Spruce mead

[wilmeret]

Ok so I've read about using spruce tips as an addition for beer, and thought a spruce mead could be good as well. Anybody ever made any? What were your thoughts? Any recipe suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Stasis]

I was looking at metheglin recipes and stumbled upon exactly one other thread which spoke of spruce tips... Or maybe it was a beer... :/ Anyway I was also very much interested in this possibility but sadly after looking at over a hundred evergreen trees here in Malta it seems we don't have a single spruce tree anywhere :O I wonder if there is an alternative to spruce tips but I'm afraid I will be risking it tasting like turpentine. Although I don't know what turpentine smells or tastes like either...

 

[skunkboy]

Blue spruce tips work well in beer, and I would assume mead also?

 

[Stasis]

I see that a while back you created 5 threads, 4 of which were regarding some rather uncommon ingredients. Unfortunately it seems you didn't get the best replies. This is because the combinations of recipes you can try out are practically endless and I think most of us simply have no idea what the result from such ingredients would be. After asking for a carob mead myself I learnt that sometimes the best route is to first search the forums using the advanced search, then asking in the forums if nothing pops up could never hurt. Then after that, the best solution might be to create a bunch of 1 gallon test batches and see for yourself what works and what doesn't. When it came to my carob metheglin I created 4 test batches and this might direct in what direction I take future batches. Maybe the worst of those batches (and by worst I mean perhaps a combination of ingredients that did not particularly work out) will end up simply being blended or used to top off other meads.
Anyway, good luck in your mead making. If you have any promising results don't forget to post them. I'm sure there are a few out there who would appreciate

 

[Chevette Girl]

I think a few years ago, a member called AToE tried a spruce tip beer and wasn't that impressed.

 

[TimT]

I made two spruce beers last year; one was quite good - a wheat beer with added spruce tips; they gave it a nice citrussy zing that went quite well with the hops - and one was absolutely disgusting, mostly because the molasses I made it with was treated with sulfur.

So I'd conclude, spruce tips on their own are a good ingredient, just don't go wasting them by chucking in something like molasses-that-has-been-treated-with-sulfur! ???

Spruce tips have vitamin C in them (which is why Spruce Beer is good to ward off scurvy and why they have a bit of a citrussy zing to them). I reckon they'd go really well in a mead.

 

[icedmetal]

I've had homebrew made with spruce tips before, very good stuff. I've heard of homebrew made with spruce tip extract from the guy who made the good stuff; very nasty stuff. My input is his output: if you're going to do something with spruce tips, use spruce tips, not some extract of questionable source and quality.

 

[EJM3]

I've been lucky enough to travel a lot of Washington state with my partner and I have tried lots of local brews along the way, 3 of them involving spruce tips, #1 was horrifying. #2 lemon/orange/pine/apple sort of flavor and very nice, picked up another 6 pack for the trip, I just can't remember the name, but it was from the Olympic Peninsula out near Forks I think... #3 same as #1.