Spruce Pilsner

Origin Story

Originally part of the 2007 Imperial Beer Series, which Joe firmly believes was the turning point for our company and was the catalyst for propelling us to the next level of brewing greatness. When the original series was launched, all of the beers were individually bottled by hand and had a tag hung around it that told a brief story about the beers creation according to Joe Short. 13 of 13 in the 2007 Imperial Beer Series. 886 bottles released. "I have never used spruce in beer before, but this India Pilsner really turned out beautiful. The backbone of this beer is a lot of flaked maize and pilsen malt, and I hopped it just like I would an IPA. I waited to brew this one at the end of the series mainly to wait for the weather to get warm, so all the resins and sap would move from the roots of the blue spruce trees to the tips of their needles. Waiting for the spruce tips to be ripe proved to be well worth it. Spruce has been used in beer forever. It was commonly used long before hops were used to balance sweetness of the wort, and used medicinally more so than anything. Boiling spruce and making a solution was popular for treating scurvy and used for the break up and flushing of kidney stones. It was likely one of the key ingredients used to make the first batch of beer by the early colonists. This Spruce India Pilsner reconnects with our ancestral colonial brewers in a delicious and compassionate way. All the ingredients used are grown and processed in America. Our spruce came directly from the yard of our young neighbor Matthew Grockau, who meticulously separated the needles from the branch and pureed them for this batch of beer. This beer serves as a testament of sustaining fermentations our forefathers had created, so that years later we could carry on the tradition of brewing and drinking and living."