Stone Angel
Medieval Ale
What makes medieval ale remarkable?
Most beers today have four ingredients: water, malted barley, hops and yeast. A few have a fifth ingredient, such as wheat or oats. Medieval ale might have twenty, or more, ingredients. Honey was common, as were fresh herbs like heather, mint and rosemary, alongside herbs, largely forgotten today, such as yarrow, broom and bog myrtle. And that’s just from what was locally available. Medieval brewers also loved the subtle flavour of precious, exotic, (and then) fantastically expensive spices, used in tiny amounts, such as star aniseed, liquorice, cinnamon and cubebs.
If you think that sounds remarkable, wait until you try it…
The Ingredients
We grow and pick many of our own herbs and use organic honey blended with some of the more exotic spices used by Medieval brewers. Light and dark malts, and oats, sourced from our excellent local maltster, give our Old English amber ale its rich, reddish colour and unique taste.
Ingredients: organic malt, oats, hops, honey, yarrow, broom, heather, hyssop, bog myrtle, mint, sage, dandelion, rosemary, coriander, cinnamon, cubebs, liquorice, orange zest, star aniseed. (Suitable for vegetarians)
The tradition
Medieval ale had its origins in ancient fermentation methods, which used a wide range of locally foraged plants and grains. The 'gruit' tradition which emerged from this approach was perfected in the monasteries of Europe, where carefully cultivated herbs were used in elaborate, closely guarded ale recipes. This deep-rooted culture lives on today in some of the Trappist breweries of Belgium.
However, the more elaborate and richly flavoured gruit ales of Medieval Europe were largely swept away by the Reformation, which brought with it the almost total dominance of hops as a bittering agent. Hops, with their more preservative properties and soporific effect, were preferred by those who wanted to end the use of gruit, which was taxed and tightly controlled by the Catholic church. So, from the 16th century on, many of the wonderful flavours of medieval ale were lost to the advance of more uniform, hops-dominated ‘Protestant’ beers.
Rediscover the remarkable tastes and subtle aromas of this medieval tradition with Stone Angel.
Ale, Medieval style
Stone Angel Ale recreates the delicious, herb-infused flavours of Medieval 'gruit' ale - the ale of Medieval Europe. It was brewed in homes, monasteries and breweries using a wide range of herbs and spices, often from complex, closely-guarded recipes passed from generation to generation. Stone Angel rediscovers these now largely forgotten brewing traditions so you can enjoy the kind of refreshing and invigorating ale relished by your ancestors.
Rediscover the distinctive taste of Medieval times with Stone Angel Ale.
Available Now
Stone Angel
Medieval Ale
Stone Angel Ale rediscovers the remarkable and complex flavours of Medieval herb-infused 'gruit' ale - the ale of Medieval Europe. Stone Angel draws on traditional recipes to recreate the kind of ale enjoyed by our ancestors for almost a thousand years.
Ingredients: organic malt, oats, hops, honey, yarrow, broom, heather, hyssop, bog myrtle, mint, sage, dandelion, rosemary, coriander, cinnamon, cubebs, liquorice, orange zest, star aniseed. (Suitable for vegetarians)
Made in Bradford-on-Avon
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