Christmas beer

I'm looking to make a Christmas beer soon, late August.. Not a spice beer, but something dark and heavy, but not too bitter tasting. I made 2 oatmeal stouts and they were pretty good, but looking for a bigger darker beer..
suggestions?
Also do these need to ferment a long time or just sit in bottles for a long time? It should be done in 3 - 3.5 months.. I only have 1 primary, so I also don't want to mess up the rest of the year with this..

thanks
John

Well it depends on what your goals are. My Winter beer this year is my "Tennenbaum" recipe with Hemlock tips. I made it pretty big and designed it to finish quite sweet and malty. I brewed it a few months back in anticipation of the winter. But that is one approach, another common approach is to go just above a normal session beer but not 'big'. Winter Warmer beers are kind of like anything goes for the most part.

Here are some things you can try. Modify your Oatmeal Stout recipe, drop the Oatmeal and add something like Munich, Vienna or even Biscuit malt to create a more complex flavor. The reason to drop the Oatmeal is imho they are best enjoyed just as they peak, the Oats can degenerate rapidly after that. Use some Windsor yeast to keep your final gravity high to get the increased sweetness and maltiness you are after. Hope that helps. One thing to keep in mind though, is whenever you increase your gravity if you are after more malt you still need to up your IBU a little to help keep the malt in check. A great chart for reference can be found by googling images of "IBU gravity chart"

Check out this thread. I posted my recipe for a spiced imperial honey porter... lots of different brews there.