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Date: 27 Sep 2006 13:41:52
From:
Subject: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected a
whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale... maybe an
amber using them.
The trouble is, I'm not sure how many to use. I've googled around, but find
primarily suggestions for "spruce extract," or the vile-sounding authentic "spruce
beer" made from molasses, tips, and tree bark or some such. I'm just thinking a
relatively normal amber (1.055-1.065ish), but with an assertive hint of piney
character.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
-Cory
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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Date: 27 Sep 2006 09:10:53
From: Denny Conn
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu wrote:
>
> Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected a
> whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale... maybe an
> amber using them.
>
> The trouble is, I'm not sure how many to use. I've googled around, but find
> primarily suggestions for "spruce extract," or the vile-sounding authentic "spruce
> beer" made from molasses, tips, and tree bark or some such. I'm just thinking a
> relatively normal amber (1.055-1.065ish), but with an assertive hint of piney
> character.
>
> Any thoughts?
Yeah, DON'T DO IT! But if you're bound and determined, make sure you
have the fresh green tips of spruce. Older branches supposedly don't do
it. IIRC, when I made one yeasr ago, I used about 2 cups of spruce
tips, which I crushed with a hammer before adding them to the boil.
I'll nenver do it agian.,..the beer kinda reminded me of Vick's cough
syrup. Hope you get better results!
----------- >Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.
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Date: 27 Sep 2006 19:21:21
From:
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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: Yeah, DON'T DO IT! But if you're bound and determined, make sure you
: have the fresh green tips of spruce. Older branches supposedly don't do
: it. IIRC, when I made one yeasr ago, I used about 2 cups of spruce
: tips, which I crushed with a hammer before adding them to the boil.
: I'll nenver do it agian.,..the beer kinda reminded me of Vick's cough
: syrup. Hope you get better results!
: ----------- >Denny
That's what a lot of the molasses/tree bark recipes sound like. These tips were *fresh* when I picked them...
probably no more than 1/2" of the new growth. I tasted them at the time, and they were pretty good. Even a little bit
sweet. Not what you'd think of as sucking on a pine cone or old branches. I dried them out, so hopefully they'll
still be in good shape.
-Cory
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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Date: 27 Sep 2006 19:32:45
From: Phil
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 13:41:52 +0000 (UTC),
papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu wrote:
> Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected a
>whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale... maybe an
>amber using them.
>
> The trouble is, I'm not sure how many to use. I've googled around, but find
>primarily suggestions for "spruce extract," or the vile-sounding authentic "spruce
>beer" made from molasses, tips, and tree bark or some such. I'm just thinking a
>relatively normal amber (1.055-1.065ish), but with an assertive hint of piney
>character.
I make a spruce beer using a Scottish ale recipe for the base (O.G.
1.064. I added one ounce of tips with ten minutes left in the boil
and one ounce with two minutes left in the boil. I then added two
more ounces in secondary. I don't use finishing hops.
Phil
======
visit the New York City Homebrewers Guild website:
http://www.hbd.org/nychg
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Date: 29 Sep 2006 10:30:36
From: Adam Funk
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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On 2006-09-27, papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu <papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu > wrote:
> Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected a
> whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale... maybe an
> amber using them.
Picea mariana?
> The trouble is, I'm not sure how many to use. I've googled around, but find
> primarily suggestions for "spruce extract," or the vile-sounding authentic "spruce
> beer" made from molasses, tips, and tree bark or some such. I'm just thinking a
> relatively normal amber (1.055-1.065ish), but with an assertive hint of piney
> character.
A few years ago I made an otherwise normal malt extract beer (about 23
litres) with 66 g of green, aromatic bits of (what I thought was) a
small spruce from my front garden and 40 g of hops grown by a
relative. The beer had a pleasant, somewhat subtle evergreen taste.
But a horticulturalist later told me that the alleged dwarf spruce was
in fact a leylandii! A previous owner must have cut the top off: this
stops it from growing taller.
(Cupressocyparis leylandii was bred in the UK in the late 19th century
and is associated here with "hedge rage" because it grows fast and
tall and causes arguments about blocking natural light from adjacent
houses and gardens.)
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Date: 29 Sep 2006 12:59:48
From:
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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Adam Funk <a24061@yahoo.com > wrote:
: On 2006-09-27, papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu <papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu > wrote:
: > Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected a
: > whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale... maybe an
: > amber using them.
: Picea mariana?
I'm certainly no expert on identifying trees, but I'm pretty sure that it's
black spruce. It's about the only variety that survives in the muskeg and permafrost
in the interior of Alaska. I would have gotten Sitka Spruce tips from Juneau when I
was there, but it was already late June and they were too far along.
: > The trouble is, I'm not sure how many to use. I've googled around, but find
: > primarily suggestions for "spruce extract," or the vile-sounding authentic "spruce
: > beer" made from molasses, tips, and tree bark or some such. I'm just thinking a
: > relatively normal amber (1.055-1.065ish), but with an assertive hint of piney
: > character.
: A few years ago I made an otherwise normal malt extract beer (about 23
: litres) with 66 g of green, aromatic bits of (what I thought was) a
: small spruce from my front garden and 40 g of hops grown by a
: relative. The beer had a pleasant, somewhat subtle evergreen taste.
: But a horticulturalist later told me that the alleged dwarf spruce was
: in fact a leylandii! A previous owner must have cut the top off: this
: stops it from growing taller.
So what you're saying is that there's probably lots of wiggle room in the
recipe... :) I'm assuming that your 66g (2.3 oz) of aromatic bits was NOT dried... so
I can plan on somewhat less dried tips. Do you recall if you boiled it for the
duration, or just added it later?
Many of the recipes call for adding the spruce as a flavor or aromatic
addition, but few call for adding during the boil. Any particular reason?
-Cory
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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Date: 30 Sep 2006 15:21:26
From: Adam Funk
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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On 2006-09-29, papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu <papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu > wrote:
>: Picea mariana?
>
> I'm certainly no expert on identifying trees,
Neither am I, since I mistook a leylandii for a spruce!
> So what you're saying is that there's probably lots of wiggle room
> in the recipe... :)
What I'm saying is that I don't know what the heck I'm doing but I'm
happy to share my experimental data!
> I'm assuming that your 66g (2.3 oz) of aromatic bits was NOT
> dried... so I can plan on somewhat less dried tips. Do you recall
> if you boiled it for the duration, or just added it later?
It was freshly picked. According to my notes the batch's "seasoning"
consisted of
56 g alleged spruce boiled for 42 min
10 g alleged spruce boiled for 19 min
40 g hops boiled for 3 min
Then I switched the gas burner off and put the lid on the pot, which I
left standing on the cooker for 13 min while I arranged the straining
equipment. (I usually do this so that the finishing hops get
sanitized by boiling but have extra time to soak.)
> Many of the recipes call for adding the spruce as a flavor or
> aromatic addition, but few call for adding during the boil. Any
> particular reason?
I'd guess that their aromatic compounds, like those from hops,
dissolve in boiling water but get driven off by further boiling. I'll
see if Papazian's book (where I got the idea for using spruce)
explains it.
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Date: 05 Oct 2006 10:43:26
From: Adam Funk
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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On 2006-09-29, papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu <papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu > wrote:
> So what you're saying is that there's probably lots of wiggle room in the
> recipe... :) I'm assuming that your 66g (2.3 oz) of aromatic bits was NOT dried... so
> I can plan on somewhat less dried tips. Do you recall if you boiled it for the
> duration, or just added it later?
>
> Many of the recipes call for adding the spruce as a flavor or aromatic
> addition, but few call for adding during the boil. Any particular reason?
In _The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing_ Papazian writes:
The new spring growth from evergreen spruce trees or processed
spruce essence is popular among many homebrewers as a flavoring.
Spruce was quite popular in colonial America, when hops were not
available. Its addition to beer provides a refreshing flavor as
well as vitaim C (which helps the stability of the finished beer).
You may add spruce flavor to your beer by harvesting the tips of new
growth on spruce trees, stems and needles. A pint jar loosely
filled with spruce twigs will provide adequate character to 5
gallons of Brew.
Or 2 to 5 teaspoons of spruce essence for 5 gallons, and he warns that
pine tar is NOT an acceptable substitute.
His "Goat Scotum Ale (formerly Tumultuous Porter)" recipe calls for "2
Tbsp spruce essence or 1/2 oz. of the new growth from a spruce tree".
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Date: 05 Oct 2006 15:22:12
From:
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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: In _The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing_ Papazian writes:
: The new spring growth from evergreen spruce trees or processed
: spruce essence is popular among many homebrewers as a flavoring.
: Spruce was quite popular in colonial America, when hops were not
: available. Its addition to beer provides a refreshing flavor as
: well as vitaim C (which helps the stability of the finished beer).
: You may add spruce flavor to your beer by harvesting the tips of new
: growth on spruce trees, stems and needles. A pint jar loosely
: filled with spruce twigs will provide adequate character to 5
: gallons of Brew.
Hrm... thanks for the info. Now to convert a pint of loosely-filled spruce
twigs to the nice dried spruce tips I've got.
-Cory
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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Date: 29 Sep 2006 13:48:37
From: Gerard Eberlein
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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<papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu > wrote in message
news:efdv30$c8m$2@solaris.cc.vt.edu...
> Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected
a
> whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale...
maybe an
> amber using them.
>
> The trouble is, I'm not sure how many to use. I've googled around, but
find
> primarily suggestions for "spruce extract," or the vile-sounding authentic
"spruce
> beer" made from molasses, tips, and tree bark or some such. I'm just
thinking a
> relatively normal amber (1.055-1.065ish), but with an assertive hint of
piney
> character.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
Personally if I wanted piney in my brew I would use certain hops OR the
spice rosemary has a nice piney smell to it. just my 2 cents.
Gerard
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Date: 29 Sep 2006 18:50:31
From: Joel
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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Gerard Eberlein <dormouse@charter.net > wrote:
><papenfussDIESPAM@juneauDOTmeDOTvt.edu> wrote in message
>> Hey all. On my trip to Alaska this past June to see my folks, I collected
>> whole bunch of black spruce tips. I'm thinking of making a winter ale...
>> maybe an amber using them.
>Personally if I wanted piney in my brew I would use certain hops OR the
>spice rosemary has a nice piney smell to it. just my 2 cents.
I've had a couple beers made with spruce tips, and
I got more of a berry-like impression of them, rather
than piney.
--
Joel Plutchak
"Things just fall apart." - Now They'll Sleep (Belly)
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Date: 30 Sep 2006 03:45:09
From:
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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: I've had a couple beers made with spruce tips, and
: I got more of a berry-like impression of them, rather
: than piney.
: --
That's consistent the way they tasted when I picked them.
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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Date: 29 Sep 2006 19:01:43
From: Adam Funk
Subject: Re: How many Spruce tips for a recipe?
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On 2006-09-29, Gerard Eberlein <dormouse@charter.net > wrote:
> Personally if I wanted piney in my brew I would use certain hops
Which hops?
> OR the spice rosemary has a nice piney smell to it. just my 2 cents.
Hmm. I love rosemary in food, so I might try it in beer sometime.
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