Many different herbs and spices were used to flavor beers in these unique mixtures. Historian Tesoro says, "Among other things, juniper berries, sweet gale, blackthorn, oak bark, wormwood, caraway seed, aniseed, bay leaves, yarrow, thorn apple, gentian, rosemary, tansy, Saint-John's-wort, spruce chips, pine roots - and above all henbane found their way into these Grut mixtures" (Tesoro). Many of these herbs could be dangerous in even small amounts, and some, like henbane, could provide hallucinations. Because of this, beer began to be viewed superstitiously.

One of the superstitions that began to swirl around beer and beer brewing was the legend of the "beer witch" or "brew witch." Supposedly, these witches cursed the ingredients and could spoil a batch of beer. Superstition surrounded the brewing process, and of course, sanitation was not what it is today, which also contributed to the failure of many a batch of early beer. Since brewing...
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