For those of you following along with our blog, our last Pint Report article was about Gruthaus’ Pumpernickel Porter. Well it seems our article made its way back to Germany and eventually it started up an email chain between founder Philipp Overberg and myself. After a little prodding I was able to convince Münster’s BEST gypsy-brewer to sit down to an interview with us. PROST!

Will: Tell us a little bit about Gruthaus. How did it start, and what was

your inspiration?

Philipp: I officially started Gruthaus in October 2013. The inspiration goes back

more than 500 years. I’ve always been fascinated with the history of my

hometown Münster and when I found out about the “Grut” [Gruit in English] tradition in

Münster, I could combine my passion for beer with digging up long

forgotten beers from the local brewing history. Being a trained

historical linguist helped too. So when I started my own beer business

choosing the Gruthaus concept was an obvious choice. The ancient

Gruthaus (Gruit house), now completely vanished with no trace but a

street name “Grutgasse”, was the only official place where brewers could

buy the most important brewing ingredient from the city council: Grut, a

secret mixture of herbs. From selling Grut the authorities earned 2/3rds

of the city income, so the Grut Master was also the city treasurer and

second important man in the medieval town. From the Gruthaus treasure

only a single item survived to date: a silver goblet in the shape of a

rooster which I choose for my logo.

Will: How did you start as a brewer? Where did you train?

Philipp: It started as a hobby 9 years ago. I’m not school trained but mostly

self-taught. I’ve read a lot and tried to learn from fellow home brewers

and also from the pioneers of the German craft beer movement that

started about 5 years ago. When the owner of a fine beer pub in Münster

asked me to brew my Pumpernickel-Porter for him large scale I started to

go official.

W: So why did you decide to go the Gypsy brewer route? What advantages

are there to being a Gypsy brewer? What is the hardest thing?

P: It was not a decision but the only choice I had at that time. I had to

do it quick as I wanted to be the first in my hometown and it was only a

question of time that someone else would start a [Craft Brewery] in

Münster. I had no money and not much time to spend on the project, so I

could not build my own brewery, although I’d love to some day. Thanks to

Gypsy brewing I could come out with my first beers. But it makes brewing

really expensive and has been frustrating from time to time. I did not

know then that brewing with the quality and ingredients I aim for is by

far easier on a home brewing scale then it is in a big brewery. The

hardest thing was and still is to find a brewery of an appropriate size

not too far away with enough free capacity, and a master brewer who is

willing to work with my challenging recipes. Also I have to make many

compromises and give up quite a lot of control. Now I’m working with 3

different breweries so I can at least decide which production

circumstances would be most fitting for which beer.

W: When I first started coming to Germany about 10 years ago, it was

a land dominated by Pilsners. But in the last few years I have noticed

the start of a craft beer renaissance taking place. How do you see the

German market changing?

P: I’m afraid there’s not much change in the big picture. 99 % of the

German beer market is still very traditional – not always in a good way.

But of course you’re right about the upcoming new brewing scene. I

wouldn’t use the term craft for the German scene though. If you apply

the American definition most German breweries would be craft, even the

biggest ones that produce really boring Pilsners. On the other hand,

being a small brewery is no guarantee for good beer at all. Most

Brewpubs are of the worst kind. Actually, I see a very diverse

development. Industrial scale mainstream breweries started producing

cheap Pale Ales, IPAs and Stouts on smaller brewing systems, they spoil

the prices and keep really small brewers out of the business. Only very

few small brewers can compete, mainly with the help of bigger investors.

Some beer enthusiasts like myself come from a home brewing background,

some are trained professionals, they started producing as Gypsy brewers.

Some have their own self made brew houses that are too small to be

sustainable. Most of them are brewing part time after another day job.

Everything is happening really fast now, but I think it will take many

more years for the new beer scene to gain a professional level.

W: What are some of your favorite styles of beer to produce?

P: I love smoked beers and anything with rye. Also I love experimenting

with historical beer styles that need a lot of interpretation. Generally

speaking, I’m more into malt than hops. I like to discover ingredients

that no-one has used in brewing before. Making up a new style is as much

fun as reviving an extinct style.

W: How do you come up with the inspiration for some of your beer?

P: For the Grut (Gruit beer) the inspiration comes from the great brewing

history of my hometown, Münster. I researched the oldest surviving

account books from the city hall, dating back to 1480. In there I found

listed the ingredients and amounts of herbs used to prepare the Gruit

mixture. But it was no easy task. It took years of interpretation and

discussions with historians still ongoing. I love reading old books and

visiting archaeological sites to find out about brewing techniques long

gone. Some ideas just come from the countryside that surrounds me. I

visit local farmers and talk to them about their products, there are so

many things that could be used for brewing.

W: How have your friends, family, and community responded to you

becoming a brewer?

P: First they thought I was nuts. Then some liked the taste of what I

produced. My wife loves good beer, too. My daughter thinks it is nothing

special, she grew up with it. Most of my friends are into beer as well.

W: What are some beer styles you would like to try in the future?

P: I’ve got much more ideas than I could ever produce with the limited

capacity I got. The next beers in line are a rye triple fermented with

Champagne yeast and a local rye variety called Champagne rye. Then a

strong stout with coffee beans from a local coffee roaster. I would like

to produce a 100 % authentic medieval Gruit beer with spontaneous

fermentation but that will take several years preparation.

W: What is the craziest beer you have ever brewed?

P: That was a beer that appeared to me in a dream. First I heard the name

“Jenny’s Lemon Alt” and then I saw the label in detail. The brewery was

oddly called “the radio station for hair dressers”. It was my own

brewery. When I woke up I had the taste of lemon Alt in my mouth and

knew exactly how to brew it. I took my daughter’s crayons to paint the

label from my memory before breakfast and wrote down the recipe for a

pale Münster Alt beer with lots of fresh lemons squeezed in with zest,

pith and everything, fermented with a Belgian Saison yeast. One of my

best recipes, I have to admit.

W: Where can one find your beers?

P: It is distributed primarily locally in Münster. There is a constantly

changing list of shops and pubs on my website:

http://www.gruthaus.de/verkauf/

My main beers are available nationwide in every Galeria Kaufhof in

Germany that has a food and beverages department and in some beer

specialty shops. Unfortunately not in the US yet.

Don’t forget, if you like our blog and want to help us keep this site going, please click on the below Amazon link before you go shopping on Amazon. It won’t cost you any extra, you don’t have to buy anything specific, and we can’t see who buys what. But we get a small commission that help keep our site going. Thank you! PROST!