Spruce Beer
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 0.3 ounce hops
- 5 allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 gallon spruce limbs
- 1 packet ale yeast
- 1 cup dark maple syrup
- 6 raisins
Method
Boil the water, hops, allspice berries and ginger in a large pot for 20 minutes. Add the spruce limbs and boil for another 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a mesh brew bag (if you have one) or a metal strainer. Let the liquid cool until it is warm. Sanitize a gallon glass jug (known as a fermenter). You can do this with a no-rinse sanitizer, found at brewing stores. If using a funnel, be sure to sanitize that as well. Pour the warm spruce liquid into the sanitized jug. Add the yeast and the maple syrup. Cork the jug with a sanitized rubber stopper and an airlock. Store in a cool, dark place and allow it to ferment for 2 to 4 days, or until it stops bubbling. Sanitize your two bottles (Lohman prefers 250-milliliter clip top stopper bottles, but you can bottle in traditional small beer bottles). Do so by boiling them for 30 minutes and then letting them cool upside down. Invert the bottles right-side-up, and then put three raisins in the bottom of each bottle and fill with the liquid. (The original recipe claims that the raisins stop the fermentation process, but it’s mistaken; they’re to give the yeast one last meal, which carbonates the beverage once it’s bottled.) Allow to sit another two days, then chill.