St Arnold's Christmas Ale

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care of Defalco's Homebrew - Houston ,TX
ST. ALMOST XMAS ALE


A miraculously restorative strong ale. Malty smooth. After a couple these, you'll see the Star in the East
8 lbs. amber unhopped malt extract
1 1/2 lbs. Munich malt
1 lb. Belgian Cara-Munich malt
1/2 lb. Belgian Special B malt
2 oz. chocolate malt
1 oz. Perle hops (bittering)
1 oz. Liberty hops (flavoring)
1 oz. Liberty hops (finishing)
1/2 tsp. calcium chloride water salts
1 pkg. Safale S-04 (or Wyeast #1968, #1098, #1272, #1056, #1007 or White Labs English, British, or California ale yeast)
1 pkg. Bru-Vigor (yeast food)
3/4 cup corn sugar (for priming)
O.G. - 1.063 -- F.G. - 1.015

need all-grain?
 
or all-grain for Saint Arnold's Christmas Ale
11 lbs. 2 Row Pale Malt
13 oz Munich Malt
7 oz CaraMunich (40)
7 oz Special B Malt
1 lb. 3 oz CaraVienne Malt (20)
1 tsp Irish Moss (15 min)
1.5 oz Perle Hops @ 30 min (10.8 AAU)
3 oz Liberty Hops @ 0 min
Wyeast London ESB or White Labs English Ale.
0.75 c corn sugar for priming
Single Infusion Mash @ 150 for 60 minutes, boil wort for 90 min. Ferment at 72 degrees to get the nice fruity esters.

This came from Dave Fourgeron, Brewmaster @ Saint Arnolds
 
Thanks...I'm gonna have to try this. :)

I could of sworn there was a touch of cherry, or raisin, or something in there...guess it's coming from the Perle?
 
El Pistolero said:
Thanks...I'm gonna have to try this. :)

I could of sworn there was a touch of cherry, or raisin, or something in there...guess it's coming from the Perle?
Dave, the brewer, said the same thing before he brewed it. he swore they put spices in it, but they don't.
 
from St. Arnold's web page

Ingredients

Malted Barley: We use five different types of malted barley in the Christmas Ale, no other grains or cereals such as corn or rice. The large quantity of malts is responsible for the sweetness and high alcohol content.

Hops: We use two different Pacific Northwest hop varieties in the Christmas Ale. The resulting hop character is a spicy bitterness and a flowery hop bouquet.

Specifications

Original Gravity: 1.067 (17.0° Plato)

Color: Copper

Bitterness: 35 IBU

Alcohol Content
By Weight: 5.6%
By Volume: 7.0%
 
That's a whole lot of special b. I've read elswhere that 4 oz is the max for a 5 gal batch.

Sounds pretty darn good though. Maybe I'll give it a go next summer, it should be ready by Christmas.
 
the amount of special b is probably responsible for the raisin flavor. sounds good. i might have to try a clone and bring it down to austin for this christmas and see how similar they are. hopefully it wont be sold out by then.
 
it goes pretty quick, but it may still be there by then? i'm sure that's the extra spice flavor. but, the 7oz is correct in the recipe.

give it a shot!
 
Obviously this thread has been dead for a while but I just tried St. Arnold's Christmas for the first time in January of this year and fell in love with it. Tried the extract recipe listed here, let it condition for 2 months prior to bottling and have it in storage now. I did try one after about 3 weeks and can already tell it is going to be phenomenal but would love to hear from anyone who has brewed it to find out what the ideal bottle conditioning time is to really let the flavors blend.

Oh and thanks DeRoux's Broux for posting the recipe from the brew master. I am still amazed that this recipe was out there.

Cheers

Ed
 
Made the extract recipe from DeFalco's about a year ago. It definitely gets better with age. Every once in a while I come across a bottle mixed up in my storage closet or hiding in the back of the fridge and its always a treat! After 6+ months it seems to smooth out, sounds like you made it just in time to age for Christmas!
 

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