# Need help with recipe in "Wishing You a Merry Xmas Beer"



## mr_wibble (9/10/15)

In the book: "Wishing You a Merry Xmas Beer" (2008 ISBN-13: 978-0-7893-1796-4) there's a spiced xmas beer recipe. (Extract + grain).

Although it's a little too late given the conditioning time required, we're going to make it for xmas.

The text says it's based on a gold-medal recipe from the 2005 Great American Beer Festival.

The batch size isn't stated, I guess it's about 23 litres, because the pre-boil is 23 litres with 3.5kg of malt extract.


The reason for this post, and I don't know if it's a typo in the book, but one of the ingredients in "Kettle Sugars" is
1 pound Home Sweet Homebrew.

Ehhh?! What is this?

"Home Sweet Homebrew" is a LHBS, the owner of which (George Hummel) created this recipe. Which leads me to think it's a typo.

Also it just says: "Clear Belgian Rock Candy Sugar" with no amount ... Ideas?

thanks,
-kt


Since recipes aren't copyrightable, I can present it below, converted to metric from old-fashioned.

*Ingredients:*
454 grams Weyermann Carafoam
454 grams Weyermann Carahelles
567 grams pale malt extract
3629 grams wheat malt extract
907 grams orange-blossom honey
454 grams "Home Sweet Homebrew"
???grams Clear Belgian Rock Candy Sugar

42 grams Styrian Auroura Hops (@45 minutes)
7 grams Styrian Auroura Hops (@0 minutes)

28 grams Indian coriander seed (ground)
28 grams Bitter Orange Peel
28 grams mandarin Orange Peel
14 grams Chamomile (tea? flowers?)
7 grams Grains of Paradise (ground)

2x teaspoons Yeast Nutrient
Irish moss

*Method:*
Soak the cracked grains in 23 litres of water in a cheesecloth bag at 79C for 30 minutes.
Add bittering Hops & malt extracts
Boil for 45 minutes
Turn off heat, add sugars & spices (in a bag)
Heat back on, boil for further 15 minutes.
Add remaining hops.

*Ferment:*
with Wyeast 3522.


The original recipe included a campden tablet. 
Mrs Wibble is allergic to sulphites, so I even left it out of the recipe.


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## MHB (9/10/15)

Unless otherwise stated its pretty safe to assume that American recipes are 5US Gallons, (18.927L) Given 23L into kettle and if you had 19 at end of boil that would be 17% evaporation, which for a 90 minute boil isn't too wide of the mark.
I'm inclined to agree that the recipe contains a typo, and that should be Clear Belgian Candi, you could spend the money but I think I would be as happy to use ordinary white sugar. I mean in a top end Triple for sure, but in this one I think it wont show.

If you add up the ingredients and include 454g of Sugar at about 80% efficiency you end up with about 5,262.8g of extract lets call it 5.25Kg in at the end of the boil about 17.5L of water gives 30oP or 1.120 SG wort, which is really big beer.
If you gave a bit more information on the OG (if its in the recipe) it would help pin down the numbers a bit tighter.

Ardennes is a ripper of a yeast but its still a big ask, personally I would keep the Honey and the sugar out which brings the OG down to around 1.090, wait until the yeast has reduced the gravity by more then the points you are adding (120-90=30) so its down to around 1.060 then add the honey and sugar. Big starter and good aeration would be a must!
You could draw off a bit of wort (ideally from near the top of the fermenter) dissolve the Honey/Sugar with gentle warming (I'm a lot less paranoid about bugs in honey than some) cool and add to the fermenter. This will take a lot of the stress of the yeast and help with attenuation and the flavour - less fusels - mind you even if the yeast gets to 12% ABBV (dropping 90 points) you are getting close to the attenuation limit for the beer with it finishing at around 1.030 there will be plenty of body left, if you are bottling it I would be very restrained with my carbonating sugar, if I was brewing this for Xmas in July I probably wouldn't add any. either way expect it to be slow to carbonate.

I love GOP I even have some in a pepper grinder in the kitchen (great on scrambled eggs), I would probably use Sweet orange over Mandarin (just taste and I have it to) The Chamomile I don't see the point, I cant see it making much of if any difference to the beer it's pretty bland

Six months in bottle would still be infanticide - I think it will keep improving for 3-5 years
Mark


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## mr_wibble (10/10/15)

I emailed the shop "Home Sweet Homebrew" last night, and they responded.

They said the batch size is 5 US Gallons.
The Kettle sugar is a typo: it should be [SIZE=11pt]Home Sweet Homebrew Demerara sugar[/SIZE]
And the Belgian Candy Sugar is [SIZE=11pt]one pound [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt](454 grams)[/SIZE]

The OG is not listed in the recipe, nor provided in the email.


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## mr_wibble (10/10/15)

*George's Fault / Sainty Claus Dark Strong Xmas Beer.*

*Ingredients:*
454 grams Weyermann Carafoam
454 grams Weyermann Carahelles
567 grams pale malt extract
3629 grams wheat malt extract
907 grams orange-blossom honey
454 grams Demerara Sugar (Brown Sugar)
454 grams Clear Belgian Rock Candy Sugar

42 grams Styrian Auroura Hops (@45 minutes)
7 grams Styrian Auroura Hops (@0 minutes)

28 grams Indian coriander seed (ground)
28 grams Bitter Orange Peel
28 grams mandarin Orange Peel
14 grams Chamomile (tea? flowers?)
7 grams Grains of Paradise (ground)

2x teaspoons Yeast Nutrient
Irish moss

*Method:*
Soak the cracked grains in 23 litres of water in a cheesecloth bag at 79C for 30 minutes.
Add bittering Hops & malt extracts
Boil for 45 minutes
Turn off heat, add sugars & spices (in a bag)
Heat back on, boil for further 15 minutes.
Add remaining hops.

*Ferment:*
with Wyeast 3522.

Nancy from Home Sweet Homebrew added: [SIZE=11pt]George developed the recipe for the Nodding Head brewpub in Philadelphia. It went on to win a Gold Medal at the GABF in Denver. (and a silver)[/SIZE]


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## TimT (16/10/15)

Geeze, if they're making typos in their recipes they don't sound particularly reliable.


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