Spruce Beer
A fresh and very drinkable beer which has a recognisable but not overpowering pine taste.
This is best made with new tips of branches as the first needles grow in spring. If you are too late for the new growth then triple the quantity of needles because the older needles will not give up their flavour so easily.
Make in April to May
Difficulty: Easy
You might not realise it but your Christmas tree is edible, or drinkable at least. The young needles (or older at a pinch) can easily be brewed to make a pine-flavoured beer. The basic method is very straightforward, just remember to sterilise everything before you use it and you can have a drinkable beer within a week.
Ingredients
This will make 8 pints (4.5 litres) of beer. To make 16 pints (9 litres), just use double the amount of every ingredient
- 100g / 4oz of fresh new spruce needles - or 250g of old needles
- 4.5 litres / 1 gallon of water
- 1 packet of ale yeast
- 1 lemon - the juice and zest
- 750g sugar or 500g treacle
Equipment
You will need
- A big (1 gallon/5 litre) pan
- Demijohn (or carboy) with an airlock
- Straining bag or sieve
- Large brewing tub or food container (over 1 gallon / 5 litres)
- Bottles
Remember to sterilise all your equipment before using it, including anything you use to stir the mixture. Otherwise you risk ending making a pine vinegar!
Method
The Needles
First and most important - wear gloves if you have sensitive skin because pine sap can cause irritation
When harvesting the spruce needles, look for the new growth and take them from the top of each branch. The older needles have a weaker taste so as long as you are picking at the right time you can take the newer needles and leave the rest on the tree
The Brew
Wash the spruce needles and drain the water away
Add the needles, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a large pan
Pour in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes
Leave it to cool a little for safety and then sieve or strain into a sterilised tub or pan. It is easier to scoop out the needles with a sieve before straining
Add the sugar or treacle and cream of tartar to the tub, and stir until it is dissolved
Allow it to cool to room temperature
Add the yeast - read the packet for any specific instructions
Cover the tub and leave overnight to let the yeast start converting that sugar to alcohol
The Bottles
Decant the beer into a demijohn the next day, fitting the bung and airlock
Leave for a week until the airlock has just about stopped bubbling - this means the yeast has done its thing but just has enough left to give a little fizz to the drink
Syphon into bottles and store in a cool place
It is ready to drink now, better in a few weeks, and will keep for up to a year in the fridge
Troubleshooting
My Beer is Too Bitter
If you used bigger older needles to make the brew, then your brew may come out too bitter. There is not a lot you can do about this after the fact unfortunately. If you store it for a long time (think a year) then the flavour may become more mellow. If you read this before brewing then consider adding some ginger to the recipe to offset the bitter flavour.
I am Worried About My Beer Exploding
This beer is not super fizzy, but if you are worried then the demijohn comes in handy because it lets off the fermenting gases while keeping the brew sterile with an airlock. When the airlock has just about stopped bubbling, you are ready to bottle and shouldn't get any explosions when you come to drink your nettle beer
I Don't Have a Demijohn
If you don't have a demijohn then leave the brew in the fermenting bucket for 5-7 days which should give enough time for the main rush of fermentation to die down, and then bottle it. If you aren't sure then "burp" a bottle every day for the first week to let some gas out. If it seems very fizzy then carefully burp a little gas from the other bottles. This is a bit of an art - too much burping and you end up with a flat beer
If you are still worried then go for a plastic bottle instead of glass. That way, the plastic will bulge when it's ready to burp some gas. And worst case you end up with a popped lid and beer on your ceiling and walls, instead of broken glass on top of that
I missed the new needles in spring
If you want to brew nettle beer and can't wait until spring, then you can also use the older needles. Use 2-3 times the amount of younger ones
Questions and Answers
Can I make spruce beer with my Christmas tree?
Yes. As long as your Christmas tree is still alive then you can use its needles to make spruce beer with this recipe. You do need to make sure the tree does not have pesticides on it so ask your supplier if you are in doubt. If you have a living Christmas tree in a pot then take off the decorations in January and wait a few months until the new growth comes in to use the new needles.
Can I use other conifers than spruce to make beer?
Yes you could use spruce, scots pine, larch, or many other species. Make sure you check before using one that is not in this list. And be careful to avoid yew trees which are toxic and should never be prepared with food or drink.
How Do I Identify A Spruce?
In short, look for a Christmas tree! The spruce is a tall, straight-trunked, cone shaped tree. Instead of leaves it has clusters of deep green needles all year round with each individual needle being thin, pointed, and square in cross section. The trunk has rough scaly bark and the whole tree smells of pine unsurprisingly. Pine cones appear in winter, and last year’s cones will be dotted around the tree when you look for the new needles in spring. new needles are much paler green and sprout from the end of each cluster of needles.
If in doubt, take a look in the library for a guide or read through the Woodland Trust’s quick guide to the spruce tree
Where Can I Find Spruce?
Spruce grows through most of the UK and Ireland, and the tree is native to mountain areas in Europe and introduced to eastern Canada and north-east USA. It is rarely cultivated in parts of Australia and New Zealand as well