal value.

As they pick over the herbs, Mott and Caligione talk about the flavors. John Forti has brought horehound, which they chew on, wincing at its bitterness.

"I want the yarrow to be the primary herbal," says Mott. "But I think the lavender will also be a huge flavor forward element."

"We'd like the porter to be the more robust, roasted base against the sweet herbs," adds Caligione. "The porter with the fruit is another real departure here. When you brew with fruit, the base beer is usually a golden ale."

Forti explains more about the medicinal uses of the herbs in New Hampshire brewing history.

"The sweet gale would have helped with emotional balance and when hops came in that was a sedative. People preferred their drunks sleepy and not licentious. Each had a purpose and they brewed with the indigenous herbs. Like with a lot of things, we lost that sensibility of really eating and drinking locally and seasonally. When Frank Jones was brewing, people gathered seaweed for the brews, they used local grains."

When it's done, there will be seven barrels of the gruit, some of which will be on tap at the Portsmouth Brewery and some bottled to send for Dogfish Head, which Caligione says will likely be shared by staff.

"We have no idea what it's going to taste like, says Mott, "We have an idea, but it's exciting to be able to use the local ingredients and see what comes out of it."

"It's great to be playing outside our traditional touchstones," says Caligione.

About the Portsmouth Brewery

The Portsmouth Brewery, New Hampshire's original brewpub, has been serving great food and outstanding handcrafted beers in a friendly, lively atmosphere since 1991.

About Tod Mott

Often referred to as a "New England Legend," Mott began his brewing career as an intern at Catamount Brewing Company in Vermont. He served time at some of Boston's finest breweries; Harpoon, Commonwealth and Back Bay before venturing south to open Quincy Ships and later, The Tap in Haverhill before finding a home at Portsmouth Brewery in 2003. Mott has won many medals at the Great American Beer Festival, including two last year for his beer Rye Not and Milk Stout. He is also proud to have taught the craft of brewing to many current and former New England brewers.

About Sam Calagione

When Sam Calagione opened Dogfish Head in 1995, it was the smallest commercial brewery in America making 10 gallons of beer at a time. Today Dogfish Head is among the fastest growing breweries in the country. Dogfish Head has focused on brewing stronger, more exotic beers since the day it opened as the motto "Off-centered ales for off-centered people" attests to. Dogfish Head has grown into a 150-person company with a restaurant/brewery/distillery in Rehoboth Beach and a production brewery in Milton, Del., selling beer in 27 states. Calagione was nominated for a 2011 James Beard Foundation Award in the Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional category. He authored "Brewing up a Business" and "Extreme Brewing," co-authored "He Said Beer, She Said Wine," and is the host of the Discovery Channel series, "Brew Masters."



19 August, 2011