Spruce Beer?

**cormacmacguardhe** · 1st December 10, 01:18 PM

Has anyone tried to brew spruce beer? Or has anyone tried the beer? I cannot seem to find it anywhere. I have heard that spruce beer is not very tasty. I am thinking of trying to brew a beer using maybe cedar or sage, is this a possibility, or just not feasible?

**Remy** · 1st December 10, 01:52 PM

I've never heard of spruce beer. My first thought would be "eww" but hey, I like gin and juniper's an evergreen too. I'm a home brewer and I always start out sparingly with an ingredient I'm not sure about. I would think sage might be a better idea to start with since it’s an actual edible herb. A quick search revealed this site with some sage beer recipes. http://www.gruitale.com/rec_sage.htm
Let us know how it turns out!
Remy

**NewEnglander** · 1st December 10, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by cormacmacguardhe

Has anyone tried to brew spruce beer? Or has anyone tried the beer? I cannot seem to find it anywhere. I have heard that spruce beer is not very tasty. I am thinking of trying to brew a beer using maybe cedar or sage, is this a possibility, or just not feasible?

I JUST read something that mentioned spruce beer and went to look up a recipe. Charlie Papazian has one in his "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing". The trick is finding new spruce buds, which I think you can only do in the spring...

**AFS1970** · 1st December 10, 02:37 PM

I have had one, called Alba Pine Ale, and I liked it. I will say this, the spruce/pine flavor was very strong. I can see that it might be an acquired taste, being a very foreign concept to the current brewing method of using hops, but I thought it was quite nice.

**Lallans** · 1st December 10, 02:42 PM

Spruce beer is an old-time rural Quebec favourite and up to the late 1970s used to undergo sporadic popular revivals there; of course the latest versions probably had artificial flavours and (I believe) for that reason the revival thing has sort of petered out. But I remember spruce beer fondly, it has a distinct clean flavour- of spruce of course. If homemade, it would have to be good. I am however speaking of soda pop, you know, like root beer. In my teens I used to want to make homemade root beer from an old family recipie but my mom was strangely resistant, perhaps sensing that the result would not be nonalcoholic like Hires.

Nonalcoholic Birch Beer has been revived in New England recently; it's good too.

**Slowburn** · 1st December 10, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by cormacmacguardhe

Has anyone t to find it in their archivesried to brew spruce beer? Or has anyone tried the beer? I cannot seem to find it anywhere. I have heard that spruce beer is not very tasty. I am thinking of trying to brew a beer using maybe cedar or sage, is this a possibility, or just not feasible?

Brew your own magazine has covered that topic a time or two you might be able to find something in their archives online

**BoldHighlander** · 1st December 10, 03:21 PM

According to The Packet (patterns, articles & essays for the 18th century reenactor) by Mark Tully, spruce beer was often issued to troops as a substitute for the daily rum ration. It was thought be beneficial to the soldiers' health, and was considered especially good for warding off scurvy.

There is an 18th century recipe included for one gallon of spruce beer (if you wish to make more, adjust the recipe accordingly).
Tully warns that the final product is quite potent and tastes much like an English stout (if you use your imagination -- sort of). It goes flat rather easily, so cork it well once the yeast is done doing its work.

Tully warns to stay away from hemlock spruce, and do not use the family Christmas tree either!

Okay, here we go....

SPRUCE BEER (per gallon)
12 oz. molasses
1/2 oz. yeast (active dry yeast works well)
1/4 lb. fresh spruce tips (or 1/2 oz. extract)
1 gallon water

Break up branches into small pieces and place in water. Bring to a full, rolling boil, then simmer for two or three hours. Add more water occasionally as it boils off and skim off any foam that forms. Next, strain off the liquid and add molasses to it. Bring the mixture back to a boil again, then let it simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes. Skim as necessary. Let the brew cool until "milk-warm" (98-100 degrees) and stir in your yeast. Let stand loosely covered for several days or until the yeast quits working. Then bottle or barrel up the beer and cork tightly until ready for use.

Since there were limited refridgeration capabilities in the period, the soldiers would have probably had this at room temperature (65-70 degrees), but you could chill your spruce beer to make it more palatable if desired.

CHEERS!

**AFS1970** · 1st December 10, 04:18 PM

I had not thought of Spruce Beer as non-alcoholic like Birch Beer, but I guess it could be. Birch beer is one of my favorites in the soda realm. Very popular in PA not so much here in CT, although I can get one brand at my local Market. The commercially available styles seem to come in at least three colors that I know of. Clear (like the Polar I get here), Red (I have had that in NJ or PA) and Brown (which I used to get here but no more).

I have also started seeing brew your own Root Beer kits in a few catalogs, although I do not know anything about the process. There was a brew pub in my city that made a Root Beer but I never tried it.

**cormacmacguardhe** · 1st December 10, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by BoldHighlander

According to The Packet (patterns, articles & essays for the 18th century reenactor) by Mark Tully, spruce beer was often issued to troops as a substitute for the daily rum ration. It was thought be beneficial to the soldiers' health, and was considered especially good for warding off scurvy.

There is an 18th century recipe included for one gallon of spruce beer (if you wish to make more, adjust the recipe accordingly).
Tully warns that the final product is quite potent and tastes much like an English stout (if you use your imagination -- sort of). It goes flat rather easily, so cork it well once the yeast is done doing its work.

Tully warns to stay away from hemlock spruce, and do not use the family Christmas tree either!

Okay, here we go....

SPRUCE BEER (per gallon)
12 oz. molasses
1/2 oz. yeast (active dry yeast works well)
1/4 lb. fresh spruce tips (or 1/2 oz. extract)
1 gallon water

Break up branches into small pieces and place in water. Bring to a full, rolling boil, then simmer for two or three hours. Add more water occasionally as it boils off and skim off any foam that forms. Next, strain off the liquid and add molasses to it. Bring the mixture back to a boil again, then let it simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes. Skim as necessary. Let the brew cool until "milk-warm" (98-100 degrees) and stir in your yeast. Let stand loosely covered for several days or until the yeast quits working. Then bottle or barrel up the beer and cork tightly until ready for use.

Since there were limited refridgeration capabilities in the period, the soldiers would have probably had this at room temperature (65-70 degrees), but you could chill your spruce beer to make it more palatable if desired.

CHEERS!

I heard that Captain Cook gave it to his crew to ward off scurvy. Thanks for the recipe. I might try to use cedar tips as a change from spruce. Have a small blue spruce in the front yard, and several cedar around the fence line. Let you know how it turns out.

**BoldHighlander** · 2nd December 10, 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by cormacmacguardhe

I heard that Captain Cook gave it to his crew to ward off scurvy. Thanks for the recipe. I might try to use cedar tips as a change from spruce. Have a small blue spruce in the front yard, and several cedar around the fence line. Let you know how it turns out.

Cool!

I've never tried out the recipe myself. Back in my reenactor days I had a couple pards back east in the BAR (Brigade of the American Revolution) who frequently tried out home brews based upon 17th & 18th century recipes (spruce beer amongst them).

I look forward to your report.