Spruce Beer

Classification: spiced ale, spruce beer, extract

Source: Mark Taratoot (slndw@cc.usu.edu), r.c.b., 6/23/93

I recently made a spruce beer and thought I would post some information about it as some people here have been curious about it. To be sure, it is a bit late for harvesting the new spring flush from spruce trees now, but this may not be the case for more northerly latitudes. Also, I saved (and froze) an extra portion of spruce twigs, and if others did also, now is a fine time for spruce beer.
I made spruce beer last year and only used about a pint of twigs in a red ale. I also used ginger, and the ginger masked the spruce flavor.
This year I made a light ale and used a quart of spruce twigs. Many of the comments here have recommended only using spruce in a dark beer. I must disagree. The only problem I have with the light ale is it is cloudy. Big deal.

After two weeks in the bottle, it has not cleared. The flavor is not what I expected at all. I anticipated a "piney" flavor (kind of like retsina wine) but that is not what I got. The flavor is more earthy. Kind of nice. It will be a good beer for when the summer finaly gets hot.

Ingredients:

1 pound light dry malt extract
6 pounds light malt syrup
2 cups 10 L crystal malt
1 cup 40 L crystal malt
1 cup bulgur wheat
2 ounces Mt. Hood hops (65 minute boil)
2-1/2 cups blue spruce twigs (25 minute boil)
1 cup spruce (10 minute boil)
Irish moss (10 minute boil)
1/2 cup spruce (steep)
ale yeast

Procedure:

To bottle, make a tea from 1 cup of spruce twigs, then add priming sugar and boil momentarily.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.047
F.G.: 1.010