Yards Brewing Company Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce

The Yards Brewing Company is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This beer is part of their Ales of the Revolution series where they brew beers using recipes of the Founding Fathers.  In this case, the beer is based on an original recipe of Ben Franklin's.  It is brewed with molasses and spruce tips and sprigs.  Spruce was an old substitute for hops.

This 5.0% ABV beer pours a deep and dark reddish-copper in color.  There is a short head of off-white foam.  The aroma, not surprisingly, has a good amount of pine.  The juxtaposition of the molasses and the spruce makes a sweet-tart note.  It is a bit like the old Bottle Caps candy.

The taste is sweet, tart and pine, pine, pine.  This is like drinking a pine sap cocktail (with Bottle Caps candy thrown in).  For its deep color and intense flavors, it drinks surprisingly light.  It is well carbonated.  It is refreshing, but definitely unique and a bit odd.