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Andy Hamilton's delicious seasonal spruce brew

Making the most of 12th night and needles from a Christmas tree

Spruce has long been used to make drinks. Needles were often left to infuse in boiling water, then taken like a tea. It's especially rich in Vitamin C and Captain Cook used spruce tea to help his crew stave off scurvy. It can also be drank as a refreshing (if unusual), beer.

Spruce beer started to obtain real popularity from 17th century, especially amongst the Newfoundland settlers and by 1766, Joseph Banks had described it as the, "common liquor of the country". It stayed a popular drink up to the end of the 19th Century when it fell out of favour and never really returned, except as a curiosity ale made by smaller craft breweries in the US.

Those who have a living Christmas tree can harvest the fresh new growth from their tree to make the following drink, which has been adapted from an 18th century recipe. It is also possible to use the needles from a dead Christmas tree, as long as they haven't dried completely out and are still pretty green.

Freshly grown needles have more essence inside them so you should at least double the amount of leaves in the recipe if using old spruce. If picking from the wild, use just the freshest looking growing tips of any spruce. But please be sure you correctly identify your tree and don't end up using yew as this will have deadly consequences.

Spruce Beer

• 5 litres of water
• 100g spruce needles
• 20g hops
• One thumb-sized piece of bruised root ginger
• 600g malt extract (alternatively molasses, treacle, or honey)
• 1 packet ale yeast (available from home brew stockist or online)
• Bring the water to the boil and add the spruce, hops and ginger. Boil for 30 minutes. Stir in the malt extract and boil for a further 10 minutes. Strain into a fermentation bin or food grade bucket and, when cooled to room temperature, add the yeast.

Leave in a warm place for one week. Siphon into bottles. Will be ready to drink immediately.