Christmas ale recipe. Help?

Ok. so im gonna start on a batch of xmas ale this weekend, its gonna be a dark stouth style beer..

And i need a bit feedback on what i thought could work for this. im Totaly new using grains for this so its gonna be a first for me

250g pale malt
250g chocolate malt
250g Carafa Spesial III 1500 ebc

And either 1.8kg of dark LME or 3.2

I dont know which hops would be good with this? or other spices to add for the last 5 min boil?

you would need to mash to use the pale malt & its not necessary to use with those other 2 grains as they are already converted, 250g of pale malt won't really add any flavor either. if you plan to use specialty grains, I'd use light extract instead of dark to start getting a better understanding of the grains, otherwise you don't really know whats being added. personally, I'd replace the pale with roasted barley or more chocolate/carafa and maybe add some crystal malt if desired

i wouldnt really worry about the hops, more or less any hop should be fine as a bittering add & late adds wouldn't be needed in this

anise, vanilla, cocoa, peppermint, cinnamon, or licorice would all be fine spice additions for a xmas ale.

Hmm tanks for the reply... Yeah im gonna order a BIAB kit kinda wanna learn to brew more pro!


what would be a great grain bill then?


**Northern Brewer 10,5% Could be a good bittering aroma hop addition i guess?

unless it comes at a good price, no need for a kit to start BIAB, just toss a straining bag over a pot/cooler and you have what you need.

yes, northern brewer would be a good choice.

as far as grain bill, it depends what you're looking for in the stout. do you want light/heavy roast? dry/sweet? any toast, honey, toffee, caramel, dark fruit notes? etc

im partial to something like
80% base malt (marris otter preferably)
10% dark malts (chocolate, roasted barley, carafa)
5% flaked oats/barley
5% crystal (special B preferably)

Well i just want to start at a place.. a porter could be nice aswell

And i have a limited amount of space for brewing... could i "mash" thos grain in a 2.6 gal kettle? and then just add more water to the fermenter