Good Christmas Seasonal Brew

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DRoyLenz

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Hey All -

So, I'm trying to think ahead, and use my new hobby to make some good Christmas presents. I figured, given the typical types of beer that are good for Christmas, I'm going to need to get started on it real early to make sure it has time to condition. I was hoping to make a good Oktoberfest for the fall, but apparently you usually have to start those back in March if you want a good turn-out.

Does anybody have any ideas as to any good brews I can make up for the Christmas season given the time window I have? Keep in mind, I am not yet set up for AG brews, but if you have a "must-try" AG recipe, post it anyway for other people's benefits.

Thanks!
 
Next month I plan on making an Oaked Bourbon Porter extract kit from Northernbrewer and adding a few vanilla beans in secondary.
Im going to dip the neck of the bottles in red wax and give them away at Christmas time.
 
I can't speak for the Porter w/ Vanilla Beans (however, it does sound good), but I love that wax idea. How would the recipients get the caps off? Is that a lot of trouble?
 
I just checked out the kit you're talking about, it does sounds pretty great, and I think the Vanilla Bean addition is a nice touch. Make sure to let me know how it turns out in case I go with something else.
 
I have a recipe on file that I will do this year, it's a Holiday Cheer that includes:

Cascade hops for bittering and finishing
honey
grated ginger
cinnamon sticks
grated orange peel


Can't wait!! :)
 
Troeg's Mad Elf Clone:

15 lbs. Belgian Pils
1 lbs. German Light Munich
.125 lbs. Belgian Chocolate Malt
3 lbs. Honey

.5 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 60 min.
.25 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 30 min.
.5 oz. Hallertau (Whole, 4.50 %AA) boiled 10 min.

White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale

Add 5 lbs of Bing cherries to 2ndary.
 
Any winter warmer or fruity barleywine would be good. Look for mini-mash recipes.
 
I just made the same post a few days ago, I'm looking to attempt a Scaldis Noel clone:

#9.5 Maris Otter
#9 2-Row Pale
#2 Clear Candi Sugar

1.5oz Kent Goldings 90 Min
0.5oz Styrian Goldings 15 Min
0.5oz Kent Goldings 5 Min
.25 Kent to Secondary (Dry Hop)

Pitch with Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong. It's a big beer, and needs a bit of time to finish. I'm going to attempt it in the next week or so, and it will need 6 months at the very least to age, so I dont even know if I'll hand them out for the holidays..
 
Deschutes Jubeale is delicious.

I am also partial to New Belgium Frambozen, which might be easier than a winter warmer.

Eric
 
If you like to experiment, you can try Christmas Old Ale. I can't promise it will turn out good cause I'm in the process of making it myself, but I can tell you that it smelled amazing out of the fermentor.
 
So, I've done some serious thinking about this, and some serious research. And here are my thoughts so far, let me know what you guys think.

For the drink, I'm starting to think about brewing up a simple batch of Ed Wort's Apfelwein. I think it's still early enough in the year to let that condition enough before Christmas. I will bottle it, probably in nice big, 22 oz bottles. I really liked the idea of dipping the top of the bottle in red wax, so I will probably do that. I would like to get it as close to the Maker's Mark style as possible. I will include on it a nice (probably green) label, maybe even personalized to each person I give it to. As a final touch, I will make a nice card, tied around the neck of the bottle, with instructions on how to heat the apfelwein, with some rum, and a cinnamon stick, to make a nice, hot drink to enjoy on a cold Christmas morning. I will also include the cinnamon stick.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?
 
I just got the goods for a Smoked and Oaked Baltic Porter that should get brewed this weekend. It should be in fine form come Christmas.


# oz Grain
8 0 Maris Otter
6 0 Smoked Malt
2 0 Molasses
1 0 Cara-Pils
0 12 Crystal 40L
0 4 Crystal 120L
0 4 Chocolate Malt

Mash 1.25 qt/lb @ 154°F

oz Min Hop
1 60 Northern Brewer (8.6% AA)
1 60 Willamette (5.1% AA)

Yeast
Safale-04

Misc
1 tsp Irish Moss (15 min left in boil)
2 oz Dark Roasted Oak Chips(3 weeks in secondary)

Targets
Vol = 5.5 gal
OG = 1.092
FG= 1.024
SRM = 29
IBU = 35
ABV = 9.0%
 
Holy crap that sounds delicious. That is almost inspiring enough for me to go out and buy all the equipment I need for AG brewing and get started on that.
 
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