Spruce
Full Pint Brewing Company

SpruceSpruce
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From:
Full Pint Brewing Company
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Herb and Spice Beer
ABV:
5%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.46 | pDev: 11.85%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
49
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 16, 2017
Added:
Aug 05, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  7
This distinguished ale was brewed in the colonial tradition of using molasses and spruce tips in place of flavor hops to give this beer its unique flavor.

Ale brewed with natural flavors

Malts: Pilsner, Honey, Caramalt, CaraPils
Hops: Chinook, Northern Brewer
O.G. 12.5
IBU 20
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by heddar33:
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Rated by heddar33 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +15.6%

Sep 09, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I am continuing a swath of total destruction & annihilation of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody! I only have a couple from Full Pint, but they are next up. Afterwards, it is on to Fish Tale Ales and the babes of Old Dominion.

From the bottle: "Spruce [-] This distinguished ale was brewed in the colonial tradition of using molasses and spruce tips in place of flavor hops to give this beer its unique flavor."; "Ale brewed with natural flavors"; "Beer Nerd Stats: Malts: Pilsner, Honey, Caramalt, CaraPils Hops: Chinook, Northern Brewer O.G. 12.5 IBU 20 Alc. By Vol. 5%"; Wild ingredients provided by Wild Purveyors".

I Pop!ped the cap & I was debating on how heavy-handed my pour should be when my mind was made up for me. The gentlest pour was causing a lot of foam to rise unabated & so I had to back off & allow it to do its thing. I wound up with just over two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with fantastic retention. Color was a button-bright Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17). Oh my! Nose was minty, but I am not sure that I would have identified it as spruce tips, but Chinook would have been a guess. It also had a slight medicinal sharpness, which is why I am not a fan of treacle (molasses) in anything. We made treacle cookies once in Home Ec & I can still taste them. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, and also very effervescent in the mouth & on the tongue. The taste was like a diluted Pine-Sol with a slight, unidentifiable bitterness. Please do not misconstrue that to mean that it was not tasty or enjoyable. I like the smell of pine cleaner & in the Navy, we used it a good bit to kill the pervasive funk of a buncha guys all berthed together. This tasted pretty nice, but I was still getting a sharp, sour note underlying the pine that leads me to question the value added to treacle. Yes, I understand that it is a Colonial-era recipe, but I wonder if they might not have used something else, had it been available. Finish was cool & dry, very minty and quite refreshing. This was about right for this style.

I know that we are not supposed to remark on other reviewers' comments, but invoking Yards B.C.'s Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce is unfair. Tom Kehoe has been tweaking the recipe for years, following its initial release. In that one, he had no idea of just how strong the taste of spruce tips in beer can be & the first iteration was truly like drinking Pine-Sol. He has worked since to dial it in just right where these guys came pretty close to the sweet spot out of the gate.
Jan 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.69 by madelf66 from Pennsylvania

Jun 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.59 by glass_house from Ohio

Jan 25, 2016
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Reviewed by brother_rebus from Maine

3.61/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Copper amber color. Very ale-like. Not much of a smell besides some malt. Good spruce notes, but nothing overwhelimg and sweet like poor richards. Spruce is more of a pleasant lingering afterthought.
Aug 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by dsshuck from Delaware

Mar 06, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by JohnK17 from Pennsylvania

Dec 03, 2014
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.37/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, some molasses. Taste has some sweetness, molasses, a bit of spruce, kind of on the mild side. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall a decent beer, just lacking a little oomph.
Nov 17, 2014
 
 
Rated: 3.25 by speedball33 from Pennsylvania

Oct 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by spedprof from West Virginia

Aug 25, 2014
Photo of ZorroZ
Reviewed by ZorroZ from Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -6.1%
This is a perfectly pleasant ale, but if it hadn't been labeled as a spruce ale, I rather doubt I would have thought it was one. The molasses figures far more prominently in its taste and smell than the spruce does, especially when contrasted with Yards' Ben Franklin Tavern Spruce. I'll finish the 6 pack, but likely won't buy another.
Aug 15, 2014
 
Rated: 2.25 by krat from Pennsylvania

Jun 19, 2014
Photo of WVbeergeek
Reviewed by WVbeergeek from West Virginia

3.48/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clouded amber copper hue with an off white head forming nice and thick. The lumber jack holding a Spruce tree in his palm aka Paul Bunyan minus Babe the Blue Ox. Aroma has some mild expressive grain character bready notes, with hints of Spruce. No where near as expressive as some of the other Yard's Spruce beers I've had in the past. Flavor has a nice marriage of honey malts/molasses sugar and earthy spruce notes, not as pine needle Christmas tree water as I was expecting. But it definitely works together, a bit watery in the finish but the spruce notes blend nicely with the sweetness, the malts are overshadowed by the concentrated molasses sweetness. Mouthfeel is nice you won't have to cleanse your palate the use the spruce with great finesse. Even carbonation slick easy going mouthfeel great finish of a balanced sugary/spruce character. Overall not the most in your face but actually drinkable spruce ale that's appropriate for a malt lover, enough balance from the Spruce to make it palatable for a hophead as well but the hops are nearly undetectable and I believe it weighs in at 5% abv and 20 IBUs.
Apr 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by beerman73 from Pennsylvania

Apr 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

Mar 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by letshaveanother from Ohio

Mar 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Saxboy10 from Pennsylvania

Feb 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by hollywood_15063 from Pennsylvania

Dec 22, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Nov 26, 2013
Spruce from Full Pint Brewing Company
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 49 ratings