Photo courtesy Toronto Star

A while ago I spent two springs living in Halifax, enjoying its amazing pub scene and learning more about Nova Scotia’s burgeoning craft beer scene (and, you know, working and stuff). Along my travels a number of different people told me I had to try Garrison Brewing’s Spruce Beer. Alas, since I was there in the spring and Garrison put out this annual release in December there was never any around to try.

I chalked it up to one of those things you have to be there to appreciate.

So imagine my surprise last week when in the liquor store here in Edmonton I saw a handful of Garrison’s 2014 release of their Spruce Beer. I figured I couldn’t snub my nose at the universe’s fortunate turn, so I scooped up a bottle.

I will be honest I was not sure what to expect. I have had homebrewed spruce beer before (they never really impressed me), and of course am very familiar with heather ale, but I wasn’t sure how spruce-y it would be. Often commercial breweries are more muted in their interpretations than their marketing suggests.

As for the marketing, Garrison claims the beer harkens back to 18th century Nova Scotia brewing traditions. I am too lazy to do the research, so I will take their word for it. The beer, for the record, is brewed with both spruce and fir tips as well as molasses and dates (again reflecting the historical recipes). For a modern balance they add about 35 IBUs of Citra hops as well. The beer comes in at 7.5%.

So, did it live up to the Haligonian hype?

It pours dark brown with a medium tan head. I would say it looks like a brown porter or a dark brown ale. Noticeably light carbonation. The aroma has dark caramel with a rustic, earthy tree needle note. The spruce comes through quite subtly, surprisingly. I could be heather as much as spruce. Still, you get a sense that something is different with this beer.

The spruce is more evident in the flavour. At first you get some chocolate and dark sugar and an undertone of molasses. Then comes an earthy tree-needle effect. You know it is spruce right a away. It has a resiny character and is sinew-y note. The spruce builds as the sip continues. It turns what is likely a sweet base beer into a complex creation. The linger is like chewing on a spruce needle coated in sugar.

It is an interesting beer. If it wasn’t quite so dark and full its spruce-ness would be overpowering. You can’t fault the beer for being too timid on the spruce character. Given the richness of the base beer, aided by the molasses, the spruce fits in rather nicely.

I wouldn’t call this a brilliant beer by any stretch, but it is definitely intriguing. I can see why it has developed a loyal following; it offers a set of flavours not found anywhere else. Some will find it weird and likely not take another sip. Others (as I am told happens) scoop up as many bottles as they can find each year.

I land somewhere in the middle. I would definitely try it again but neither am I chopping down my neighbour’s spruce tree to make my own version of it. Still, glad I finally got to try it.