Herb & Spice Beer

What is Herb & Spice Beer?

Herb and spice beers are either lagers or ales that contain herbs and/or spices derived from roots, seeds, fruits, vegetables, or flowers. 

The hop character is usually low to allow the added ingredient to shine through. Herb and spice characters can range from subtle to intense. 

The appearance, aroma, and flavour vary widely depending on the herbs or spices used. Popular beer spices and herbs are ginger, chilli pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, wormwood, elderflower, rosehip, vanilla bean, and salt.  

This beer style encompasses innovative examples as well as traditional holiday and winter ales.

Origin Story

From beer’s beginnings until the widespread use of hops, the dominant beer flavouring in all beer brewing cultures was spices and herbs. Various herbs were used based on what grew locally and what was available by trade. 

In medieval Europe, a herb mixture called gruit was used for bittering and flavouring beer. The right to produce and sell gruit was in the hands of the church and/or land owners and gruit recipes were well-guarded secrets. Gruit was typically mixed and sold by pharmacists and healthful qualities were attributed to the spices.

Brewers used spices not only for their flavour but also to cover up acidic, rancid, or other off-flavours in their beer.

After the use of hops became widespread in the 16th century, the use of herbs and spices declined but never completely disappeared. The use of herbs continued for some traditional recipes (e.g. Belgian witbier brewed with orange peels and coriander) and seasonal speciality beers, including Christmas and other holiday beers. 

Nowadays, brewing with spices is currently seen most frequently among craft brewers in the United States, Denmark, and the UK.