Alba Scots Pine Ale

[RevA]

Hi,

Does anyone have an idea how to clone this beer with all-grain?
I'm thinking a basic light scottish ale, with spruce tips added @15min and minimum hops? Or would doing it as a gruit be closer to the origional?

 

[DromJohn]

Introduced by the Vikings, spruce and pine ales were very popular in the Scottish Highlands until the end of the 19th century. Many early explorers, including Captain Cook, used spruce ale during long sea voyages since it prevented scurvy and ill health. Shetland spruce ale was said to "stimulate animal instincts" and give you twins. Alba is a triple style ale brewed to a traditional Highland recipe from Scots pine and spruce shoots pickled during early spring. Pure malted barley, is boiled with the young sprigs of pine for several hours then the fresh shoots of the spruce are added for a short infusion before fermentation.

I'm thinking more a Scottish 80 shilling, full gruit, half at 60 minutes, half at 0 minutes.

 

[RevA]

I'm thinking more a Scottish 80 shilling, full gruit, half at 60 minutes, half at 0 minutes.

Thank you!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Hi,

Does anyone have an idea how to clone this beer with all-grain?
I'm thinking a basic light scottish ale, with spruce tips added @15min and minimum hops? Or would doing it as a gruit be closer to the origional?

Did you ever brew this? If so, how did it turn out?
Regards, GF.

 

[RevA]

Did you ever brew this? If so, how did it turn out?
Regards, GF.

I did. I liked it alot! Not quite a perfect clone, but a very nice beer. Was planning the light scottish, but screwed up calculations and afyer mash realised it would either be 80 or nothing. Worked out great!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I did. I liked it alot! Not quite a perfect clone, but a very nice beer. Was planning the light scottish, but screwed up calculations and afyer mash realised it would either be 80 or nothing. Worked out great!

Glad it worked out. I've been thinking of brewing a pine and/or spruce and/or juniper ale, but wasn't sure where to start. Did you use Scots Pine & Black Spruce?
Regards, GF.

 

[RevA]

Glad it worked out. I've been thinking of brewing a pine and/or spruce and/or juniper ale, but wasn't sure where to start. Did you use Scots Pine & Black Spruce?
Regards, GF.

Black Spruce yes, the pine I got from a logger. Not sure which type he got it from...
I think it's worth brewing pine and spruce beer. Will try juniper when I get berries.

 

[rmclark12]

Resurrecting this thread to see if RevA would be willing to post recipe/process...Story time - 10 years or so ago me and my friend were obsessed with Alba Scots Pine Ale, but it was soooo expensive, and we had to get a liquor store to special order it. It just wasn't working. I had just started brewing, drank a few too many, and decided to give it a shot. I cut out the hops completely, and hit up my neighbor's pine tree for a buttload of needles. I twisted and ground them up in my hands and tossed them in the boil. I'd say it was about a gallon bucket's worth of pine needles. I won't say I didn't drink it, but I didn't like drinking it. Somehow it had absolutely no pine flavor, go figure. Anyway I'd be grateful if you posted some info (if you still have it) on how you made yours.

 

[RevA]

Hi,

I adapted a Byo scottish ale recipe. And I liked how it worked out.

Ingredients

7.25 lbs. Pale malt
1 lb. carapils malt
0.5 lb. crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
0.5 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
0.125 lb. chocolate malt
5.5 oz pine/spruce
4.2 AAU Fuggles hops (1 oz. of 4.2% alpha)
2.1 AAU Fuggles hops (0.50 oz. of 4.2 % alpha acid)
1 pt. starter of Scottish Ale yeast
(Wyeast 1728 or equivalent)
2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by step

Mash grain in 3 gal. of water at 150° F for 60 min. Sparge with 168° to 170° F water to collect 5.75 gal. of wort. Total boil time is 90 min. After 60 min add 1.5 oz pine/spruce boil for another 30 min. Whirlpool and add second addition of pine/spruce or use a hopback. Cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 60° to 70° F for seven days then rack to secondary. Continue fermentation for seven days until gravity is about 1.012. Rack, prime and bottle. Age seven more days before drinking.

If you want to make it the Wee heavy (which I think is tastier) use 12lb of pale malt instead of 7.25

 

[rmclark12]

Haha I love your note at the end, and I think that's how I'll go with it. Not to nag you about it, but how did you deal with the pine needles? Were they young/new growth? Did you grind them up somehow or just throw them in whole?

 

[RevA]

Haha I love your note at the end, and I think that's how I'll go with it. Not to nag you about it, but how did you deal with the pine needles? Were they young/new growth? Did you grind them up somehow or just throw them in whole?

They were young growth, I chopped them roughly and put them in a cheesecloth bag to make cleanup easier.

 

[FBC2018]

4.2 AAU Fuggles hops (1 oz. of 4.2% alpha)
2.1 AAU Fuggles hops (0.50 oz. of 4.2 % alpha acid)

Did you add the hops at the same time as the pine/spruce additions (30 minutes left, flameout)?