spruce beer

American  

noun

1. a fermented beverage made with spruce leaves and twigs, or an extract from them.

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spruce beer British  

noun

1. an alcoholic drink made of fermented molasses flavoured with spruce twigs and cones

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Etymology

Origin of spruce beer

First recorded in 1490–1500

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spruce beer

Native Americans brewed spruce beer long before Europeans arrived on the scene.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 29, 2015

A hurricane of energy, built like a barrel of spruce beer, Putnam quickly won the rank of general during the disorganized fighting before Washington took command.

From Time Magazine Archive

Two men were appointed to brew spruce beer; and the carpenter and his crew were ordered to cut wood.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Robert Kerr

In addition to this medicine I drank, as my common beverage with my meals, spruce beer.

From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Erasmus Darwin

Tables and seats were arranged beneath some trees; "spruce beer" was advertised for sale, but there were indications that other kinds of refreshments could be obtained.

From Jack in the Forecastle or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser Martingale by John Sherburne Sleeper