TreeBeer(d)

So I have started a fermented beverage that I am dubbing TreeBeer(d). This is because it is a combination of Pine, Sumac, and Maple.

Recipe:
2.5 gallons water (plus some to get to a full 3 gallons)
2.2 lbs of Maple Syrup
1/2 lb of Pine needles (I actually left them in clumps, still on the last bit of branch where the needles all stick out)
1/2 lb of Longhorn Sumac drupes


I boiled the pine needles for 30 minutes in about 2 gallons of water and tossed in the sumac drupes during the last five minutes. Cooled that in a cold water bath then strained it into the carboy on top of the maple syrup. Then I added a little cold water to bring it to full capacity.

The gravity reading was 1.040 right before I pitched the packet of Fermentis US-05 yeast.

Before the maple syrup it was a lovely dark red. After the maple it became a sort of maroon.