Barleywine with spruce tips

[snoman6115]

I'm making an american barleywine Thursday. 5 gal 1.096 og with 2 row, victory, and Munich 2. 2 oz Eldorado at 60 and 1 oz Eldorado at 10. About 100 ibu.

I saw today my spruce tree still has some nice tender tips and thought about adding some to the barleywine. Most likely around the 10 min mark. Think is I have no idea how much to add to get that nice subtle flavor.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Powerturn11]

I've never done it but sounds cool. I'm a big believer in trying new things. It certainly won't ruin the beer and will probably add some unique flavor.

 

[ChrisVZ]

I've tried a pine ale before, Alba Scots Pine Ale, and while it was interesting, it wasn't something I would drink a lot of. You may want to split your batch and see if its something you would like. As far as how much pine, no clue...

 

[bob1852]

I'd do ~4-6oz at 10-15 minutes.

 

[ten80]

What kind of spruce?

I have used Sitka Spruce tips in the past and added 500g at 5 min from flameout for a 6-gallon batch. Sitka tips are mellow and fruity, but other spruce are generally more bitter and turpentine-like (white, black, and blue spruce) and you would use less. Make a tea in your microwave to get an idea of what the flavors will be, then adjust the dosing based on your best guess.

 

[snoman6115]

I did 4 oz blue spruce at 10 min. It's noticeable but not overpowering. Going to put most of the batch into a whiskey barrel at the lhbs for 4 mo and bottle maybe a gal and age it. I also used el dorado hops 14% for bittering and flavor/aroma. Maybe a different hop would have complemented the spruce tips. Idk