Winter Seasonal Beer Great Lakes Christmas Ale Clone
- Thread starter Shinglejohn
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MMJfan
Well-Known Member
Nope...
Nicegirl
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I brewed this recipe almost 5 weeks ago and just racked it from primary to secondary last weekend. It had a fantastic aroma to it and the S.G. at racking put it at about 7.3% ABV. Truly a winter warmer for sure! 
Going to give it 2 weeks in secondary and then put it into cold storage for the last 2 weeks of the secondary period to help "round off the edges" a bit and to cold crash it in preparation of bottling the weekend of 11/24. Can't wait to try it!
Going to give it 2 weeks in secondary and then put it into cold storage for the last 2 weeks of the secondary period to help "round off the edges" a bit and to cold crash it in preparation of bottling the weekend of 11/24. Can't wait to try it!
I brewed this beer 2 weeks ago. Kept in the primary for one week. The sample did not impart much of any cinnamon/ginger character that the christmas ale has. Boiled 4 cinnamon sticks and 1 oz of ginger together in about 8 ounces of purified water then let it cool to room temperature (70°), strained it through a fine mesh sack, added the tea from the ginger and cinnamon and then added the raw ginger and cinnamon sticks to the fermenter and let ferment for another week. Very strong ginger and cinnamon character! I enjoy the flavor as it is much closer to the original christmas ale. If the ginger and cinnamon additions to the secondary were cut in half if would probably be excellent. I enjoy the spicy character though. I'm sure the flavors will mellow after a couple of weeks in the keezer. Good recipe overall.
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
Did you boil the cinnamon and ginger for the full 60 minutes and if so, how much did you use of each? I've brewed this recipe several times and have had to cut back on my ginger from over an oz. the first time I brewed it to around 3/4 oz and I get a very nice balance of cinnamon, ginger and honey.
I didn't do the full 60 minute boil with the cinnamon and ginger. I followed the original recipe that had a 15 minute boil time on the ginger and cinnamon. I would definitely do the full 60 minute boil next time with the cinnamon and ginger.
Flipadelphia
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What OG should I be shooting for before the honey? I'm assuming I shouldn't be aiming for 1.075 with just grain alone. Beersmith doesn't have a honey option so I don't know what OG to shoot for in BS.
Anyone ever use Honey Malt in this recipe? I like the idea of honey flavor coming through more and this seems to be the ticket.
I will be brewing this in the next couple of weeks (once I get my fermentation chamber up and running).
I will be brewing this in the next couple of weeks (once I get my fermentation chamber up and running).
I have brewed this twice. The second year, I substituted the real honey for 1% Honey Malt. I liked the first year with the real honey better. Not because I could taste it, but because the beer with the honey malt didn't dry out enough. The honey malt made the beer seem sweeter. I suppose that's the point of honey malt, but maybe I should've cut the Crystal Malt a bit. I liked the real honey because the fermentable sugar in the honey helped to dry the beer out.
It finished at 1.014 with the real honey. With the Honey Malt and no real honey it finished at 1.023. Both beers were fermented with Wyeast 1318, London Ale III because that's what they had when I made it the first time, and I liked it. Thinking about giving the regular London Ale yeast a go this year. I read that it has a higher attenuation.
I am going to try again, but will add the honey to the fermenter. I know, it will also get completely consumed, right?
I just finished brewing up my 2014 batch of Christmas ale. I made a few changes based on ingredients on hand: Subbed Victory for the Special Roast (only to discover I had a bag of Special Roast at home ) and used blackberry honey (because I had a pound of it lying around). I also used S-04 since I have gotten pretty fond of using dry yeast lately and it was suggested as a good alternate yeast. Brew day went pretty well, although my pre-boil gravity was a bit low (so I tossed on 3/4# of dry pilsen extract...which I had lying around...). I also tried wrapping a blanket around my pot to hold temps, but it didn't work very well....dropped from 154F to 150F over the hour so this year's will be a little drier. You can also see the volume markings (in Pic #2) I etched on my brew kettle earlier this year.
So I guess my attempt this year will be based off of the OP's recipe Also new this year: BIAB bags from Wilserbrewer and A fermentation chamber with an STC 1000 temp controller. (Which is SO nice! I pitched my yeast at 76F, popped it into the chamber and went to bed. In the morning the temp was a cool 64F and holding steady!) Wort smelled AMAZING!!!!!
) and used blackberry honey (because I had a pound of it lying around). I also used S-04 since I have gotten pretty fond of using dry yeast lately and it was suggested as a good alternate yeast. Brew day went pretty well, although my pre-boil gravity was a bit low (so I tossed on 3/4# of dry pilsen extract...which I had lying around...). I also tried wrapping a blanket around my pot to hold temps, but it didn't work very well....dropped from 154F to 150F over the hour so this year's will be a little drier. You can also see the volume markings (in Pic #2) I etched on my brew kettle earlier this year.So I guess my attempt this year will be based off of the OP's recipe
Also new this year: BIAB bags from Wilserbrewer and A fermentation chamber with an STC 1000 temp controller. (Which is SO nice! I pitched my yeast at 76F, popped it into the chamber and went to bed. In the morning the temp was a cool 64F and holding steady!) Wort smelled AMAZING!!!!!
Maniacmcgoo
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Attempted a version of this found on page 32 with a few adjustments because the supply place was out of some stuff.
will edit this when i get home to provide a more detailed recipe. OG of 1.082 smelled wonderful as i pitched the yeast haven't even looked at it since the air lock clogged and popped the top off saturday afternoon. Added an blowout tube so it won't happen again but I'm pretty excited to see how this looks in 2 1/2 - 3 weeks.
Here's my recipe.
Fermentables:
7lbs Gold DME
.66 lbs Wheat DME
1lb Crystal Malt 40 (Steep)
.08lb Roasted Barley (Steep)
1.25lb Honey (1lb Orange Blossom honey .25 lb Clover) (Flameout)
Hops:
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.3%) (60 mins)
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.3%) (30 mins)
1.0 oz Cascade (5.0%) (5 mins)
Other:
2 Cinnamon sticks (boil in bag 60 mins)
1.0 oz ginger (boil in bag 60 mins)
1 tbs nutmeg (15 mins)
1 Cinnamon stick broken up and dropped in (45 mins)
.5 oz ginger chopped and dropped in (45 mins)
Yeast:
2 vials London Ale Yeast WLP013
Notes:
Steeped 20 min at 155-160 F
Boil 60 mins
Aerate extremely well
1.082 OG tasted some Ginger and Hops flavors at taking the Hydrometer reading with a faint Cinnamon scent. Hope the ginger mellows a bit and the cinnamon comes on a bit stronger.
Pitched yeast at 68 F
will edit this when i get home to provide a more detailed recipe. OG of 1.082 smelled wonderful as i pitched the yeast haven't even looked at it since the air lock clogged and popped the top off saturday afternoon. Added an blowout tube so it won't happen again but I'm pretty excited to see how this looks in 2 1/2 - 3 weeks.
Here's my recipe.
Fermentables:
7lbs Gold DME
.66 lbs Wheat DME
1lb Crystal Malt 40 (Steep)
.08lb Roasted Barley (Steep)
1.25lb Honey (1lb Orange Blossom honey .25 lb Clover) (Flameout)
Hops:
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.3%) (60 mins)
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.3%) (30 mins)
1.0 oz Cascade (5.0%) (5 mins)
Other:
2 Cinnamon sticks (boil in bag 60 mins)
1.0 oz ginger (boil in bag 60 mins)
1 tbs nutmeg (15 mins)
1 Cinnamon stick broken up and dropped in (45 mins)
.5 oz ginger chopped and dropped in (45 mins)
Yeast:
2 vials London Ale Yeast WLP013
Notes:
Steeped 20 min at 155-160 F
Boil 60 mins
Aerate extremely well
1.082 OG tasted some Ginger and Hops flavors at taking the Hydrometer reading with a faint Cinnamon scent. Hope the ginger mellows a bit and the cinnamon comes on a bit stronger.
Pitched yeast at 68 F
Maniacmcgoo
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Took an SG reading today and the OG of 1.082 and an SG today of 1.010. Great color, hard to tell the flavors individually so I'm guessing it's all balanced out pretty well.
I was looking for a winter warmer that I could turn around pretty quick seeing as how it is already mid October. This looks like just the ticket, as you don't have to spice it in secondary. I've never had the GL version, but I'm sure I can turn this into a great beer. Hoping to have it ready by mid December.
cyberbackpacker
Well-Known Member
It is not too late to add it. You can add just enough water to the honey so it will "run" and add it to the fermenter. Some may suggest pasteurizing it first, but Honey doesn't spoil, and you should be actively fermenting right now, so I wouldn't stress it. However, if you do want to play it safe, I would place it in the oven at like 175 for 5 minutes; the oven is a much more even/slow heating process than the stove and you'll retain more aromatics this way.
Yeah thanks, I was thinking of adding it once the krausen starts falling. Right now its already blown through the airlock, so I had to run out and pick up a blowoff hose. When I replace the airlock in a few days I'll probably add the honey with a pint of boiled water
Last night I added the honey that I missed on brew day. After some reading about using honey in various recipes, it sounds like adding to the fermenter rather than at FO may actually be preferred for preserving some of the delicate flavors and aromas. Anyone else use this method of adding honey to the fermenter?
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
I've never tried it. I will be interested to see how your's turns out though.
I made a hopslam clone that calls for adding honey at the flameout and I too forgot to add it. I just did without it in that batch and it was still a very good beer.
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
Personally, I'd be afraid of using ground ginger because it probably wouldn't take a whole lot to get a strong ginger taste. I've even scaled back on the cubed ginger that the original recipe recipe calls for because I feel that is too strong...
I'll report back when it's ready and let everyone know how it went.
As far as ground ginger, I'm with MMJfan. After this brew I think it would be too difficult to know how much to use and you could easily overdo it.
Reading through this thread I've read about folks cutting back on the ginger, but I wanted to try with one ounce before making changes. I knew that grating a full ounce of ginger would probably be way too strong, so I only cut it into 4 chunks. The hydro sample definitely had the ginger taste and aroma, but it wasn't too strong. Tasted awesome, actually (even without the honey at that time). I'm glad I didn't use more ginger, and i'm glad I didn't grate it. Time will tell if it needs to be tweaked with the next batch.
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
It all comes down to personal preference in the end. There's really no right or wrong answer here which is why I love homebrewing. Personally, I prefer a hint of ginger which is why I have chosen to scale back the ginger.
One thing is for certain though... I can't wait to brew this again because this brew is BY FAR the best smelling beer during the boil that I brew! I'm planning on brewing up my first batch of the season next weekend!
Btw, for any Christmas Ale fans, it was released yesterday on tap and will be available in stores Monday!
@MMJfan So how much ginger do you use in the recipe now? And how do you prepare it, and when do you add it?
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
I scaled back the ginger by .25 oz. from the original recipe. I use .75 oz. of ginger peeled and cubed. And I add it at 60 minutes and let it ride for the entire boil. I emailed Great Lakes and they pointed me towards adding both the ginger and cinnamon at the start of the boil. I just put the ginger and cinnamon in a hop sack prior to adding it to the boil.
tnorman93638
Well-Known Member
Thinking about brewing this but not sure what it taste like. I live in central California. What can I find out here that would be similar to taste?
Last year, I sampled 14 different Christmas Ales, and Great Lakes' version was hands down, the ABSOLUTE best! This recipe seems to be the closest of what I've seen. If you like, I'll send you a bottle. I should have a case soon. Otherwise, brew this. I'm sure it'll be good!
"Sometimes Im right half of the time..."
tnorman93638
Well-Known Member
TrustyOlJohnson, Thanks for the offer to send me one. I just bought an Anchor Steam Christmas ale today that I'll give a try once it's chilled to see if I like this style. If I do like it then I'll take your advise that this is the Absolute best of them and brew it up.
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
I've had Anchor Steam's Christmas Ale and trust me, Great Lakes blows it out of the water...
tnorman93638
Well-Known Member
MMJfan Thanks that's good to hear. I didn't get a chance to try one today. But, I just bought it to see what a Christmas Ale taste like. Will probably brew this version this weekend
sejasba
Well-Known Member
I brewed this 2 weekends ago and just kegged it yesterday. Took my first partially carbonated taste just now, and wanted to report back on it.
My big question when I first was getting ready to brew it was on the amount of cinnamon. I bought a bag of cinnamon sticks from my LHBS from Brewers Best, and also went ahead and got the same Brewers Best 1 oz bag of ginger root. I wasn't sure how much of a difference using that vs. fresh ginger root from the grocery store would be, but got it anyway.
I got myself a 6 pack of GL Xmas Ale on Friday and had 2 since then so that I could be ready to compare them. After my first small taste of this brew, it seems quite close. It might not be as dark as the original, but i'm just going off memory. Haven't done a side by side yet.
There is definitely a ginger taste, more so than the cinnamon I think, but it seems right to me. Smelling it is very reminiscent of the original. To be clear, I used 3 sticks of cinnamon, and the entire bag of 1 oz ginger root, and they remained in there for the full 60 minute boil. I removed them after going to primary. Didn't do any secondary. I wouldn't want any more cinnamon or ginger to this beer, but that's me. Any more and I think it would be overpowering. If I brewed this again, I would stick with the amounts I used.
My big question when I first was getting ready to brew it was on the amount of cinnamon. I bought a bag of cinnamon sticks from my LHBS from Brewers Best, and also went ahead and got the same Brewers Best 1 oz bag of ginger root. I wasn't sure how much of a difference using that vs. fresh ginger root from the grocery store would be, but got it anyway.
I got myself a 6 pack of GL Xmas Ale on Friday and had 2 since then so that I could be ready to compare them. After my first small taste of this brew, it seems quite close. It might not be as dark as the original, but i'm just going off memory. Haven't done a side by side yet.
There is definitely a ginger taste, more so than the cinnamon I think, but it seems right to me. Smelling it is very reminiscent of the original. To be clear, I used 3 sticks of cinnamon, and the entire bag of 1 oz ginger root, and they remained in there for the full 60 minute boil. I removed them after going to primary. Didn't do any secondary. I wouldn't want any more cinnamon or ginger to this beer, but that's me. Any more and I think it would be overpowering. If I brewed this again, I would stick with the amounts I used.
tnorman93638
Well-Known Member
I just Brewed this today. Everything went great but was a little off on my OG. I got 1.070 instead of 1.075 but my boil off rate was a little lower than expected. Put almost 6 gal. in the fermentor instead of the 5.5 gal I should have had left. Oh well I guess I can deal with a few extra oz. Sample was a little strong and I'm not sure if it was the ginger or the hops. It should mellow over the next few weeks after fermentation and conditioning. The smell was great as I added both the cinnamon and ginger for the full 60 minutes. I'll report back in a few weeks.
mcartt11
Well-Known Member
I brewed some Christmas Ale from one of the recipes here a couple weeks ago and will bottling it tomorrow. The ginger and cinnamon flavor are there based on what I have tasted so far. It is the balance of the 2 along with the overall flavors from the honey and the rest of the grain bill that makes this one of my favorite beers.
Interestingly, I picked up some 2014 Christmas Ale over the weekend. In my opinion, this year's version has a stronger ginger flavor than in past years and seems to have lost some of the balance. I could taste almost no cinnamon at all this year. I don't have any 2013 to compare it to, my comparison is just based on memory. My buddy however said the same thing. We both commented to each other that we thought they had changed the recipe and that we liked previous years a bit better. Still a really good beer.
Interestingly, I picked up some 2014 Christmas Ale over the weekend. In my opinion, this year's version has a stronger ginger flavor than in past years and seems to have lost some of the balance. I could taste almost no cinnamon at all this year. I don't have any 2013 to compare it to, my comparison is just based on memory. My buddy however said the same thing. We both commented to each other that we thought they had changed the recipe and that we liked previous years a bit better. Still a really good beer.
There is no way they're using 600 lbs of cinnamon. That doesn't make sense. You don't do more cinnamon than honey by weight. The recipes we're talking about have like 1 ounce of cinnamon for 24 ounces of honey.
sejasba
Well-Known Member
I have to agree with you on your observations. I don't recall if I had much last year, but the couple I had so far this year definitely seemed more heavy on the ginger than I thought they used to be.
MMJfan
Well-Known Member
Yes, it's WLP013 London Ale Yeast.
Here is a good reference for Wyeast and White Labs substitutions:
http://brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44592
sejasba
Well-Known Member
tnorman93638
Well-Known Member
I used the WLP013 and it is going crazy. I'm glad I put a blow off tube on it. My bucket top was bulging even with the tube.
