Spruce flavored hops?

[hiphoppotamuss]

I suppose this is the inverse of a question that is frequently asked on the forum about using spruce tips as hops…

I was hoping to brew a spruce tip pale ale, but I am unable to get a hold of spruce tips. Are there any hops which give a “spruce like“ flavor?

Maybe a Simcoe - Warrior combination?

 

[pvtpublic]

https://spruceontap.com/shop/ols/products/1-lb-pac

 

[AlexKay]

I’ve ordered from them and was happy. But to answer the OP, Northern Brewer?

 

[hiphoppotamuss]

https://spruceontap.com/shop/ols/products/1-lb-pac

Yeah I checked them. Sold out until June…

 

[eliastheodosis]

I hate to be that guy and answer your question with a question but I get different flavors off different trees when I brew spruce tip ales. Generally, I get more earthy, herbal, and a little resinous than anything too citrusy. Some are more earthy and others more resinous. Every once in a while I get a crazy fruity or citrusy one but it's not as common for me. Citrus is typically there but further in the background. On the other hand, pine shoots usually smack me in the face with lemon and then fade into resin with some herbaceous background. I get the best profile for me when I blend the too.

So I guess I'm curious what flavor you're looking to replicate in your spruce tip substitute hops? What's the spruce tip profile you have in mind?

Also, foraging spruce tips is not too crazy hard. It's not the season yet but it's getting there. Are you just not in an area accessible to many spruces?

 

[hiphoppotamuss]

So I guess I'm curious what flavor you're looking to replicate in your spruce tip substitute hops? What's the spruce tip profile you have in mind?

Well, about 10 years ago, I had a spruce infused pale ale that was fantastic. It was from a tiny brewery that has long since moved on. I would love to replicate it. However, I have talked to others that have not used any hops in their spruce beer recipes with mediocre results.

so I guess, rather than shoot for a traditional “spruce beer“ I am aiming for more of a spruce essence, pale ale? I was really hoping to get the spicy, menthol, Piney flavor . Nothing overpowering, more something to complement the beer. I have a bunch of 1056 I need to use up so I thought this would be a fun experiment.

as far as hops, I’m looking for something with spice and pine? Definitely not grapefruit, citrus, tropical fruit.…

 

[pvtpublic]

Yeah I checked them. Sold out until June…

Yeah, true. The smallest they have is a 1# bag.

 

[pvtpublic]

That spruce on tap website has a recipe, both extract and all grain. It looks good and I think I'm going to brew it this spring.

 

[eliastheodosis]

However, I have talked to others that have not used any hops in their spruce beer recipes with mediocre results.

If you're trying to make a more standard pale ale then you can count me among those ^^^ I have made plenty of strange brews with foraged ingredients like tree bark, mushrooms, spruce tips, etc but they're not your normal beer A standard pale with only spruce tips would be...different.

so I guess, rather than shoot for a traditional “spruce beer“ I am aiming for more of a spruce essence, pale ale? I was really hoping to get the spicy, menthol, Piney flavor

as far as hops, I’m looking for something with spice and pine? Definitely not grapefruit, citrus, tropical fruit.…

Okay, yeah that's helpful. I'm not sure I'll be the best person to give you advice on this but here goes. @AlexKay is on to something with the Northern Brewer. I always get some mint and a little woodiness from NB but I've never had it in something lighter like a pale.

My thought was layer in a small amount of something noble later in the boil or even in whirlpool. That could give you some essence of spicey piney flavor. Saaz or Tettnanger come to mind. Others could work. Maybe even Fuggle since I usually get woody/minty from that... You could always mix and match.

Then build on that layer with some more traditional IPA hops that lean in the spicey/piney direction. Summit sounds good but the Simcoe I get is usually a little too on the tropical fruit side of the spider graph IMO. Altus comes to mind and then maybe Eureka, though that could bring some other flavors you might not want. Or maybe it would round out the beer in a direction you'd like.

Just some thoughts. Lots of thoughts I guess. No idea if any of them will work

 

[Shenanigans]

Difficult to find recommendations for spruce flavoured hops.
Most people describe hops that go in that direction as pine rather than spruce but chosing one of the pine-like varities would put you in the right direction.
I guess, but i have never brewed with scruce myself so this is just based on what I have read.

This link suggests Chinook.

https://www.seriouseats.com/differe...erhaps the most pine,Cs in place of Columbus.
Chinook: Perhaps the most pine-like hop of them all is Chinook, which is sometimes considered to be one of the Three Cs in place of Columbus. Think of Chinook as a world class session drummer: it's rarely alone in the spotlight, but it often sets the stage for its more flashy friends to steal the show. Look stage-left for an overtly pine-like aroma with a touch of mellow citrus.

Looking for pine on Beer Maverick you get a whole array of different results.

https://beermaverick.com/hops/tag/pine/https://beermaverick.com/hops/tag/pine_resin/
Best to look at the ones that don't have a lot of additional aroma descriptors

Also several of the less popular NZ hops like Dr Rudi and Green Bullet that don't have much tropical fruit
https://nzhopoils.com/?page_id=40https://nzhops.co.nz/collections/new-zealand-hops

 

[Wayne1]

Spruce infused Centennial hops
Hops by the Pound

The prices are in CAD

 

[hiphoppotamuss]

Spruce infused Centennial hops
Hops by the Pound

The prices are in CAD

That’s genius right there !

 

[hiphoppotamuss]

All those suggestions are fantastic. I’m leaning towards chinook as a bittering and gonna try to track down those spruce infused centennial hops For flavor/aroma

 

[Cayuga-Brewer]

So I ordered 1/2 lb of 2021 Spruce infused BC Grown Centennial from Northwest Hop Farms. I've always wanted to brew with spruce tips and I thought this would be a great way to experiment. Since I'd never brewed with them before I tried a 1 gallon batch instead of my usual 5. I brewed one of the beers I've often brewed, a Cascadian Dark Ale with lots of chinook. Here's a link to the recipe: Recipe. Patiently waited 2 weeks for it to bottle condition and my son and I tried one yesterday. Undrinkable! Very strange bitterness, not worth finishing. Rest of the bottles are on their way to the municipal sewage treatment plant. Any thoughts?

 

[Shenanigans]

So I ordered 1/2 lb of 2021 Spruce infused BC Grown Centennial from Northwest Hop Farms. I've always wanted to brew with spruce tips and I thought this would be a great way to experiment. Since I'd never brewed with them before I tried a 1 gallon batch instead of my usual 5. I brewed one of the beers I've often brewed, a Cascadian Dark Ale with lots of chinook. Here's a link to the recipe: Recipe. Patiently waited 2 weeks for it to bottle condition and my son and I tried one yesterday. Undrinkable! Very strange bitterness, not worth finishing. Rest of the bottles are on their way to the municipal sewage treatment plant. Any thoughts?

Looking at the recipe you have a bitterness ration of over 1.5 (IBU/SG) do you usually go so high with this recipe?
I know it's a CDA and will not be too roasty and I wouldn't think so but maybe spruce and dark beers don't go well together?
I wouldn't throw it all away yet, I haven't brewed with spruce myself but it probably just needs time to mature and mellow out.

In the below link one of his pieces of advice is:

"My main advice with this recipe is to age the beer a month or more in the bottles. It starts out harsh and bitter, but mellows wonderfully after a month and will continue to smooth out over time."

https://honest-food.net/spruce-tip-beer-recipe/

 

[Cayuga-Brewer]

Shenanigans,
Thanks for the feedback. I will try aging for a month or so and see what happens. I do usually have a high IBU ratio for my CDAs and tend to emphasize the piney notes with primarily Chinook.

Cheers