Fort George Brewery’s Spruce Budd Ale clone
A true spring beer. Be sure to harvest the spruce tips as they are emerging from the buds and the needles are still a light green color.
Spruce Budd Ale clone
(Fort George Brewery, OR)
(5 gallons/ 19L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.060 FG = 1.012
IBU = 0 SRM = 4 ABV = 6.2 %
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Muntons extra light, unhopped, liquid malt extract
2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg) Muntons extra light, dried malt extract
2.75 lbs. (1.24 kg) Pilsner malt
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrient (15 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (30 min.)
5.0 oz. (142 g) spruce tips (60 min.)
5.0 oz. (142 g) spruce tips (0 min.)
3.0 oz. (85 g) spruce tips (dry hop)
White Labs WLP041 (Pacific Ale) or Wyeast 1332 (Northwest Ale) yeast
0.75 cup (150 g) corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Steep the crushed grain in 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water at 150 ºF (65.5 ºC) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.8 L) of hot water. Add the liquid and dried malt extracts and bring to a boil. While boiling, add the spruce tips, Irish moss and yeast nutrient as per the schedule. During the boil, use this time to thoroughly sanitize a fermenter. Now add the wort to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of cold water in the sanitized fermenter and top off with cold water up to 5 gallons (19 L).
Cool the wort to 75 ºF (24 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool to 68 ºF (20 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete. Transfer to a carboy and add the “dry hopped” spruce tips. Avoid any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Allow the beer to condition for one week, strain out the spruce tips and then bottle or keg. Allow the beer to carbonate and age for two weeks and enjoy your Spruce Budd Ale.
All-grain option:
This is a single step infusion mash using a total of 12 lbs. (5.4 kg) Pilsner malt. Mix the crushed grains with 3.75 gallons (14.2 L) of 168 °F (75.5 °C) water to stabilize at 150 ºF (65.5 ºC) for 60 minutes. Sparge slowly with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water. Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff to boil for 60 minutes. The remainder of this recipe and procedures are the same as the extract with grain recipe.
