This year we are sprucing (pun intended) things up with Taiga! A sustainable brew using recycled Christmas Trees grown locally on Yattendon Estates to produce a flavourful, piney West Coast Pale Ale at 5.5%.

For over 50 years, the Yattendon Estates, where the brewery is located, have been growing various types of conifer trees for the festive season. After the holidays, these trees are either disposed of or recycled by working with the charity Sue Ryder in exchange for a small charitable donation.

This year, we took some of the Norwegian Spruce grown on the estate, trimmed them down to the needles, and used them along with some complementary hops to infuse the beer with those lovely piney flavours.

Taiga – What does it mean?

Taiga, also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world’s largest land biome.

Brewing the beer.

Taiga features a light malt base infused with spruce and hops, resulting in a delightful blend of piney and floral flavours. The incorporation of Norwegian spruce needles, along with complementary hops, enhances its unique taste.

The Spruce tree utilized was carefully trimmed and prepared by our brewers, ensuring that only the needles were included. These needles were then incorporated into the hop back, allowing for the transfer of delicate oils and aromas that would typically be lost during boiling in the kettle. This process infused the beer with floral, piney, and citrus notes before it was moved to the fermentation vessel. In addition to the needles, a generous amount of hops known as the “big C’s” (Chinook, Centennial, and Columbus) were added to enhance the piney and resinous character of the beer.