Sitka Spruce Tip
Baranof Island Brewing

 

 

Bottled, Dark amber color, slightly hazy, good amount of tan head. Spruce smell is evident but not over powering. Tastes of spruce and malt come thru well without being over the top. I would purchase again

The appearance is somewhat transparent yet just a tad clear bronzed amber colored body with a thin white foamy head about a finger’s worth that dies within about thirty seconds. The smell has a super dried up spruce-ness and malts, no matter how many times I pour it from the growler and let it warm, its just spruce and malts. The taste is dry and sweet spruce and malts. The aftertaste is the same along with the finish. The palate sits about a medium of sorts on the body, and its not exactly one of the better sippers out there nor is it really sessionable. Carbonations runs a bit smoother than some other spruce beers I’ve had. Overall, I know this can be a hard style to review, however, I’ll compare this to other spruce beers and say this is adequate for the style and for me.

This is what spruce tips should taste like. Clean crisp ale with an a good earth taste

 

 

This was poured into a pint glass.
The appearance was a bronze amber color with a thin white head. Nice gentle dissipation. Light stringy lacing.
The smell had the spruce there - slightly sweet and juniper-esque, light cherries, and a little bit of sweet malt.
The taste was mainly sweet with a decent little back up from the bitterness of the spruce.
The mouthfeel was about a light to medium on the body with a crisp sweet semi-sessionable feel.
Overall, I look at this as a decent dessert beer. Pair it with some cheesecake and then write back.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium to dark bronze amber with a half finger light khaki head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, light spruce, berries. Flavor of bready malt with a hint of caramel, spruce sap, light mixed berries, finishes with lightly astringent resinous spruce and raspberry. Medium bodied with light creaminess. Delivers what it promises, a conifer forest flavored ale. Nice lightly flavored malt body with clear, but not overwhelming spruce flavors. The finish is a little overly bitter like biting an older spruce needle. For some reason, I expected this to be an IPA style, and was surprised by the light hopping. The spruce does a decent job of keeping the finish bitter. Interesting and fun to drink for an evening.

Not sure what to make of this brew. I find it to be nice but nothing that knocks me on my ass.
Hide in big bottle in AK (where I live). Pours a dark brown with thin head. Smell reminds me of home (Houston, Tx) and wet grass after a fresh cut. There is also a slight sweet smell to it. Taste is grassy but not too grassy. There is a hoppy taste as well and just hints of spruce. The feel is dry and the finish the hoppy notes stay a bit.
Over all this is an honest good brew that I would enjoy over good conversation with a friend. It's not great and not something I would hold on to for my collection but it's not bad.

 

Hazy rust color with skimpy little off-white collar.

Smell is faintly sprucey, with some sweet alcohol. Fruitiness opens as it warms.

Taste is herbal hop leaf, some bitterness, with a nice bready malt back-bone. Like a big ESB with some spruce, judiciously used, which I appreciate.

Mouthfeel is dry, some sharp spritzy carb, medium bodied.

Drinkability is pretty good, I like this beer. I of course am thinking of Alaskan's iconic winter ale, and this one is less sweetness and spruce, which makes it more elegant and overall drinkable, while being less impressive out the gate.

 

 

4/3.75/3.75/4.25/4
Deep orange/amber. Opaque body with a small white head. Good retention, but minimal lacing.

Nose starts out incredibly sweet: like gummi bears before letting a little bit of anything else shine through. Next up is the floral evergreen/spruce blossoms like a forest after a refreshing early rain. That sounds so pretentious.

Taste follows a similar arc, but not quite as... pronounced in the front. The sweet is less sharp, and more tempered by an earthy/woody characteristic, finishing with a blunt bitterness that numbs the tongue like spruce sap.
The finish lingers for a bit and is almost reminiscent of licking a postage stamp. Secret time: I actually used to enjoy helping prepare mail as a little kid because I liked the backs of postage stamps. I don't know if that's SUPER weird or just kind of weird, but it's true, so that characteristic here works for me.
Would definitely get this one again, though I doubt I'll have the opportunity. Thanks Mica for bringing it back from fishing!

 

Growler shared with a former BA.
We both had it in pint glasses.
The appearance was a hazy burnt orange color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute leaving some light lacing sticking and then sliding down into the beer.
The smell had an okay sweet sprucy fresh "Spring - like" smooth citrus appeal.
The taste was mainly the same sweet citrus sprucy thing.
The mouthfeel had a slight harshness but managed to escape it by the smooth citrus thing going on.
Honestly, this was just okay to me. For the price, it probably wasn't worth it.