At the end of January, Brewer Hayley and Lab Manager Emily organised a brew day with the aid of Crafty Beer Girls to mash in on an exciting new beer; a Gruit style for International Women's Day (IWD), with a twist. If you’ve never come across this style before, allow us to indulge you further - it comes with a fascinating history.
Simply put, a Gruit is an ancient style of beer brewed with a mixture of herbs. While we’re used to brewing with our favourite hops (Citra, Nelson Sauvin and Peacharine are particularly big hitters with us right now), there was a time when hops weren’t the key flavouring ingredient in beer.
Instead, these herb mixtures would bring in earthy and floral notes. Common herbs used in traditional Gruit beers might have included Yarrow, Horehound and Mugwort. If these sound like ingredients you’d expect to find in a Witches’ pantry, you’re not far from hitting the nail on the head…
We’d have loved to brew this beer solely with the mix of herbs, as is tradition. However, as beer is our forte and we’re not following all the rules, we added a sprinkling of brambling cross hops - a traditional British variety known for bold blackcurrant notes.
The herbs and spices we brewed with in Coven include Mugwort, Coriander Seeds and Dandelion Leaf. Mugwort in itself is a strongly aromatic and decently peppery herb, with a similar sensory experience found in the Dandelion Leaves.
History of the Style
Craft brewing began to gain momentum around the late 1970s in the UK, but Gruit brewing techniques have been traced as far back as the 10th Century; a real trailblazer to the pints that we cradle today. You wouldn’t find a bearded man toting a Carhartt cap behind the helm either: this was a job for the Alewives.
Before the 17th Century, women brewed the majority of Gruits and Ales for both domestic and commercial use. Over time, this association led to somewhat of a medieval smear campaign that branded female brewers as witches. Through this IWD release, Hayley and Emily chose to embrace the farce, and take ownership of the popularized image. If the world wants to view alewives as powerful, near mythic beings, then we’re more than here for it.
Popularity in Modern Craft Brewing
With the rise in experimental hops and advanced hop products, many modern craft breweries are setting their sights on what can be done; not what has already been done. Seen a resurgence of styles such as milds and best bitters, so we do all still hold a special place for styles of old, but perhaps not this old!
Although an 'International Gruit Day' was touted on February 1st 2013, it's never quite had the hype of International IPA Day - something we’d never miss out on year after year.
Let’s make it Fruity
The key concept for Coven was based on the classic image of a Witches’ cauldron: a dark black brew with pops of purple bubbling out of it.
“With that in mind, and with myself and Emily’s love of fruit beers, we decided to create this vision using a grist not dissimilar to a black IPA to make a black base for the beer, and subsequently add Blackberries and Elderberries to add that pop of purple and to give the beer a fruity edge which will compliment the herbs we have chosen perfectly.” - Hayley
And with that image comes a novelty - we believe that this is the only Fruited Gruit currently available outside of Belgium. That’s got to be worth a try, surely?
Coven’s Impact
Alongside the beer being brewed for International Women’s Day 2026, we’re proud to say that 50p from each can will be donated to freedom4girls a charity devoted to break down the barriers, and stigma, that surrounds period poverty both in the UK and worldwide. You can find out more about their cause by visiting this link.
Coven will be available from 2nd March on the Siren webshop.
We’re soon to write a separate blog all about the brew day itself, which will include more information about the ingredient prep and mash in/out, alongside more detail on Crafty Beer Girls, the can artwork, and what this beer means for Siren in 2026. Keep your eyes peeled for that, dropping 2nd March on our blog section.
