History
Before hops became universal in northern European brewing around the 12th century, ale was bittered and flavoured with a mixture of herbs called gruit. The Ghent city authority held the exclusive right (gruitage) to supply gruit to local brewers, making it a significant civic monopoly. The modern Gruut Stadsbrouwerij, founded in 2009, revives this pre-hop tradition using historical herb combinations. Gruut Inferno is the brewery's strongest and most aromatic beer, with a bitter-herbal character unlike any hop-bittered ale.
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Common allergens: Gluten
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 4kg pale malt (Maris Otter or similar)
- 500g Munich malt
- 5g dried sweet gale (bog myrtle)
- 5g dried juniper berries, crushed
- 3g dried yarrow
- 2g dried bay laurel leaves
- Ale yeast (Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale or similar)
- 5.5L water for mash, 10L for sparge
- Camden tablet for water treatment
Method
- Mash grains at 67C for 60 minutes in 5.5L water. The mash temperature creates a medium-bodied ale base.
- Sparge with 10L water at 75C to collect around 12L wort. Discard spent grain.
- Bring wort to a rolling boil. Add sweet gale, yarrow and crushed juniper at the start of the 90-minute boil.
- Add bay laurel in the last 5 minutes. Boil for the full 90 minutes.
- Cool to 20C. Transfer to a sanitised fermenter and pitch ale yeast.
- Ferment at 18-20C for 7 days. Bottle with 7g sugar per litre. Condition 14 days before drinking.
Tip from the editors. Sweet gale is the key herb: without it the gruit character is incomplete. Find it from specialist homebrew shops or online dried herb suppliers.
Where to eat gruut inferno (herbal beer)
Gruut Inferno (Herbal Beer) in Ghent
Gruut Stadsbrouwerij ★ 4.7
Gruut is Ghent's own city brewery, producing five herb beers from a medieval recipe that has never used a single hop. Instead, a blend of herbs.
TipSaturday brewery tours include all five house beers; book ahead in summer. The taproom serves all five on draught daily.
Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant ★ 4.1
Waterhuis aan de Bierkant is a canal-side brown pub with 170 Belgian beers and 14 on draught, open until midnight, with a Graslei waterside terrace.
OrderGruut Amber on draught at the waterside terrace: the most Ghentian beer in the most Ghentian spot.
TipThe terrace lights up after dark and is one of the best spots in Ghent for a late canal-side beer in warm weather.
More places near Gruut Stadsbrouwerij and Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant
Not on this list, but close by, nearest first. Every one is in our guide with its address, hours and what to order.
- Hot Club de Gand Cocktail bar, under 100 m away
- 't Dreupelkot Cocktail bar, under 100 m away
- Frites Atelier Street food, under 100 m away
- Julie's House Bakery, under 100 m away
- Otomat Pizza, under 100 m away
- Waffles and Beer Street food, under 100 m away
More cities are in research. Want gruut inferno (herbal beer) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.