If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Spruce Beer, this is a straightforward, all-grain route to it. The backbone is Pale malt, with Magnum 16% doing most of the work in the boil.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Spruce Beer |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.036-1.048 |
| Final Gravity | 1.008-1.012 |
| ABV | 3.8-5.0% |
| IBU | 8-20 |
| SRM | 3-8 (pale gold) |
| Difficulty | Intermediate (novel ingredient) |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Pale malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with Magnum 16%. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 18C (64F) Pitch White Labs WLP013 London Ale once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 4 weeks at 12C (54F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. My Brew Supply Flaked Maize Premium Beer Making Grain)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Amarillo Hop Pellets 1 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. Craft A Brew – Safale S-04 Dry Yeast – Fermentis)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. Carboy Caps 4 Pk Silicone Caps)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Dextrose 50 Lb)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Kit w/Equipment, Chinook IPA)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Spruce Beer is best served in a pint, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Spruce Beer
Equipment
- 1 Large pot for mashing and boiling
- 1 Fermentation vessel
- 1 Airlock for fermentation vessel
- 1 Immersion chiller or ice bath for cooling the wort
- 1 Brewing thermometer
- 1 Mash paddle or spoon
- 1 Measuring scales
- 1 Measuring cups or jugs
- 1 Hop bags or strainer for adding hops and spruce tips
- 1 Wort transfer equipment (siphon, racking cane, or auto-siphon)
- 1 Bottles or kegs for carbonation and storage
- 1 Bottle capper or kegging system
- 1 Sanitization solution or sanitizer
- 1 Brewing hydrometer or refractometer for gravity measurement
- 1 Brewing calculator or software (optional but helpful)
- 1 A brewer's log or notebook for recording the brewing process and measurements
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 12.75 Litres (22⅓ Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 65°c/149 °F
- 9.11 oz Pale malt Quantity 4.4kg
- 1.2 oz Caramalt Quantity 500g
- 7 oz Crystal wheat Quantity 200g
For the Boil – 27 Litres (47½ Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 10 mins
- ½ oz (Hops) Magnum 16% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 25.0)
- ¼ oz (Hops) Magnum 16% When to add – At turn off (IBU 0.0)
- 5½ oz Spruce tips Other – When to add – At start of boil
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment – 18°C (64°F) – Conditioning 4 weeks at 12°C (54°F)
- 1 White Labs WLP013 London Ale
- 1¾ oz (Hops) Apollo 19.5% (Hops) – When to add – After 4 days, leave for about 1 week
Instructions
Mash Preparation:
- In a large pot, heat 12.75 Litres (22⅓ Pints) of water to a temperature of 65°C (149°F).
- Add the following ingredients to the pot:
- 9.11 oz (4.4kg) Pale malt
- 1.2 oz (500g) Caramalt
- 7 oz (200g) Crystal wheat
- Stir well to combine the ingredients.
- Let the mixture mash for 1 hour at a temperature of 65°C (149°F).
Boiling the Mixture:
- In another large pot, add 27 Litres (47½ Pints) of water and bring it to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, add the following ingredients:
- ½ oz of Magnum Hops (16%) at the start of the boil. This will contribute to an IBU of 25.0.
- 5½ oz of Spruce tips at the start of the boil.
- Continue boiling for 1 hour.
- After 45 minutes of boiling, add Protofloc and continue boiling for the remaining 15 minutes.
- At the turn off, add ¼ oz of Magnum Hops (16%) to contribute to a bitterness rating of 0.0.
Cooling and Fermentation:
- After the boil, cool the mixture rapidly using an immersion chiller or by placing the pot in an ice bath.
- Transfer the cooled mixture (wort) into a fermentation vessel.
- Once the wort has cooled to 18°C (64°F), pitch the White Labs WLP013 London Ale yeast into the fermentation vessel.
- Seal the vessel with an airlock to allow gas to escape while preventing contamination.
- Ferment the beer at a consistent temperature of 18°C (64°F) for approximately 4 days.
Dry Hopping and Conditioning:
- After 4 days of fermentation, add 1¾ oz of Apollo Hops (19.5%) to the fermentation vessel.
- Let the beer condition for about 1 week at the same fermentation temperature (18°C or 64°F).
- After the conditioning period, transfer the beer to bottles or kegs for carbonation.
- Condition the beer for an additional 4 weeks at 12°C (54°F) before it is ready to drink.
Enjoying the Spruce Beer:
- After the total conditioning period of 6 weeks, your Spruce Beer should be ready to drink.
- Pour it into a glass, and enjoy the well-rounded ale with its unique spruce character!
Get the fermentation temperature right on Spruce Beer and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Spruce Beer the Style It Is
Spruce Beer sits in a well-established style family, and the version most homebrewers land on today reflects decades of small adjustments by brewers chasing balance rather than novelty.
Expect a beer that leans on pale malt and magnum 16% once it is finished conditioning. White Labs WLP013 London Ale is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 3.8-5.0%
- Bitterness: 8-20 IBU
- Color: 3-8 (pale gold)
- Serving temp: 45-50F (7-10C)
- Glassware: a pint
- Food pairings: light salads, soft cheese, picnic food
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
