
Spruce beer continues to have a following - MiriamWeiner
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181219-canadas-christmas-tree-in-a-bottle
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neilk
This article is trying really hard to make spruce beer a health trend, like
maple was (is?).

At the moment, it’s just a different kind of soft drink. It tastes a bit like
a Christmas tree stand smells. Sort of minty, earthy, and a bit medicinal.
It’s no weirder than root beer, or Asian soft drinks that have a grassy flavor
profile.

For me it’s mostly a Christmas season thing, like eggnog. It often appears in
Quebec supermarkets around this time, although, alas, not so much out west.
You can sometimes get it in restaurants that specialize in Quebec-style fast
food.

Though, I think if some enterprising young people put their minds to it, they
could make it a premium experience and sell it in the kombucha aisle. The
First Nations/miraculous elixir angle is clever, albeit exploitative.

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Reason077
> _“It’s usually a problem to ship it by plane because of the pressure, but I
> made some phone calls and there was a pilot who agreed to keep it in the
> cockpit with him.”_

Wouldn’t an exploding bottle of spruce beer be _more_ dangerous in the cockpit
than elsewhere in the aircraft?

I can’t imagine it would pack enough punch to cause fire or bring down an
aircraft, but in the cockpit it could incapacitate a pilot or damage controls
and instruments!

~~~
bovermyer
Yes, but this would be the only place that a pilot could store such a thing.
Cargo is not pressurized, which is why the spruce beer can't be flown
normally.

And I doubt he had it in his lap the entire flight. It was likely stored in
his personal bag.

~~~
ubertakter
What!? If the aircraft is pressurized, then the cargo area is pressurized too.
There aren't any aircraft that have separately pressurized compartments. That
would be a very bad design.

Also, I would suspect that the bottles were bagged and in a box and not
necessarily right next to the pilot.

~~~
CydeWeys
To expand on this, the cylinder of the airplane's fuselage is the pressure
vessel (like a submarine). It would take additional structural material to
have the pressure vessel be a truncated cylinder (i.e. a half-circle shape),
as you're introducing corners.

However, just because the cargo hold is pressurized doesn't mean it's warm in
there -- it can be quite cold, and pets stored below occasionally die.

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standerman
Birch beer is my favorite. Very nice wintergreen flavor. Boylan's has a good
version that's pretty widely available in the US.

~~~
umvi
You must be talking about white birch? Pennsylvania Dutch birch beer is very
similar to root beer.

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pwarner
Redwood tip beer available in the bay area:
[https://moonlightbrewing.com/beers/working-for-
tips/](https://moonlightbrewing.com/beers/working-for-tips/)

I have still not tried it, but want to.

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anfractuosity
Very interesting, it's cool how far back it dates in Canada, I'd not heard
that before.

Does anyone know about the history of pine ale in Scotland out of interest,
was reading this
[https://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/beer/alba](https://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/beer/alba)
which says 'A traditional Highland recipe, popular in Northern Scotland until
the end of the 19th Century. '

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nkurz
If you are thinking of brewing some, or just want to read more about North
America's version of Spruce Beer, this fine article provides more detailed
information: [http://zythophile.co.uk/2016/04/20/a-short-history-of-
spruce...](http://zythophile.co.uk/2016/04/20/a-short-history-of-spruce-beer-
part-two-the-north-american-connection/)

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bovermyer
The bit about the guy in Newfoundland warmed my heart.

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bsurmanski
I've had spruce beer on a few occasions and it's exactly what it sounds like.

Bubbly liquid spruce. If you peel a few needles off of a Christmas tree and
chew on them, you'd get the same flavour.

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cal5k
Question: Doesn't the fermentation process destroy some/much of the vitamin C
content of the spruce?

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goldenkey
It's really awesome how Roys shipped the dying man his last drink. Touching.

------
trading_wheels
>> and the water from Montreal, which Roy claims to have just the right purity
level to produce his spruce beer’s unique taste.

Must be the result of this: [https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/12/americas/canada-
montreal-wast...](https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/12/americas/canada-montreal-
wastewater-dump/index.html)

~~~
giarc
My neighbour growing up had a great patch of wild rhubarb in the back yard.
Giant stalks with giant leaves. Turns out his septic tank was leaking and it
was directly under the rhubarb.

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jacquesm
That first sentence brings back not-so-fond memories of Canada's cuisine.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine)

~~~
Raphmedia
It is very likely that if you had poutine and didn't enjoy it, you ate what we
call tourist poutine.

It bring me shame to say but a lot of tourist spots will sell the worst
possible poutine. If what you had was some dry french fries with some low
quality gravy on top, it isn't poutine. McDonald's poutine is also a joke.

Poutine is an incredible diverse dish. My favorite kind has chili, caramelized
onions and pulled pork over it. Freshly made fries in quality oil and the best
possible quality local cheese curds are a requirement.

To get a good one, you need to either go to a restaurant that specialize in
poutine or to a pataterie.

Here, take a look:

[http://labanquise.com/en/gallery.php](http://labanquise.com/en/gallery.php)

[https://www.instagram.com/poutineville/](https://www.instagram.com/poutineville/)

[https://www.mtlblog.com/best-of-mtl/best-montreal-poutine-
re...](https://www.mtlblog.com/best-of-mtl/best-montreal-poutine-restaurants)

All of this being said, poutine is greasy fast comfort food. It is not for
everyone, especially if you usually eat healthy.

It is best eaten at 3 AM after the bars close for the night (a lot of poutine
stops are open 24h/7 or close very late in the night).

~~~
throw9090
I had the plate with the poutine thrown on my table in Montreal. I am not sure
the reason for such bad service. The waiter told the tip is 10$ before taking
my order. Is tipping mandatory or something in Montreal ?

~~~
Raphmedia
Tip is expected to be 15% for regular service and 20% for good service.
Restaurant staff are paid under the minimum salary and the government expect
them to make up the missing half with tips. Mimimum wages are $12 an hour but
only $9.80 an hour for employees receiving tips.

Bad service isn't to be expected and should be reported to the managers when
it happen.

[https://www.retailcouncil.org/resources/quick-
facts/minimum-...](https://www.retailcouncil.org/resources/quick-
facts/minimum-wage-by-province/)

