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Spruce Tips vs Hops

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Hey, I'm going to get this going tomorrow, and here's what I was roughly thinking for a recipe (specialty grain amounts are just what I grabbed, I don't have enough experience to know what I'm doing yet).

2kg of light DME
1lb Crystal 30L
1lb Crystal 70/80L
1lb Crystal 120L

1oz chinook hop pellets for 60 min (11.5% AA)
1oz fuggle hop pellets 20 min (5.1% AA)

Then put in about a gallon of chopped spruce tips about 1 min from end of boil and allow to steep until cool.

I know crystal grains are added for sweetness often, but I'm going to do a partial mash of those grains with 1 tsp of amylase enzyme.

Anyways, I realize that just winging a recipe like this is liable to suck, but every now and then I like to just take a leap. :)
 
This is going to be a bitter beer, approaching IPA bittering strengths. Might compete (successfully) with the spruce flavor. Unless this is what you are after, I would suggest cutting it in half. I would also up the DME considerably. Then again I'm assuming a 5 gallon batch....
Good luck, wish I could try it!
 
Really? With only 1oz for 60 minutes it will be bitter? I went with those bittering hops because their alpha acid rating was about double the ones I'd used before (before I've used 2oz of Saaz and gotten almost no bitterness). Do you mean real IPA, or regular "mainstream" IPA (which I barely find bitter)?

I could go to 1/2oz Chinook for 60 min, 1oz Fuggles for 15min and 1/2 chinook for 5 min. Same hops, but less bitterness and more flavour?

Will I be ok with my specialty grains though? Those were what I was looking at maybe halving.

As to the fermentables, yes this is a 5 gal batch, but I want low ABV, something I can drink all day in the summer heat and not get past tipsy. (I've done about the same amount before and been happy with it, plus I'm mashing the grains, so I'll get some out of them).
 
The finished volume is: 5 gallons Low High
The original gravity is: 1.048

The alcohol is: 4.6% v/v (3.6% w/w) v/v
The color is: 49 HCU (~22 SRM)
SRM
The bitterness is: 53 IBU
IBU

This is how your recipe comes out after plugging the numbers into a recipe calculator (I used http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator?12442885#tag). An IPA is between 40-60 IBU's, you are at the high end of that. Its also a lovely dark brown, looks like a mild and that style of beer seems to fit your grain bill. Those ales are 10-24 IBU's. With your heavy hand with the crystals, cutting the Chinook in half would work very well. Chinook is an excellant bittering hop, a good flavor hop (tho can get a little harsh) and a so-so aroma. I would leave it out at the end, it will compete heavily with your spruce tips, which are what you are trying to showcase here. Best of luck! I'll be brewing a bitter this afternoon if it isn't raining.
 
Thanks, I never know how to use those things, I'll have to spend some time learning!

That's a much higher SG than I was expecting (totally fine though, but not a low ABV beer) and I'm surprised it's going to be so dark. I think I'll cut the darkest crystal malt down to a 1/2lb just to lighten it a bit.

53 IBUs with just 1oz... wow. I should mention that I can only do abotu a 2.5 gal boil, so my hops efficiency is low. I've put in an equal amount of bittering before (going by AA, 2oz of 5.3 so almost identical to this 1oz of 11) and gotten almost no discernable bitterness... but I should trust that calculator over my gut considering this is only my 4th beer.

Thanks agaiin for all the help Dale, I'll get the final recipe and everything posted when we're done with this one.

(This beer is to introduce my friend to brewing, he sounds pretty interested, should be fun).
 
I just tried the calculator, and I think entering my 2.5 gal boil made a big difference, I only got 42 IBUs, which I think is a pretty happy range.

I really do prefer my beers more bitter than not bitter, so I think I'll go with that.
 
Hiya AToE!

(yeah, my spammy senses were triggered too)

Found a reference for you! Jack Fitzgerald's book "Newfoundland Fireside Stories" mentions spruce beer, page 63.

In summary: chop up a fresh bough of black spruce, put into pot with six or eight gallons of water and boil till the leaves come off without effort. Add molasses at 1:18 ratio to water (presumably to total amount for the cask?), cool. Add this mixture to the cask with a pint of grounds from a former brewing, fill cask with cold water, shake, ferment for 24 hours, "beer is then fit to use."

Sounds pretty archaic but at least you know the idea's been around for a while!
 
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