USA: Spruce beer to be brewed by Yards Brewing as official beer for Benjamin Franklin 300th Birthday

Requiring an official beer for the year long Benjamin Franklin 300th Birthday Celebration, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation teamed with Yards Brewing Company to create Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale, according to Datamonitor Newswire of December 19.

The beer is to be made by adding 22 pounds of spruce tips and sprigs during the boil process of the brewing. The spruce contributes a piney aroma which becomes more complex after adding 100 pounds of molasses to the mix. Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale will be available on draught in limited edition cobalt blue bottles.

Nancy Barton, the co-owner of Yards Brewing explains the reason behind the recipe: "When the GPTMC asked us to formulate a beer for the celebration we researched public records and found Ben Franklin's spruce beer recipe recorded in his memoirs."

Yards has been brewing General Washington Tavern Porter and Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale according to the traditional recipes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson .