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Spruce Beer

A fermented beverage made with hops, sassafras root, molasses, spruce essence, ginger, allspice, and yeast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Spruce Beer

Why it works: Ginger and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,620 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spruce Beer

Ingredients

Directions

Make the wort

  1. Boil hops and sassafras root chippings in water.

  2. Strain the mixture and pour in hot molasses, essence of spruce, powdered ginger, and pounded allspice.

Ferment and bottle

  1. Let it cool, then add yeast and stir well.

  2. Transfer to a cask, seal it, and allow it to ferment until clear.

  3. Bottle and cork tightly.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Ginger + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,620 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Molasses + allspicetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,508 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Hops + gingertop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Hops + molassestop 41% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5 recipes

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Provides sweetness and fuel for the yeast, which turns the sugars into alcohol and carbonation.
Yeast
Ferments the sugars, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide that give the beer its fizz.
Hops
Adds bitterness and aroma that balance the sweetness of the molasses.
Sassafras root chippings
Contributes the characteristic root flavour and aroma to the brew.

The step that matters

Let it cool before adding yeast. Yeast is killed by very hot liquid, so the wort must cool enough for the yeast to stay alive and start fermenting.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (hops, molasses, ginger):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Clovefits better
  3. Cardamomfits about as well
  4. Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against hops, molasses, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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