Papazian black honey spruce

[Dungeonwitch]

This may already be posted somewhere but i didn't feel like looking for it. I just finished a batch of black honey spruce from Papazian's joy of 'brewing and at the end of the primary it smells amazing but tastes pretty bad! I was worried at first bc my wort chiller wasn't operational so I got it cooled to 77-78 and pitched wyeast American ale yeast. It was slightly warm but prob still ok. I only used 3/4oz of spruce to 5 gall batch which is less than the recommended 1oz, but it tastes like straight up pinesol!!! Does this age and mellow? How long does that take?

 

[philjohnwilliams]

When you say you used 3/4oz spruce, do you mean a brewer's spruce extract or young shoots from a spruce tree?

 

[Dungeonwitch]

I used spruce extract as per the recipe, just 3/4oz instead of the asked 1oz. Sorry I should've specified.

 

[philjohnwilliams]

I have never brewed a beer with spruce, so I honestly can't trell you if the taste will mellow, but I am curious as to whether this is the first time you have brewed with spruce or tried a spruce beer. I have known a number of people who have loved the smell of spruce flavoured drink, but who can't stand the taste.

 

[Dungeonwitch]

This is my first spruce beer. When the wort boil was finished the beer smelled delicious. Slightly sweet and malty with a subtle but sharp aroma of hops and spruce undertones...probably one of the best aromas ever experienced

Now the beer at 1.5 weeks retains that similar aroma, but perhaps alcohol production has robbed the sweetness and left a very, very bitter Pinesol taste, basically undrinkable. If I have the courage to make this beer again if it doesn't age well, I will skip honey in the boil, because even as I was doing it I felt it was pointless for adding any exceptional beer quality. I would use honey malt because you need to retain some sweetness to balance the spruce. I may even add a little honey to the primary...boiling honey does nothing for flavor and is theoretically "body" related. Maybe time will heal all, we shall see....

 

[Dungeonwitch]

Has anyone brewed a spruce beer with using spruce essence??? Did the spruce age to be more subtle? If so, how long dis this take?