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One of Peter's students came across this recipe for spruce beer. I doubt Raddall's estate has the army of lawyers that Labatt has so those of you into historic brews should give this one a shot. It looks as if you need to toss in an entire log from a spruce tree.

"Here is the spruce beer recipe in Raddall's history of Halifax - apparently the same spruce beer drank by New Englanders in the first siege of Louisbourg.

Take seven pounds of good spruce and boil it well till the bark peels off.
Then take the spruce out and put in three gallons of molasses and boil the liquor again, scum it well as it boils, then take it out of the kettle and put it into a cooler.
When milk-warm in the cooler put a pint of yeast into it and mix well. Then put it in the barrel and let it work for two or three days, and keep filling it up as it works out.
When done working, bung it up with a tent-peg in the barrel to give it vent now and then.
It may be used in two or three days."

This recipe can be found in the book "The Nova Scotia Drink-o-pedia" found in our local library.

I'll be making a spruce beer very shortly...when I get home I'll post the recipe I'm using. It's doesn't contain nearly the same amount of spruce...I have only collected about 2 litres of spruce tips.

I'm just finishing fermenting a spruce beer using the spring tips.

I based my recipe around the one listed at: http://where.ca/alaskayukon/article_fea ... ting_id=34" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used for the boil (large pot on oven burner):

2.35 kg of molasses
1.5 oz of ginger
17.5 oz spruce tips
7 minutes of boil with tips (I didn't boil for 3 hours as in the original recipe)

I also steeped 10 oz more of tips at the same time I did the boil and added that to my primary fermenter before topping up with water to the 23 L mark.

It tasted pretty good when I racked it to the secondary. I will be bottling in the next few days.

SG was 1.032

pet lion wrote:I'm just finishing fermenting a spruce beer using the spring tips.

I based my recipe around the one listed at: http://where.ca/alaskayukon/article_fea ... ting_id=34" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used for the boil (large pot on oven burner):

2.35 kg of molasses
1.5 oz of ginger
17.5 oz spruce tips
7 minutes of boil with tips (I didn't boil for 3 hours as in the original recipe)

I also steeped 10 oz more of tips at the same time I did the boil and added that to my primary fermenter before topping up with water to the 23 L mark.

It tasted pretty good when I racked it to the secondary. I will be bottling in the next few days.

SG was 1.032

I'll be interested to see how this turns out... do keep us informed.

I made a spruce IPA with about 2 cups of tips thrown in with the cascade hops. Tasted great! I'd just like to get my gravity lower next time (finished at 1.019 but I screwed up the pitching rate). I recommend it as a good intro to spruce tips if you're tentative about going all tips not hops. I know I was after tasting the Garrison offering last year... Although I believe they used full tree, not tips?

Jayme wrote:I made a spruce IPA with about 2 cups of tips thrown in with the cascade hops. Tasted great! I'd just like to get my gravity lower next time (finished at 1.019 but I screwed up the pitching rate). I recommend it as a good intro to spruce tips if you're tentative about going all tips not hops. I know I was after tasting the Garrison offering last year... Although I believe they used full tree, not tips?

Have a recipe for this that you'd be willing to share? I like the idea of having hops and spruce.

I attached the Promash file - I got the recipe online and modified it a bit. Didn't do the tip dry hop (I was nervous of infection) so just doubled up late boil addition. Not sure what else I changed. I can post a text later if you prefer, but I'm away for the night and only have my mac..

edit - I tried to post the promash file... won't let me? Can I email it to you?

Jayme wrote:I attached the Promash file - I got the recipe online and modified it a bit. Didn't do the tip dry hop (I was nervous of infection) so just doubled up late boil addition. Not sure what else I changed. I can post a text later if you prefer, but I'm away for the night and only have my mac..

edit - I tried to post the promash file... won't let me? Can I email it to you?

What kind of file is it?

Promash - .rec

Can you upload it now?

Yes! Thanks. So here's the file.

Can you give that to us in a non-proprietary format?

Like BeerXML?

It won't let me export as BeerXML. Here is a copy of the text version:

Sproose Joose IPA

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

21-B Spice/Herb/Vegetable, Christmas/Winter Specialty

Min OG: 1.030 Max OG: 1.100
Min IBU: 2 Max IBU: 100
Min Clr: 2 Max Clr: 25 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 20.80 Wort Size (L): 20.80
Total Grain (kg): 5.40
Anticipated OG: 1.059 Plato: 14.45
Anticipated SRM: 5.5
Anticipated IBU: 87.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 4.00 L Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 24.80 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.049 SG 12.22 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential

Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin

Potential SRM
------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----
83.3 4.50 kg. Lager Malt(2-row) Canada 1.036

2
16.7 0.90 kg. Munich Malt Germany 1.037

8

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil

Time
------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----
28.00 g. Zeus (Columbus) Whole 15.00 57.8 60

min.
28.00 g. Zeus (Columbus) Whole 15.00 29.5 30

min.
28.00 g. Zeus (Columbus) Whole 15.00 0.0 0

min.
28.00 g. Cascade Pellet 5.75 0.0 Dry

Hop
28.00 g. Amarillo Gold Pellet 10.00 0.0 Dry

Hop


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
1.00 Cup(s) Spruce Tips Other 0 Min.(boil)
1.00 Cup(s) Spruce Tips Other 0 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

WYeast 1056 Amercan Ale/Chico


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain kg: 5.40
Water Qts: 19.97 - Before Additional Infusions
Water L: 18.90 - Before Additional Infusions

L Water Per kg Grain: 3.50 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 65 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 65 Time: 29
Sparge Temp : 70 Time: 20


Total Mash Volume L: 22.50 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Celsius.



Notes
-----

From the internet somewhere...WY1332Dry hop with 1oz spuce tips and the
cascade for 7 days, then dry hop again with Amarillo for another 7 days
*NOTE - I deviated from that, no spruce tip dry hop, doubled up 0min
addition

I know that there aren't many fans of spruce beer here, but if you ever get a chance try this one. It's worth it. I'm planning to brew a spruce beer or two with a friend in September. Can those of you who already have save some so that we can have a spruce beer tasting night?

Very interesting - a Pumpkin Spruce beer? I'm assuming you got that in Vermont and not anywhere around here... So did they just use spruce tips instead of hops, or is it a mixture?

I'm out of the first batch of spruce beer we made, but have made another batch since that's just sitting in the carboy. It will be another week or two until I get chance to transfer to keg, then another 2 weeks of dry hopping. I can certainly save some though if you want to try it.