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drink Fermentation

Wilderness Survival Spruce Beer: A 1700s Recipe with Just a Tree and Grit

Want to brew beer like an 18th-century fur trapper? This barebones spruce beer recipe requires no fancy ingredients—just a spruce tree, water, and a bit of sweetener. The result? A ferociously piney, mouth-puckering brew that tastes like drinking the forest itself. Why Make Spruce Beer? 🌲 Wilderness Spruce Beer Recipe (Makes 1 gallon—scale as needed) 🍂 Ingredients (All Foraged or Pantry …

drink Fermentation

Ginger Bug Love

According to some of my posts on Pinterest, the Turmeric starter bug gets a lot more attention. While I love turmeric ginger beer, I stopped maintaining my turmeric starter bug in favour of my ginger starter bug. For one, I also have a sourdough starter now, but also the maintenance of a ginger starter bug …

drink Fermentation

Old-Fashioned Spruce Beer with Bark and Branches

Here’s a traditional 18th–19th century Quebecois spruce beer recipe based on historical methods (likely used by sailors, Indigenous peoples, and early settlers), using spruce branches, bark, and/or cones along with molasses. This recipe yields 1 gallon for authenticity and ease. Traditional Spruce Beer Recipe (1 Gallon) Ingredients: Method: Historical Notes & Adjustments: Modern Tweaks (If …

Fermentation

Spruce Essence

Last year I collected a lot of spruce tips and filled up the freezer. This year instead instead of freezing it all, if I could create a spruce essence by extracting the rich flavour instead of storing all the spruce tips in bulk, it would last longer, have a stronger flavour and be compact in …

drink Fermentation Probiotic

Why Bold Spruce Beer Is the Ultimate Craft Beer For The Truly Adventurous

For a traditional Quebec-style spruce beer with a bold, complex flavor—balancing earthy bitterness, piney resin, and a touch of sweetness—here’s an authentic recipe and method. This version mimics the old-fashioned “bière d’épinette” brewed with foraged spruce and wild fermentation. Québec Spruce Beer Recipe (1 Gallon / 4L Batch) Bold, earthy, and slightly medicinal—like the old …