Christmas/Holiday Beer Recipes?
- Thread starter KlauBrau
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All grain or extract? But if you're looking for something done for x-mas this year, you're really about a month too late. Most holiday beers are strong beers, and would require months to come into their own. If you're looking towards next year, how about a barleywine? It will be nice and ready by next Christmas.
I was looking for a basic extract recipe for this Christmas as a gift, it does not necessarily need to be ready for the 25th (I could always give instructions to wait before opening)
We're doing smaller gifts this year in the fam because of hurricane sandy. They all love homebrews and I feel six packs would be perfect.
We're doing smaller gifts this year in the fam because of hurricane sandy. They all love homebrews and I feel six packs would be perfect.
As a very new brewer, I'm hesitant o try anything too crazy. My equipment is quite limited at this point, what would be involved with a barley wine? Though Im definitely open for ideas for Christmas 13. My patience will be tested waiting 12months!
Yeah I hear you, I usually do some sort of fermentable beverage like a year old apfelwine along with my Jamaican Banana Bread made with homebrew Banana wine and rum as x-mas gifts myself.
And I too have done the "Don't open til........" labels as well. I even have special hanging labels for gift bottles here.
There really are two types of holiday beers, heavy ones like barleywines and winter warmers. Thick heavy beers that take awile to brew, the other category is a spiced white (wit) beer. A wheat based beer, usually done with beligian yeast and spiced with all sorts of spices.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger. citrus peel....even some of the "odder" spices work well in those blends, like cardamom or coriander.
Also dark fruits are common, figs, dates, plums, also pumpkin, sweet potato, cranberries....Heck even organic mince meat might be interesting (Just make sure it doesn't contain suet or fat.)
Think about the desserts and foods available at this time of year, and those are the flavors that you can work into a good base beer.
You basically need to find a nice simple wit or belgian blonde base and then flavor it with the afore mentioned spices
If you look at my pulldown, I have a Leffe Blonde clone that you could possibly use as a base with lets say a dark fruit like figs, and some spices. Or you could look for one of the hoegaarden clones on here or online (or blue moon of any wit beer, I think Biermuncher has one called blue balls that might work) and spice it with orange peel, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nuthmed.
And I too have done the "Don't open til........" labels as well. I even have special hanging labels for gift bottles here.
There really are two types of holiday beers, heavy ones like barleywines and winter warmers. Thick heavy beers that take awile to brew, the other category is a spiced white (wit) beer. A wheat based beer, usually done with beligian yeast and spiced with all sorts of spices.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger. citrus peel....even some of the "odder" spices work well in those blends, like cardamom or coriander.
Also dark fruits are common, figs, dates, plums, also pumpkin, sweet potato, cranberries....Heck even organic mince meat might be interesting (Just make sure it doesn't contain suet or fat.)
Think about the desserts and foods available at this time of year, and those are the flavors that you can work into a good base beer.
You basically need to find a nice simple wit or belgian blonde base and then flavor it with the afore mentioned spices
If you look at my pulldown, I have a Leffe Blonde clone that you could possibly use as a base with lets say a dark fruit like figs, and some spices. Or you could look for one of the hoegaarden clones on here or online (or blue moon of any wit beer, I think Biermuncher has one called blue balls that might work) and spice it with orange peel, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nuthmed.
You could try BierMuncher's Centennial Blond Or Orfy's Mild Mannered Ale
You should be able to turn those around by Christmas.
I know those are not really Holiday beers, just trying to help.
You should be able to turn those around by Christmas.
I know those are not really Holiday beers, just trying to help.
Yep..that's the biggest issue, even if you brewed and bottled in a week (which would make for sucky beer) the three weeks minimum it takes to carb, slows the process down.
I brewed a batch of Better not pout stout last month and it's gonna be just right for Christmas
http://byo.com/stories/recipeindex/article/recipes/114-stout/2358-better-not-pout-stout
http://byo.com/stories/recipeindex/article/recipes/114-stout/2358-better-not-pout-stout
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