Siletz Spruce Ale

Brewed by Siletz Brewing and Public House
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Siletz, Oregon USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

From a 22 oz bottle this poured a remarkably clear ruby to amber that rose into a fat white head that left good lacing. Nose was spruce as the name implies, with a good clean mouthfeel Flavor is not bad after you get used to the spruce with a touch of hops. Finish dry and slightly bitter. Very different and fun to drink. Once that is.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber with almost no head. Nose is slightly sprucey but very clean, almost medicinal. Flavor is lightly spruce and citrusy with some caramel which leads to a tart/sour near puckering experience in the finish. Maybe a tad thin. Some small bittering in the finish as well. This was a nice beer, interesting and different, I would have from time to time. Thanks to ogglethorp for the bottle.

Bomber. Pours a rusty orange brown with minimal khaki head. The aroma is candied fruits and spruce, something that reminds me of Texas toast. The flavor is that mellow citrus character that comes from spruce tips, but also has that woody sap taste that comes from using it too much. The malt backbone is like light toast, maybe a hint of caramel. The finish is very sprucy and leaves a slightly dry aftertaste. This reminds me of a recipe for an IPA, but with spruce instead of hops. Fortunately, I really like spruce in beer. But I tend to prefer it with a bit of a richer malt profile. Still a pretty decent brew, though.

Bottle courtesy of kenb. Pours brown with a dissipating tan head. Smells of caramel, oranges, pine, some peppery splashes. Tastes of fresh pine with some tangy undertones and a slightly bitter finish. Mouthfeel is full. A nice experiment.

The beer sits an almost brilliantly clear, ruby amber color in my glass. It is topped by a frothy, initially two-finger thick, amber tinged tan colored head that had to be vigorously coaxed to even that height. The aroma has an unmistakable aroma of spicy, fruity, fresh spruce. This note is a mix of sweet citrus fruit (though different from a hop derived citrus character, perhaps it is a bit softer), something sort of like juicy fruit and a touch of spiciness that is sort of like light cinnamon, but not really. Underneath is a malt character heavy on crystal malt.

The taste is actually tart up front and is fairly dry. The tartness sticks through the flavor profile to the finish, where there is also a lightly astringent tannic character that reminds me of green tea. A nice toasty backdrop of malt character is here, but it plays quite the secondary role here. This could really use some malt sweetness, it would help liven up the citrusy spruce notes as opposed to the tart side of things. Still this beer is quite enjoyable, it definitely works as a counterpoint to the sweeter Alaskan Winter beer (which is the only other spruce beer I have had). The spruce character, with its tartness and citrus note, make me think of grapefruit as opposed to an over-tart lemon.

Purchased via mail order: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Solutions

Draught pint at Redbones on 12/26/06
Unencouragingly still appearance. Glassy and mostly clear, with a dull bronze to dark-amber color, the lack of head and only scant, large bubbles rising can’t help but recall instances of the infected Siletz beers I’ve had.
But the nose dosent seem bacterial and instead there is a clear, plant-like spruciness backed by water, light, dry caramel and a hint of sourness. The sourness could spell infection, as it certainly dosent seem to come from the spruce, but it’s mild as of yet. The spruce unfolds as lightly spicy, the way you’d want it to be, but quickly turns bitter and astringent. Some breadiness, though rather soggy, is about the extent of the malt aroma. No real complexity. Just lightly spicy spruce. Too watered down though. A stronger, snappier malt could allow more spruce to be used while still remaining balanced and more complex in the nose.
Tastes like chewing on spruce, though not as fresh and add a mouthfull of water to the spruce as well. Very wet and watery texture. Oily as well? Bitter, astringent. Dry caramel and light buttermilk biscuits are thrown on to the palate sloppily. While I enjoy the novelty of the beer and the flavor of spruce, it’s not particularly well done, being way to loose in texture and astringent in palate. Granted, spruce is EXTREMELY astringent-producing when used in brewing, but I don’t really think that’s an excuse. J.F. did it just fine with la tordeuse.

22oz bottle first time I’ve seen these brews in Ohio - Pours dark cloudy amber with not much head. Aromas of pine, a little gin, and caramel malts. Flavor is caramel upfront that is quickly overtaken by some powerful gin and pine flavor. Not too carbonated and a little watery on the palate. Interesting brew and quite unusual.

Bottle from kenb. Hmmmm. pours adeep amber. looks good but tastes really strange. I have no idea what the heck this is.