Well, everyone knows, for sure that a beer must include in itself Hops, and every beer would not be the same without the addition of a nice amount of hops. Some are heavily hopped, others are not so much. Now, how about I tell you, there’s a beer without hops at all. And the style is called Gruit.
It was widely spread in the past, in the times when there wasn’t a wide usage of hops, or at least they were spread locally in specific regions. And without the hops, people were using various herbs and plants to flavor the golden liquid.
Today’s specimen is said to contain basil, cinnamon and savory, which sounds a bit weird, as a combination, but we’ll see how it tastes after all. It’s interesting to see how craft breweries in Bulgaria (or at least some of them) are experimenting with brewing such unique and not very famous beer styles. And the Rhombus brewery never disappoints with their beers.
In the glass it’s not very carbonated and the head is very thin. The color, as you can see is not golden. I would say it’s dark amber. In the nose, it resembles a winter beer with the added cinnamon. The basil is a bit weird, and I would put it only on Italian dishes. 😁
The flavor completes the initial impression from the nose. It is relatively thick in the body, the malt sweetness is very tasteful, the cinnamon gives it a very special almost festive like flavor, and the other spices make a very unique company there. I would rather have this one during the Christmas holidays and would greatly enjoy it then. Just this isn’t my summer beer. As for the basil, I really prefer it on pizzas and pastas, although it gives a nice touch here too.
Overall the beer was very solidly made and I’m happy that I had the chance to taste a beet from this style, because I’m not sure I will have another one any time soon. I enjoyed the experience and would recommend this beer to everyone. It’s really an interesting experience.
That’s for now, see you soon and have a nice Sunday!