Spruce tips

[jay_c]

Multiple Spruce questions:

A) Does anybody have a supplier of said item?

2) Has anybody have some tips on how much to use in roughly a 9-10 bbl batch?

4) Does anybody have any idea what kind of spice go into a gruit? I have searched and searched, to only come up empty.

[canyon]

There are many varieties of spruce but most important is to use the fresh soft growth tips of late spring and early summer. I´ve also used the mature sprigs but much prefer the early tips. As far as sources I´ve only seen extracts available. The tips are some of the easiest things to harvest in mass amounts. As far as amounts, that varies with what you´re brewing. Try and play with five gallons or less of sweet wort from another batch in a side kettle and lower the proportion that you like as you scale up (it takes less per volume as you get larger in scale)

Gruit recipes were a guarded secret that even the brewers were kept from. The most common ingredients that I´ve come across are Yarrow and Bog Myrtle. Any herb or spice is fair game for a gruit but some such as Yarrow contain Thujone or other psychotropic compounds and are technically illegal. Check out Buhner´s book.

Salud,
Lasse