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Author Topic: Spruce Tips  (Read 2494 times)

Offline cfleisher

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Spruce Tips
« on: June 06, 2011, 04:56:08 pm »
I was out yesterday picking spruce tips for a beer that Harpoon is planning to release this winter. I now want to try it on my own, and found a recipe in The Homebrewer's Garden that says to add 1-4 oz. for 60 min. That seems awfully long. I'd figure more like 15-20 min. would be plenty.

Does anybody have experience with spruce tips? I want enough flavor to come through a porter-like beer with molasses, but definitely would prefer to go light than over-do it. What are people's thoughts on quantity and length of time in the boil?

Chris
Primary: Grapefruit IPA
Secondary: Berliner Weisse

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Spruce Tips
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2011, 05:20:25 pm »
There are a few of us who have done spruce beers, I boil a quart of tips in the wort for 60 minutes.  Read through this and then let us know if you have other questions.  

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=7781.msg96299#msg96299
Tom Schmidlin

Offline thomasbarnes

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Re: Spruce Tips
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2011, 01:59:32 am »
Gordon Strong's got some good info on how to use spruce tips in his new book.

Offline alikocho

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Re: Spruce Tips
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2011, 02:43:38 am »
My experience with spruce is that it takes some time for the flavour to extract, but the best way to approach using them is to try making a series of spruce teas and see what the extraction rate seems to be. All spruce is not equal.

I have had good experience using spruce and blackstrap molasses in a stout.
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Offline spydad45

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Re: Spruce Tips
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2011, 03:20:19 pm »
I've used spruce tips with great sucess. I added them about 30 minutes into the boil on a stout recipe (I still do extract/grain brewing) and the pine taste is very subtle and gin like without tasting like pine sol. I actually put spruce tips in a mead last saturday. I only put them in for 15 minutes since I didn't want to over power the honey.
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Offline spydad45

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Re: Spruce Tips
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2011, 03:21:43 pm »
oh yeah, I put in two large handfuls, about 3-4 cups of the tips.
The Sun has left us on time.-Thomas Edison

Offline weazletoe

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Re: Spruce Tips
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2011, 08:21:42 pm »
And here I thought this was going to be a thread with advice on growing evergreens.  ::)
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