Help me with finaly making a Granville Island winter ale Clone , any help is good.

So iv been trying to find a clone recipe for GIB winter ale. Its a good one and no one seems to have a recipe for it.
I found one person on here that had one from Dan's home brewing in Vancouver, where I first started learning how to brew actually , but was a little disappointed with it just from looking . Who knows maybe it is good and I'm trying way to hard. Anyhow ill post a link to my Brewtoad recipe for both Dans which i took and punched in to the calculator and my own which I made using different sources saying what makes there beer so great.Its for a Partial Mash

heres a quick copy of one thing which seems to be off of wiki :

"I was up there last summer, but I didn't get to try the winter ale. Here is what I found on Wikipedia:

Lions Winter Ale - Crystal, Vienna & Munich malts come together to give Lions Winter Ale the body and richness of a robust ale, with a sweet caramel flavour. Specialty hops such as Wilamette, Czech and German Spalt, infuse the aroma. Bavarian Purity Law standards are observed until the filtration stage, at which point real caramel, vanilla and chocolate are added to give this beer a smooth vanilla like finish. "

also the GIB website states it has a ibu of 22
gravity of 2.4
and is 5.5 %

So here is my own recipe which i think i will be brewing in the next week so any input would be awesome. that is especially about the amount of the different grains, type of yeast and whatever else :
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/granville-island-winter-ale-clone-2-on-my-own

here is Dans Home brewing vancouver recipe for the GIB winter ale:
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/gib-winter-ale-dans-hb-clone

Thanks and i hope we can all make an awesome clone recipe for this great beer. everyone's input is appreciated

I'm so happy to see this thread

Starting my first all grain brew, going to BIAB, and Granville's winter ale is the style I want.

How did the brew go? Would you make any changes to the recipe?

Gravity readings? How's it look now?

I'm going to do something similar in the next week

Also, here is a further description of the beer from the brewers website:

Caramel malt aromas dominated by cocoa and vanilla. Complex layers of vanilla, bready malts, toffee, cocoa bean and a slight nuttiness. Moderate hop bitterness gives balance so that sweeter flavours do not overwhelm.

Just bottled this last week. Brewed BIAB. OG was 1.065 and finished 1.010. Taste pre-bottling was good. Just need it to mellow a bit while it carbonates. I didn't have a secondary so I added vanilla soaked vodka to the primary at 10 days. I can't wait to try it in another week or two.

iamthezu said:

Just bottled this last week. Brewed BIAB. OG was 1.065 and finished 1.010. Taste pre-bottling was good. Just need it to mellow a bit while it carbonates. I didn't have a secondary so I added vanilla soaked vodka to the primary at 10 days. I can't wait to try it in another week or two.

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Well iv actually been unable to brew for the last few months. moving around,money ,life, blahblahblah. Started an Ipa yesterday finaly. Im sad i didnt get around to making this GIB winter ale. Anyhow im going to start playing around with it now and hopfully have an awsome beer for next season.

So what one did you make , the dans recipe or the one iv put together?
iamthezu?
How is it tasting or did taste

Not normally one to resurrect an old thread, but this seems the closest I've found to a recipe for Lion's Winter Ale. My wife and I want to brew this to give out as a Christmas gift and I'm actually thinking ahead (we talk about this each year around December 1). Did this work out for anybody?? Cheers.

I sort of combined the two recipes and did all grain BIAB. One thing I found was that although it had the vanilla it was a little lacking in some flavor and body of the original. It was also too dark. If I had it to do over again I might skip the chocolate malt and add Crystal 120 for color and a little more sweetness and body. I also read recently somewhere that they also add some chocolate to the beer.

I think anyway you go if you follow the recipes at the top you'll get a great approximation.

Well I gave this one a go tonight, as Christmas is coming quickly (boo). I've had a month to get everything ready, and then as I go to weigh grain I realize I didn't have Munich, I had Caramel Munich. Since I leave for a race this week and then right to work I wouldn't be able to brew again until the 16th, so I had to throw something together tonight to see if it'll turn out. Since I was burning time fast, I quickly Googled and came up with somewhat of an attempt at a Munich replacement. Time will tell.

6lb 8 oz 2-row
1.6lb Vienna (would have gone more but it's all I had)
1 lb Crystal 60
1 lb Crystal 120
0.5 lb Amber
0.25 lb melanoiden
1 oz Saaz (60 min)
1 oz Williamette (60 min)
2 oz Baker's White Chocolate
0.5 oz Tettnanger (5 min)

OG 1.57 (BS calculated it at 1.53.) Pitched White Labs 002 after a 2 day starter.

I have 20 Madagascar Vanilla beans that just showed up, I'm going to try 3 of them, split down the middle in the secondary. But that won't be until part way through next month before I can transfer. I'm going to try and read up on cinnamon tonight, as I bought sticks. I just don't know if I should have added them already, or if they can secondary.

My only concern is adding real caramel into it due to the fats & oil or am I over thinking this.

what about using some biscuit malt in this? That would definitely add a touch of breadyness. Otherwise this recipe looks awesome. When are you putting in the white chocolate?

Finally bottle this beer , I didn't add Caramel the crystal malt did a great job of that. I use vodka to extract the vanilla bean and chocolate nibs which I dump in the secondary . however I use 1/4 cup of nibs which was a little to much. Beside that this is bang on.

blazingsun81 said:

Finally bottle this beer , I didn't add Caramel the crystal malt did a great job of that. I use vodka to extract the vanilla bean and chocolate nibs which I dump in the secondary . however I use 1/4 cup of nibs which was a little to much. Beside that this is bang on.

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Blazingsun81 - can you explain how you went about extracting the vanilla and chocolate with the vodka? I would assume you just let them soak in vanilla for a given amount of time. How long and how much vodka did you use? Did you simply add the resulting liquid to the beer in the secondary or did you just dump the liquid along with the beans and whatever the chocolate turns into in there as well?

Very interested in trying this recipe just a little confused as how to go about this final step.

This is the receipt I used https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/granville-island-winter-ale-clone-2-on-my-own.
I didn't add the white chocolate and Carmel how it suggest. I'm not experience with adding ingredients that have fat and didn't want to take the chance.
As for the exacts I use two 8" vanilla beans which I chop up and put into a container , then added enough vodka to just cover them.
With the nibs I added in 1/4 cup which was a little to much, I recommend half of that. Into another container which I pour enough vodka to just cover them. Place both containers in the fridge for 3 days.
Once it is time to transfer to the secondary carboy pour both exacts into the bottom of the secondary , then begin the transfer of the winter ale on top this way it gets mixed in. In 7 days your ready to bottle or keg.

This beer is delicious...I get a mint whiff taste too...

Mint?

One more thing , of you can't find German spalt hops, hallertau can be used instead

blazingsun81 said:

Mint?

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Ya, I get an Andes mint whisper...

From the actually Granville winter ale or these recipes .?

From the actual...

I had a couple bottles of GI Lions Winter Ale at a restaurant tonight, and I took some notes.

The bottle mentions barley and wheat. But the head is minimal so I don't think there's much wheat in there.

Their website and blog no longer mentions Munich or Vienna malts, maybe they changed the recipe this year.

The cream soda/vanilla flavors overwhelm any hop and malt character, so it's probably best to hop early, and not get hung up on which hop is used.

While sipping it, I took a stab at ingredients and recipe. This is my guess:

Batch size: 5.5 gal
OG: 1.055
Bitterness (IBU): 23.5
Color (SRM): 16.4
ABV: 5.5%

Grain/Sugars:

7.00 lb Two-row (US), 67.5% (maybe Viena)
2.00 lb Wheat (US), 19.3%
0.75 lb Crystal 120L, 7.2%
0.50 lb Crystal 30L, 4.8%
2 oz Chocolate Malt, 1.2%

Hops:

1.00 oz Willamette (AA 4.5%, Pellet) 60 min, 15.7 IBU
1.00 oz Willamette (AA 4.5%, Pellet) 15 min, 7.8 IBU

Yeast/Misc:

London Ale yeast, 1.0 unit(s), Yeast

4 vanilla beans
Cocoa nibs?


Recipe Notes:

From bottle:
22 ibu
5.5% abv
Barley+wheat

My notes:
Vanilla, strong, like cream soda
some chocolate notes
Dark ruby color (17 srm?)
Mid-high carbonation.

Mash @156F
Ferment @ 68F

There could be wheat added , if they use ingredients such as Irish Moss that would help in the drop of protein in the boil, which would reduce some of the head.

All the Granville recipes seem to base off their pale ale .

I love the Granville Island Winter Ale. I saw it in the store and was skeptical. Then I met someone in the check out line that said it was his "go to" winter sipping beer. Now its mine too. When its cold out I want no other beer with my dinner. And I drink them amazingly fast ! Very delicious, at least in winter. I don't think I could drink them in summer.

I'm looking to brew a clone of GIB Winter Ale in the fall of 2015. I hope you guys get the recipe worked out before then !

The only thing that was a little off with my batch was I use 1/4 of nibs when I should of used 1/8 .

I made this recipe for the wife about 2 months ago, it came out pretty damn close. My only issue with it was that I used cheap vodka to make my vanilla / chocolate extract, the beer now has a distinct, slight cheap vodka taste to it. When I brew it again (the wife loves this beer, so I will brew it again) I'll work on getting rid of that vodka taste. I think I might just toss the nibs and beans directly into the secondary and pray to the beer gods for an infection free beer next time.

Exactly what recipe and process did you guys use ?

(5 gal)
OG - 1.061 SG, FG - 1.019 SG, 5.5% ABV, 26 IBU, 28 SRM, 72% efficiency

5.58 lb - 2-Row
2.30 lb - Munich
2.30 lb - Crystal 80
1.15 lb - Vienna
0.58 lb - Chocolate Malt

1.16 oz - Saaz (3.75% AA) @ 60 min
0.58 oz - Willamette (5.50% AA) @ 60 min
0.58 oz - Willamette (5.50% AA) @ 5 min

WLP002 English Ale

Mash @ 152F, 60 min boil

On recommendation of another poster in this thread I created both a vanilla and a chocolate extract which was added to a secondary and the beer was racked on top and left for an additional week before bottling. I took 1/8th of a cup of chocolate nibs, added enough vodka to just cover them and left it for a week. I did the same thing with 3 cut and split vanilla beans. Like I said, the cheap vodka is my only regret with this recipe, it left a slight taste to the finished beer. Next time I'd just toss the nibs and beans directly into the secondary and rack on top of them. The wife did mention that it didn't have as much chocolate flavor as the real thing but that she thought it was a good thing. You might want to up the amount of nibs slightly based on personal preference.

This recipe seems to be a winner.

Thanks for the details.

By chocolate nibs, do you mean like cocoa nibs ?
https://www.google.com/search?q=chocolate+nibs

Or do you mean the licorice candy Nibs made by Twizzlers ?

Or do you mean chocolate chips like what are used for baking ?

Haha, go with the licorice nibs for ****s and giggles.

Sorry I meant cacao nibs.

TheHopfather said:

Haha, go with the licorice nibs for ****s and giggles.

Sorry I meant cacao nibs.

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I bet a hint of licorice would taste pretty good in that beer ! Thanks for the recipe, process and clarification. Cant wait to brew this.

What temp did you ferment at and what flavors are you expecting the yeast to contribute ?

Yes chocolate nibs

Bookmarked....

Was in Oakville ONT last month. The last few days there I had a few GIPA. I wished I found that earlier.
:rockin:

This might just have to be my XMAS Beer!!!

Well it's been some time since I first tried to make this brew , Now with better equipment & brew knowledge I'm going to make a batch today.
Got a feeling going to finally put a nail in the coffen on this clone this round .
Thanks to everyones useful insight here .

blazingsun81 said:

Well it's been some time since I first tried to make this brew , Now with better equipment & brew knowledge I'm going to make a batch today.
Got a feeling going to finally put a nail in the coffen on this clone this round .
Thanks to everyones useful insight here .

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Let us know how it goes and what recipe you used. I just had it on tap the other day

ratinator said:

Let us know how it goes and what recipe you used. I just had it on tap the other day

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Will do
I'm measuring out my grind bill for this brew day right now .

Did you make this recipe? Anxious to know how it turned out.

Also can you not just use the vodka to sanitize the cocoa and vanilla and then throw the cocoa and vanilla into secondary vs adding the vodka? Soak for maybe a few hours to just sanitze?

Thx

So I've been following this thread for over a year now but haven't had a chance to give the recipe a go! Just brewed a Christmas Ale I'm anxiously waiting to see how it turns out. But it's definitely not the replace the GIB Winter Ale I plan on trying over the next week or two. Won't be ready for the Holidays, but it'll be cold here for a while, so plenty of time to finish it up!

Please let us know how this most recent batch turned out! SO glad you revisited this thread.

Cant wait!!

tdibratt said:

Did you make this recipe? Anxious to know how it turned out.

Also can you not just use the vodka to sanitize the cocoa and vanilla and then throw the cocoa and vanilla into secondary vs adding the vodka? Soak for maybe a few hours to just sanitze?

Thx

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Ok. It's 2022. Any update? Lol. Love this beer, still. I'm looking for a conclusive recipe. I might have to just piece one together with all the info above.