Eggnog beer...?

So, my lady friend likes her eggnog and eggnog latte's and eggnog this and that. With Christmas on the way I am trying to think of her for drinks as well and thought that maybe a "special" eggnog beer could work for her. Maybe not a stout, perhaps a cream ale or an amber with no hops at all. Kinda like Cream Soda, just with alcohol.

You know, let's do a recipe here and just let me know what you think...

4 lbs Maris Otter
1 lbs Caramel 20L
.5 lbs Honey Malt
1 lbs Carapils or Vienna
1 lb Flaked or Rolled Oats
1 lb Flaked Barley
Some eggnog Spices (just nutmeg according to most recipes, though some cinnamon might be nice)
1 TBSP Vanilla (end of boil)

750ml Brandy (used for eggnog right?) in the bottling bucket
Nottingham Yeast

The idear being that I want as much dextrose in this mash as possible for the sweet taste, then the oats for creamy, then the vanilla for the vanilla and spices to make this "taste" like eggnog. Low alcohol because you will then add in the brandy to boost it up just a touch in the end. Is there a way to get more dextrose so that I don't ferment this dry? Oh! Lactose, that adds creamy right, I could add that at the end of the boil. How much? Getting interesting here now.

Am I crazy here or will something like this work?

You might be crazy but it looks like an interesting experiment.

I would add at least 1 lb of lactose but it's such a crazy recipe, maybe more is better. It could end up tasting like kaw kaw.

I also might be tempted to up the honey malt to 1 lb but that's just me and I really like honey malt.

I'm gonna puke.

Let us know how this turns out though! Maybe it is just crazy enough to ............oh.......no.......I'm gonna puke again.

Let us know what happens, and post pics!?

Alot of the spices in Chai tea are similar to those in eggnog/pumpking pie. I have on more than one occasion considered a Chai Wheat, and I think I'll be brewing one next summer.

As for your recipe Matt, I give it props and I think it has merit. As for what the end result will be, there is only one way to find out.

be careful with that nutmeg. go light.

i'm not sure about the brandy...sounds like it might destroy it. i'd pull a sample from your secondary and taste a small mixture before you add it.

the oats will add creaminess. i'd almost be tempted to add even more.

lactose will add sweetness and a small amount of creaminess.

my friend just made a pumpkin ale last night with vanilla bean, nutmeg, cinnamon and other spices. the spice tea smelled so good.

sounds like a fun experiment, but it does make me want to puke a little

(i'm not a big eggnog fan )

I'm an eggnog junkie. As soon as fall rolls around I can't wait until Thanksgiving ends, when I can pick up a gallon of the stuff and a fifth of Buffalo Trace to take me through the winter.

Go with real vanilla beans. Sure it'll set you back worse than the extract but you'll be glad you did. As for the brandy... use a quality brand and go light. I'd think you'd risk overwhelming the beer, and possibly the yeast if you're bottle conditioning, with too much of it.

I will admit that I am using the Nottingham because I have in the past and it works. I have a thing about trying new yeasts when I can plot in Excel the course that Notty takes. Very predictable.

Would another yeast be preferable? Maybe something that finishes around 1.015 or 1.018. I don't know...

I have never used Lactose either and do I just add that to the boil? Is there a calculator out there to figure out the sweetness level? Will it leave any sweetness in the end (ie, is it unfermentable?)?

I will totally put my girlfriends tastebuds on the line for this experiment and brew this up maybe in the next week or so. Any input or thoughts are welcome as it is new territory for me and sounds new to many of you too!

Is that enough vanilla by the way? I did a test with Orfy's mild brown and added some vanilla extract into it and it just tasted more and more bitter. I guess that is what it does...the vanilla smell came out though.

Lactose is a add anytime ingredient. It's not fermentable so you can add it at boil, in secondary, or at bottling.

edit: If using in secondary or bottling, boil it up with a couple cups of water, cool, and add.

lactose is not fermentable and will affect your final gravity...it's probably best to do it before bottling, to taste.

i'd second going with the vanilla bean as appose to extract. get the real cinnamon sticks, too.

heat up some water and put it in with all the spices in a small bowl. let it sit for a while and add at flame-out. you can also add a little bit at a time and smell it as you go.

I will try to hunt down some vanilla bean, however I just got stuck with a massive bill that was totally unexpected in my hobby life. So I might start this time with the extract and then if the recipe proves drinkable then I will use the bean in a super special one.

I like the idea of the little tea just at flamout. I have a pumpkin porter that right now doesn't have enough spice flavor and I need to add a little bit of that in the bottling bucket.

Lactose - I have done a bit of research as well as what you guys say above. Will the creamy intensify the longer it is in the beer (ie...add in primary for super creamy, bottling bucket for somewhat creamy)? What kind of sweetness are we talking here, equal to sugar addition? Looks to me that half a pound should be enough, but again, I don't know how much it sweetens so...

Watch it on the lactose, a little goes a long way. I'd go with 4oz and see how it goes. I made Cheesfood's Caramel Cream, and 4oz was alot.

I will mix up some into the boil and then if needed a little bit more in the bottling bucket then. 4 oz in the boil and then 2 oz increments after that I think.

Any more thoughts in regard to the recipe as I think that I will be brewing this tomorrow and I don't want to be blindsided by anything I didn't think of?

I see this was quite some time ago, but I don't see anything stating how it turned out. I found it by searching for just such an idea. Did it work? If so, what was the final recipe?

Just did my first batch this weekend and I'm hooked - now I'm searching for recipe ideas.

I just puked all my buffalo wings all over my couch floor and a little on my computer......THANKS!

Randy Mosher has a recipe for Beernog in Tasting Beer. Its not a brewed beer, but a mixed drink.

Eggnog mixture:
Separate 4 eggs
Beat yolks with 1.5 c milk and 1c cream
season with nutmeg, mace and vanilla
whip egg whites and fold them into mixture

The drink:
12 oz of a "hearty ale" (christmas type ale, barleywine, dopplebock, scotch ale)
1/2 oz bourbon, rye or dark rum
top of with prepared eggnog mixture.

Click to expand...

I don't know about you, but that sounds delicious!

Hah. I am very intrigued by this. Post how it turns out.

I'm also curious. Let's see if we find out what happened...

I love eggnog. I mean I really love it. I look forward to Christmas time primarily because eggnog is in stores. I have been known to drink a gallon in a single sitting, loving each and every once.

But... This sounds a little weird for me. I mean, by all means go for it. I just don't think I could brew this with any confidence at all...

I wish I knew how this turned out. I am looking for an interesting Christmas beer to brew.

Every year I make a few batches of eggnog from scratch. I don't know if your friend is used to store bought stuff, but making raw eggnog is just the best, and only takes about 2 days instead of 4+ weeks. It isn't as thick as the store stuff, so I'm thinking you could make it more like raw nog. Also, a big key to it is getting those egg whites mixed in which provides that great texture, so maybe if you get something that tastes right do carbonation with a nitro mix.

EDIT: Wow just noticed it was a 2 year old thread.

bump, actually very curious about this

Nobody is claiming to have brewed an egg nog brew.

Anyone? I've had a few requests for one this year.

So I am in the process of making an eggnog Ale. At current the ale is in the fermentation bucket and it is just the cream ale recipe. I am going to add the spices after I come up with the ratios. I am using Daddy's little helper Malt Liquor as my base to figure out the spice ratio. The main recipe:

3 lbs light hopped dried malt extract
2 lbs wheat dried malt extract
1 lb rice syrup solids
8 oz. lactose (my kids moved my bags around and I dumped 16 oz in.)
Safale US-05 yeast
5 oz priming sugar

I don't know if I will be using the priming sugar as I have a keg and can force carb the ale. I will update in a few weeks as to the outcome!!

The egg nog beer came out great. Everyone is drinking it like fish. Delicious is not enough to described it. I'm calling it the yull nog beer!!

So what spices did you end up adding to your base recipe?

Yes please tell us! It is well after Christmas but I still want to make this!

I know this is old, but beanilla.com usually has some pretty decent deals on vanilla beans. I got 10 quality beans for around $10.
if my wife didnt despise egg not I would brew this.