Spruce Tip IPA Recipe
The Yakima Valley is an incredible place to live with so many fun things to ferment and brew with. This recipe features fresh spruce tips (see note at the bottom of this post) that were harvest by hand just less than an hour from our offices. The Little Naches River valley is a great place to camp or forage for morels, but back in June the new spruce growth was perfect for picking so some of the Crew went up and brought back a bucket of freshies.
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This recipes tries to highlight the spruce and accentuate that piney and resinous character. The hop additions play a supporting role to the spruce, but Chinook and Columbus lent their own woody and dank elements. The grain bill was left fairly simple, but a 1/2# of rye was added for a hint of spice.
As with many brewdays, this one didn't go flawlessly, so there was a last minute change in plans. We were originally planning to ferment with US-05 dry yeast, but we were unable to cool the wort below 80 quick enough. So we decided to try out the brand new LalBrew Kveik yeast. Kveik is such a hardy strain that it can pretty much ferment anything at any temperature. So we pitched it at 80ish and called it good! Admittedly, we pulled a lot of fruity esters that probably didn't fit with this recipe, but the end product was great and disappeared quickly!
Spruce Lee IPA Recipe
Batch Size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
OG: 15.21°P, 1.062
FG: 2.56°P, 1.010
Apparent Attenuation: 83%
IBUs: 33
ABV: 6.85%
Yeast: Kveik or US-05
Grains
Mash Temp: 150°F for 60 minutes
Strike Temp: 168°F
- 10# Golden Promise
- 1# C10
- 1/2# Rye Malt
- 1/2# Dextrine
- 1/4# Honey Malt
Hops/Spruce:
- 20oz Fresh Spruce Tips for 10 minutes
- 1oz Columbus LUPOMAX (20% AA) for 10 minutes
- 1oz Chinook T90 (12% AA) for 5 minutes
- 1oz Columbus LUPOMAX (20% AA) Whirlpool at 180-170
- 1oz Chinook T90 (12% AA) Whirlpool at 180-170
Other Additions:
- Whirlfloc at 10 minutes
- Gypsum (CaSO4) 4.0g* During Mash
- Calcium Chloride (CaCl) 2.0g* During Mash
- *Always adjust water treatment based on your water profile
Note about spruce tips: There are 35 different species of spruce that range from trees to shrubs, so you can usually find some form of spruce the northern hemisphere. Spruce tips are good for brewing when they are young and green in the spring and early summer. There are other substitutes if you are unable to find spruce tips in your area and spruce can sometimes be found dried at the grocery store or blended into a tea.
4 comments
Is 20oz a typo? I could see 2oz, but 20 feels excessive and would take a really long time to pick! I’ve only brewed 2 spruce beers, but I used about 150g in a saison and thought it was more than enough (that’s around 5.5oz). The second one was an IPA, and I only used 1oz in a 10min WP, and the 2nd addition will go into a dry hop (it’s still fermenting). I also freeze my spruce tips after picking, as it changes the character in an interesting way— brings out more orangey-tangerine flavours, while still maintaining a uniquely spruce-like aroma.
No dry hops?
I’ve brewed the Spruce Tip IPA three times now but I have only used 10oz. of fresh tips. I have yet to have someone try it that does not like it. Great recipe!
I’ve brewed the Spruce Tip IPA three times now but I have only used 10oz. of fresh tips. I have yet to have someone try it that does not like it. Great recipe!