Experimental Beer Spruce Tip Ale

This is the 2nd time I've made this. 1st time around it took 3rd in a comp. This time around I kegged it and not sharing

I did not use any crystal malt in the first recipe. Comparing the two, there is a stronger spruce flavor without the crystal...but it is a more rounded beer with the addition of the crystal. Kinda like an IPA vs a double IPA as far as smoothness is concerned.

Also, my efficiency is ****, so please don't judge me.



Steep @ 152 for 45 min.

7lbs. extra light DME
2 lbs. marris otter
1 lb. flaked wheat
.5 lb. crystal 40

1 oz cascade hops @ FWH
6.5 oz spruce tips @ 20
1 oz cascade hops @ 10

S-05 (2 packets + starter)


Perfect for winter! I wish I could have gotten the FG a little closer to 1.010, and was hoping for something above 7%. Either way, the beer tastes great.

I was thinking about making an all grain version of this. Adding it to the long list of beers to brew.

where do you get your spruce tips from?

If I had the system to support it, I'd LOVE to do an all grain of this beer...of course I suppose I feel the same about all the beers I brew

The spruce came from Buffalo NY. When my brother and I were born, my dad planted a row of spruce trees along our property line. The history behind the trees/beer is something that makes me smile. Haha!

Can anyone let me know if this was a dank brew or what? looks bomb

The 6.5oz of spruce tips - is that weight once they have been dried, or fresh off the spruce tree?

Brooklyn Brew Shop's BEER MAKING BOOK has an all-grain recipe for 1 and 5 gallons of a spruce-tip ale. It looks great, but I haven't tried it.

We made a spruce tip IPA last spring. I live in AK so as soon as we saw the tips budding we filled up.
I used almost a pound and an IPA recipe I had on hand already and made our own. I liked it a lot, and it mellowed out a bunch over time.

The weight of the spruce was fresh-cut off the tree, the whole trimming (not just the needles).

I agree about the mellowing out that takes place. I'd say they mellow out about twice as fast as hops. The last batch I made had almost NO spruce presence after 6 months in the bottle...and it was a spruce BOMB when first bottled.

I don't think you could add too much spruce to this. Next time I make it, I want to try to double it up to 12 oz of spruce. Maaaaaaaaaaad Sciiiiiiiiiiiiiience!