I've seen some folks use whole branches in the mash, who knows so many "myths" in the brewing world!
I was going to put a couple whole branches into my mash, but i didnt know if sap would leech out of the wood and clog up my SS braid.
I've seen some folks use whole branches in the mash, who knows so many "myths" in the brewing world!
I picked just over a pound of tips a few weeks ago and put them in the freezer.
I brewed up a fairly simple beer this weekend and tossed 5oz in at 0min and 5oz at 60min -- loosely based on a recipe from BYO from last year.
The tips I picked were still quite young and maybe only about 1in long at the time. They did not smell like much coming out of the freezer, just kinda grassy or like moist leaves. The hydro sample tasted about the same.
Is it better to pick them when they are significantly more mature?
The recipe also calls for a "dry hop" of 3oz of tips. I may try to pick some more mature tips for that if the beer tastes ok in a few weeks. I am hoping it does not taste like a wet lawn when it's all fermented out.
Just cracked my test bottle open, there's a little lack of carbonation but it'll be there in a few days. It smells great, lots of Piney/Woodsey aroma, and tastes just the same. It's an amber colored beer about 14SRM. I used WLP041 Pacific Ale and it gives this beer a light malty backbone, that brings the Spruce Flavor out nicely. I'll definitely make this again!
One of my LHBC members is huge into the "authentic old-style beer" stuff, and has made many a batch of spruce beer. Their best success was a demonstration brew at a local Renaissance festival. They lined the bottom of a wooden keg with pine boughs to use as a mash tun, which apparently worked fantastically. The beer was simple, mostly 2-row with a little crystal and on the heavy side (maybe 1080 OG?). All the pine came from the boughs in the MLT. It was just right; not overpowering, but still very present.
Several weeks ago I made up a spruce beer with rye. Recipe is a bit of kitchen-sink to use up some crystal and wheat malt, it is located here.
After a week of carbing, it's got at least another week until it's ready. If I'm getting anything at all it is very slight in the finish, but that also might be the rye or hops. Tips were very aromatic going into and coming out of the wort.
wyzazz, how did you prepare your tips for secondary?
If I'm not satisfied with the outcome, I might dump some into the keg. Thanks! Again, very strange that my tips were very aromatic themselves, after the boil too, but not in the beer so far.
wyzazz, how did your batch age with respect to the spruce character? I'm thinking I might make a small batch this year for Christmas. I think you were right last year in saying my Centennial hops covered it up. Without any hops, I wonder how it fared.
Brewing another batch of Spruce PA on Saturday. Using only old growth again. I entered my Spruce IPA batch in a few comps last summer and most comments said "way to much spruce!". I beg to differ, im going even bigger this time, and using only spruce, no hops. 1 'pint' of needles at 60, then 2 'pints' at FO. Should be fun, and sure saves $$(if it turns out)
Two questions:
1. When is it too late for the spruce/pine tips?
Picked these the other day. Vacuum sealed and froze them for a brew to be made in another month or so. Thinking of using 1oz per gallon at both 30 and 10 minutes. Might "dry spruce" with some too.
Those look good! I do 5oz @ 60min, 5oz @ Transfer & 5oz Dry Spruced for 7 days for a 5gal batch.
It's not a bitter beer in the sense that you get bitterness from hops, I can say that there is plenty of spruce to balance out the malt in the recipe I used. The bitterness is very soft. Of all the folks that have tried the Spruce Beer I made last year, only one (My Wife) didn't like it. And she doesn't like beer at all, unless it's Lindemann's.
I was going to use some bittering hops at 60 min. Though I like the idea of bittering with the spruce too. How much bitterness did you get from that? I know you can't put an actual IBU number to it, but how would you describe the bitterness level?
i'd love to attempt a spruce beer. if anyone would sell/trade me some tips, i'd be incredibly grateful!
on the advice of someone here, i went foraging. can someone confirm that this is spruce and that this is good?
i was careful only to pick the soft growth. is the downie white stuff much better than the soft green?
SIGNS: "Found dead" is the typical presenting sign. Very rarely will animals show signs up to 2 days later: trembling, slow heart rate, difficulty breathing, gastroenteritis (stomach upset and diarrhea). The plant is exceptionally toxic, with one mouthful able to kill a horse or cow within 5 minutes. Toxicity is compounded by the apparent palatability of yew. Many animals are poisoned accidently when yew trimmings are thrown into the pasture or when yew is planted as an ornamental within browsing reach. Infrequent reports of dogs chewing the leaves resulted in gastroenteritis, seizures, and aggressive behavior.
The toxin is taxine, a mixture of alkaloids, that slow down cardiac conduction. As little as 0.1 to 0.5% of the fresh plant per body weight is lethal. Death is due to cardiac and/or respiratory collapse.
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