Who Is Making An Xmas Beer?

[Tim F]

After a bit of research over the last month I just finished boiling this one for Xmas. It smells and tastes ridonkulously good out of the fermenter.

Pale malt 69.2%
Medium crystal 6.2%
Wheat malt 6.2%
CaraAroma 7.7%
Honey 10.8%

4 Cloves, boil 60 min
25g fresh chopped ginger, boil 10 min
2 cinnamon sticks, boil 5 min

20 IBU Cascade @ 60
10 IBU Cascade @ 10

Mash at 67

Planning to use nottingham

Hope it's as good as it smells now! Anyone else getting something in a keg ready for xmas day?

 

[mje1980]

By xmas my keg of koelsh will be around 2 months conditioning. Not a real fan on spices in beer. I did a strong ale with a similar amount of cara aroma and it had nice fruitcake flavour.

 

[mikk]

Good luck with the Xmas spiced beer. I planned on doing one, but left it too late! Maybe i can do a big dark spiced Xmas beer soon, but then keep it as a winter warmer for xmas in july instead...
I think you've got the right idea keeping your beer fairly light though- hope it goes well.

 

[Bribie G]

Wow that time of year already. Using all the tricks and hints I've gleaned over the years from a certain unnamed brewer wot knows stuff - and a PDF sourced by another guy on this forum originally publised by CUB themselves h34r: I had a crack at a historical style Reschs / Tooths beer and it turned out a cracker although a tad higher in alc. Not as dry as the current Reschs Draught, but reminds me so much of the old KB it gave me goosebumps and it would have been a star turn at the old six o'clock swill. I'll knock out a keg for visitors:




Note the mash regime and the fermentation regime and the yeast, and the surprise ingredient in the grist

Glass o' Teeth


Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 21.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.515
Total Hops (g): 20.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.052 (P): 12.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.011 (P): 2.8
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.36 %
Colour (SRM): 4.7 (EBC): 9.3
Bitterness (IBU): 21.3 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
4.000 kg Pilsner Barrett Burston (88.59%)
0.500 kg Maltose Syrup (11.07%)
0.015 kg Roasted Barley (0.33%) YES ROASTED BARLEY HINT HINT

Hop Bill
----------------
20.0 g Pride of Ringwood Flowers (9.8% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil) (1 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
Brewbrite in kettle
Gelatine in secondary

Single step Infusion at 63C for 90 Minutes.
Mashout at 78C

Fermented at 13C with Wyeast Danish Lager yeast, rising steadily to 17C over 9 days
Lager at -1 degree for 10 days.




Recipe Generated with BrewMate

 

[Muggus]

Never really specifically made Christmas beer.
Traditionally i'll brew a Belgian dark strong around this time of year to follow from years before.
Generally have a keg of beer for Chrissie day too - got a Pilsner for this one.

If all goes well, the plan is to brew a Barley wine and age it in the American oak barrel i've had a Shiraz in for the last 6 months or so. Not really a Christmas beer considering I won't be able to drink it until next year.

 

[argon]

Usually do a rogers' knock off for Xmas new years. Always good as a session. Probably do DrSmurto's version soon so I can have it fresh for the festive season.

 

[Nick JD]

XXXX Gold.

shut up, shut up now

19L keg of it for a Xmas party. I'm not about to kick the crutch out from people who don't know what good beer is.

I'll be drinking my Chimay Red clone.

 

[Tim F]

Pale malt 69.2%
Medium crystal 6.2%
Wheat malt 6.2%
CaraAroma 7.7%
Honey 10.8%

4 Cloves, boil 60 min
25g fresh chopped ginger, boil 10 min
2 cinnamon sticks, boil 5 min

20 IBU Cascade @ 60
10 IBU Cascade @ 10

*For Bribie
15L batch size target OG 1.060 (@ 80% efficiency). In reality I was a few points under. If I was doing a standard batch size I'd up it to 6 cloves, 35g ginger, 3 cinnamon sticks.

I'm also toying with dry hopping with a little cascade to get some citrus in there too.

Not a real fan on spices in beer. I did a strong ale with a similar amount of cara aroma and it had nice fruitcake flavour.

Yeah I think it was something that you posted that made me swap out the melanoiden and some of the crystal in my original recipe for the cara aroma here. I agree spice could be overpowering in this type of beer but this recipe has a fairly small amount compared to some - I really just wanted a hint of spice.

I accidentally spilt the kettle dregs while cleaning up and now the whole shed stinks of gingerbread :icon_cheers:

 

[jimi]

XXXX Gold.

shut up, shut up now

19L keg of it for a Xmas party. I'm not about to kick the crutch out from people who don't know what good beer is.

I'll be drinking my Chimay Red clone.

Could i get you to share that chimay red recipe Nick?

 

[thermo_47]

Not doing a spiced beer, but in the fermenter at the moment is a Christmas edition of a brown ale we call Brisbane River Brown - a little more dry hopped for the festive season...

It's essentially a maltier, fruitier Brown somewhere in between White Rabbit Dark Ale, Newcastle Brown and Toohey's Old - very sessionable...

 

[Cocko]

I am not doing a dedicated xmas brew as such but just trying to have ALL 3 taps running for the festive season..

Have a WIT, APA and Kolsch all ready to run although the WIT was a cranberry wit recipe and we removed the cranberry's and didn't change anything else so is now a spicy, spicy McGee McWit = Undrinkable.. trying to find the juice to correct.

So xmas day we will be slugging back APA, cents and cascade, a Kolsch - all Perle - so good!, and random, fruity driven wit that I will sell in by calling it a breezer.. for the ladies h34r:

Ha, merry xmas.

 

[Kieren]

Haven't got a xmas style beer planned but will probably brew a beer xmas day. An iipa?

 

[Tim F]

I am not doing a dedicated xmas brew as such but just trying to have ALL 3 taps running for the festive season..

Have a WIT, APA and Kolsch all ready to run although the WIT was a cranberry wit recipe and we removed the cranberry's and didn't change anything else so is now a spicy, spicy McGee McWit = Undrinkable.. trying to find the juice to correct.

So xmas day we will be slugging back APA, cents and cascade, a Kolsch - all Perle - so good!, and random, fruity driven wit that I will sell in by calling it a breezer.. for the ladies h34r:

Ha, merry xmas.

Sounds decent. I'm finding the trouble is timing my brewing so there's something good on tap and not all drunk already Like I have a keg of ipa now that I planned to serve xmas but it's ready to drink now. Must... ration...

 

[Nick JD]

Could i get you to share that chimay red recipe Nick?

80% Wey Pilsner
5% Caramunich 1
5% Special B
66C mash for 90 minutes
10% Sugaz start of boil
Bland hop 15 IBUs 60 minute (I use Galena)
EKG 10 IBUs 15 minutes
WY1214 @ 20C

OG 1.065-1.070

 

[Tony]

here is one i made a lot of years ago and it was awsome.

2007 Xmas beer

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 14.00 Wort Size (L): 14.00
Total Grain (kg): 3.30
Anticipated OG: 1.058 Plato: 14.30
Anticipated EBC: 13.8
Anticipated IBU: 34.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
42.4 1.40 kg. Weyermann Munich I Germany 1.038 15
39.4 1.30 kg. IMC Pilsner Australia 1.038 3
9.1 0.30 kg. Honey Bees Arse 1.042 0
6.1 0.20 kg. TF Torrefied Wheat UK 1.035 5
3.0 0.10 kg. JWM Caramalt Australia 1.036 50

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
30.00 g. Pacific Hallertau Whole 6.50 29.6 40 min.
20.00 g. Pacific Hallertau Whole 6.50 4.5 5 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.10 Oz Irish Moss Fining 10 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

DCL Yeast S-33 SafBrew Specialty Ale




Notes
-----

1 cinnamon stick, broken up

1/4 tspoon nutmeg

1/4 tspoon allspice

1 tspo
on ginger grated

2 whole cloves

zest of 1 orange and some juice, about 5
0 mls

3 cardomom seed pods, crushed

All mixed with 1 cup of boiling warer
and honey and added last 15 min of boil

 

[jimi]

80% Wey Pilsner
5% Caramunich 1
5% Special B
66C mash for 90 minutes
10% Sugaz start of boil
Bland hop 15 IBUs 60 minute (I use Galena)
EKG 10 IBUs 15 minutes
WY1214 @ 20C

OG 1.065-1.070

Much obliged :beer:

 

[Bribie G]

Much obliged :beer:

And he had the decency to post the OG :icon_chickcheers: (see other thread)

 

[Asha05]

Just reading throught his thread and the "xmas beers" that some people make with cloves & spices etc...Being in Aus could you really down one of these on a possible 30+ degree day?

 

[drtomc]

Saison is a pretty good option even on a hotday, though my 8% one is not exactly a thirst quencher.

T

 

[tallie]

I'll be brewing this one again on the weekend: White Xmas Ale. Little conditioning time required and always goes down well!

Cheers,
tallie