Weihenstephaner 13th Century Grut Bier

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours a hazy yellow with a decent white head. Rich aroma is malty and just a little bit fruity, rather appetizing. Flavor is mainly malty, slightly yeasty, with an undertone of fruit and a little bit of an alcohol bite. Smooth, fizzy, edgy texture helps it glide down the pipes.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours a deep yellow gold .. medium foam .. chunks the size of walnuts .. . huge nose, mixed spices .. . pretty good, but a bit to one dimensional .. . . End transmission.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Sampled on 12/31/2008. This traditional ale pours a slightly hazy yellow gold color from a 500ml bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head, with nice retention. The aroma is spicy, floral and herbal. A medium bodied ale. The malts are fruity and sweet. No hops but its plenty herbal and floral with lots of spices in this one, ginger, caraway and bay leaves. Kind of tart and it reminds me a little of a Berliner Weiss. Nice beer, very nice change of pace. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter and tart.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Another neat brew from these folks. Bottle shared by Robert at State Line. Pour was pale hazy yellow, small thin head on top. The aroma was herbs and some spice first and foremost, lemons, some wheaty or hay notes too. Flavor followed the aroma, the spices taking front stage, bay leaves, rosemary, light mint and ginger, subtle sour-citrusey-lemon character in the musty hay-like wheaty type malts. I have no idea what Grut was really like or if they got this one "right," but I liked it. As sloth noted while drinking, a touch more sour character would have been welcomed. As usual, thanks, Robert, for sharing!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Trying to be objective. Why do I buy these spiced ales when I know I hate them? Anyway, this was light and refreshing. The spices weren’t overdone (I still hated it though). If I liked spiced beers, I would probably have loved this one. Ginger was prominent in the flavor with other spices (I actually could taste the rosemary!). Unique and pretty good for the style, BUT...all this beer proves is that spices have been screwing things up for over 700 years now.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Aroma is very perfumey with some spice and rosemary coming through with some lemon zest and earthy bay leaves and is highly aromatic and different. Appearance is a clear whitish-yellow in color when held to the light similar to Belgian Wit Beer with a medium-sized head on top that is bleach-white in color and fuzzy and leaves creamy lacing on the glass. Mouthfeel is light-bodied and spitzy and very clean with some very complex spices I have never experienced in beer with some quality balance with a palate that is light and airy as well as wet-like. Flavor is very perfumey and sweet with lemon zest and some slight tartness with an aftertaste that is of rosemary and bay leaves with a finish that offers some earthy overtones and is highly spiced. Overall, a strange brew here for sure and a nice case study in a antiquited beer style that has become revived in recent years but a little too much even in smaller quantities; recommended.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

As I am pouring this into my 25cl tulip glass I notice that it is incredibly aromatic; spicy and herbal with and aromatic turpene character. The beer is incredibly hazy with an almost white sheen to its straw color. The head starts out almost three fingers in height and is a pale, white color. A closer inspection of the aroma yields aromas of woody rosemary, spicy licorice, lemon zest, substantial ginger, an herbal bay leaf thing and a sort of earthy sage note. This is very aromatic, it practically jumps out of the glass, but it does not pick up any harsh notes and isn't all that over-bearing.

The taste is quite dry and that seems to mute the spice flavors quite significantly (especially as compared to the aroma). Ginger flavors seem to be the most noticeable after the first sip and there is a light lemon zest note as well as an herbal, menthol sort of turpene character that is mix of rosemary and bay. Very light and quaffable, and with all the herbal notes I was actually expecting this to be quite a bit more astringent and bitter than it actually is. There is a touch of tannic character here and the beer comes off as being lightly tart (perhaps from the ginger).

This is actually quite refreshing. This would be an awesome aperitif, it gets the juices flowing and you ready for a meal. Gruit beers are novel enough that this beer gets props for being unique. I definitely enjoy tasting modern interpretations of history & I do like the mix of flavors that the specific herbs contribute to this beer.