Spruce Beer Homebrew Recipe (made with spruce tips) (2024)

FAQs

How do you use spruce tips in beer? ›

We treat spruce tips pretty much like hops, adding them at the beginning, middle and end of the boil. We save half of the spruce tips for the final addition and divide the rest into the first and second additions.

Fermented Spruce Tip Syrup

To make your syrup ferment, add ½ cup (4 oz) water to the basic proportions below, or just enough water so that the spruce tips are just barely covered with liquid from the get-go. Anywhere from ⅓ to ½ cup of water will do the trick.

Today Sitka spruce, native to the northwest coast of North America, tends to be favored, although other species of spruce have also been used. Lighter, more citrus-like flavors are produced by using the bright green fresh spring growth before the new needles and twigs harden and become woody.

Give the spruce tips a light rinse to get off any dust or small insects and place them in a large saucepan with enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a a bowl of container and refrigerating overnight.

Water Your Finished Spruce Tip Pot

Place your pot where you want it and water to moisten the soil until it freezes. Fresh evergreens will continue to take up water like a fresh Christmas tree. Watering your pot will keep it fresh all season.

Look for the number of needles that come out of the same spot on a twig. If a twig bears needles in groups of two, three, or five, you can safely call it a pine. If the twig carries its needles singly, it's a good bet you've got a fir or a spruce. Pull off a needle, and roll it between your fingers.

Spruce tips can be enjoyed raw, cooked into any dish and used as you might rosemary because their flavor profile is similar. I think that this flavor would pair well with white gamey meat and chicken. They can be chopped and added to salads, soups, and smoothies.

Not all spruce tips taste the same. The Forager Chef recommends White Spruce, Blue Spruce, and Norway Spruce. “Spruce tips have a fantastic shelf life.” Alan Bergo of the Forager Chef tells us. “Picked fresh and cooled immediately, they can last for multiple months in the cooler under refrigeration at a restaurant.

The flavors imbued by spruce tips range from citrus to herbal to mint to, you guessed it, pine. If you're not lucky enough to have a spruce tree in your yard, keep your spruce tips frozen until you can brew!

Spruce contains Vitamin C (as do hemlock, pine, juniper, and lots of other evergreens). Spruce beer was introduced to America by the colonial military, as a practical and economic means to keep soldiers happy and scurvy-free.

What is the flavor of spruce tips? ›

Each type of spruce tree has a unique flavour profile, but they generally taste citrusy with a hint of rosemary. Spruce tips can be eaten raw or blended in dishes in which you would like to increase the acidity and brightness, such as sauces or marinades for chicken, pork, tofu or white beans.

Spruce Tip Blonde Ale:

Enjoy a fresh glass of our signature brew, Skagway Brewing Company's Spruce Tip Blonde Ale. The sweet citrus flavor and smooth finish are created using hydroelectric power to combine the flavors of Skagway's crystal-clear untreated water with hand-picked locally sourced spruce tips.

Place the spruce tips in the clean glass jar. Pour the honey over the spruce tips. (If the honey is thick and difficult to pour, warm slightly in a sauce pan to loosen). Allow the honey to infuse for a couple weeks.

Spruce tips are a source of vitamin A to maintain healthy organ functioning, potassium to balance fluid levels within the body, and vitamin C to strengthen the immune system while reducing inflammation.

Yellowing of spruce may be caused by a variety of noninfectious stresses, particularly problems with the roots. Such stresses include problems with the site, such as too wet or too dry a site, or excessively compacted soil. Problems with planting are also a common culprit.

Spruce tips are the new growth of the trees each year and are most notably antiseptic, antimicrobial and an incredible source of vitamin C. After a long winter, they offer an immune boost and a fresh, lemony flavor that wakes you up from your hibernation slumber.

The smell of this sugar brings the forest into the kitchen and into our food. We use spruce sugar on cookies, cakes, and on savory dishes. We use it sometimes in fancy co*cktails at the bar.