Spruce Lager
Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse

ap- North American Organic Brewers Festival. I had to get 2 full pints I liked it so much. Amber colored, with lacing left on teh side of glass. Wonderful spruce scent and flavor. Develops as it warms and gets stronger but never gets to the stinky earthy stage. Really easy to drink beer. Probably the best Spruce Brew I’ve yet to have. And...organic to boot.

One of the great things about lagers is that they are light and subtle enough to lend themselves well to herbal infusions. And one of the most elegant (if overlooked) herbs in commercial brewing is spruce. You might think the obvious marriage of spruce boughs to a crisp summer lager would be a commonplace event in a region renowned for its lush evergreen forests and its extensive brewing community. But while Siletz and Alaskan have both produced fine spruce ales, Bill’s is the only regional brewer I’m aware of that brews a seasonal spruce lager. And it’s a damn fine one at that.

Bill’s Spruce looks like an ordinary lager. It is clear, the color of bright chamomile, and arrives at the pint with an eclipsed head. Its fragrance is like a thin slice of pear. The exceptional properties of Bill’s Spruce give it an easy drinkability, almost like that of a soft drink. The taste, while different, is not freakish or alienating, making it one of a handful of herbal/spice brews that would work well as a session beer. It is crisp, herbal, refreshing, and distinctive, and like Bill’s Bronze Ale, the Spruce has an almost rejuvenatory tonic property.

Bill’s Spruce Lager is made with Sitka spruce boughs collected by local woods folk. It lacks head and lace, but is otherwise well constructed and designed.