opinions wanted for santyclaws ale

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defenestrate

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i'm working on a beer for the holidays, and this is what i came up with so far. i might knock the hops down to .75 oz@60 and .5 oz @ 10...and i'm not really sure how much of the ginger/zest to use. i figured if i didnt get what i wanted i could also throw some in while it ages. i was thinking wlp007 with a big starter to push attenuation limits of 80%. what do you guys think?

10.0 lb Pale Ale Malt
5.0 lb American Munich
1.0 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 80L
1.0 oz Chinook (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.0 oz Centennial (10.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2.0 tsp Orange zest - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2.0 tsp Ginger (candied) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Original Gravity: 1.082
Terminal Gravity: 1.016
Color: 17.42 °SRM
Alcohol: 8.63%
Bitterness: 63.7
 
I think it looks excellent...but I'm a nooby. I'd think about oak aging to add even more mystery/complexity. But that's probably just because I had a Great Divide 15th aniversery Oak aged IPA recently that was just killer.
 
I see where your going with that change. It will definately highly the orange and ginger better. But the hophead in me misses the late Centennial addition...
 
I brewed a similar beer on July 4th with the intention of drinking it during the holidays.

10 lbs Pale
5 lbs Munich
1 lb sugar
4 oz Chocolate malt

1 oz Simcoe at 60
2 oz Fuggle at flame out

Wyeast 1388 - 1.5 qt starter

OG was 1.080
FG is 1.015

I've never used WPL007, so take my comments with that in mind. With that amount of Munich and Crystal, you may have some trouble reaching your desired FG. You might want to eliminate the Crystal completely and replace pound-for-pound with sugar. Whatever you decide, make sure to mash at a low temperature.
 
tdoft said:
I see where your going with that change. It will definately highly the orange and ginger better. But the hophead in me misses the late Centennial addition...
Click to expand...

i'm still torn between the late hops-only because i really want the aroma of the orange and ginger to come through. maybe i'll go with a 15-20 min addition to get more flavor and less aroma.

LakeErieBrew said:
I brewed a similar beer on July 4th with the intention of drinking it during the holidays.

10 lbs Pale
5 lbs Munich
1 lb sugar
4 oz Chocolate malt

1 oz Simcoe at 60
2 oz Fuggle at flame out

Wyeast 1388 - 1.5 qt starter

OG was 1.080
FG is 1.015

I've never used WPL007, so take my comments with that in mind. With that amount of Munich and Crystal, you may have some trouble reaching your desired FG. You might want to eliminate the Crystal completely and replace pound-for-pound with sugar. Whatever you decide, make sure to mash at a low temperature.
Click to expand...

i was hoping to get the burnt sugar/raisin flavors from the crystal, so i would rather not drop that. i chose that yeast because it says it can attenuate out to 80%...i'm just hoping with a big starter and maybe mashing at 152-53 will do the trick.

hmm, about that oak addition....
thanks for the input guys!
 
defenestrate said:
2.0 tsp Ginger (candied) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
Click to expand...

Hey,

Just a note about the ginger. If it were me, I'd use fresh ginger, not candied ginger. Fresh ginger can add a wonderful spark to beer. I've never used candied ginger, but I've eaten it. It has ginger flavor, but greatly subdued compared to the real thing. I just can't imagine it would be as nice in beer.

When I use fresh ginger, I grate it on the largest setting on my kitchen grater (the one you usually use to grate cheese). I've used anywhere from 1.5 ounces to 5 ounces in a 5 gallon batch. I'd say with this beer 1-2 ounces will be fine. I've use ginger at different times in the brew process. You can add it with 10 minutes left in the boil, at flameout, or going into secondary. Each adds different flavor components.

I've also used orange zest a bunch of times. I'd also use more than 2 tsp of orange zest. I'd zest 2-4 oranges, just the orange part & no pith. I'm not sure how much that'll give you, but it'll definitely be more than 2 tsp.

Finally, for a Christmas Ale, I'd say don't worry too much about trying to get high attenuation and a low FG. You want it to be a rich and luxurious ale for the holidays.

Have fun with it. Holiday beers are a great change of pace.
 
mkling said:
Hey,

Just a note about the ginger. If it were me, I'd use fresh ginger, not candied ginger. Fresh ginger can add a wonderful spark to beer. I've never used candied ginger, but I've eaten it. It has ginger flavor, but greatly subdued compared to the real thing. I just can't imagine it would be as nice in beer.

When I use fresh ginger, I grate it on the largest setting on my kitchen grater (the one you usually use to grate cheese). I've used anywhere from 1.5 ounces to 5 ounces in a 5 gallon batch. I'd say with this beer 1-2 ounces will be fine. I've use ginger at different times in the brew process. You can add it with 10 minutes left in the boil, at flameout, or going into secondary. Each adds different flavor components.

I've also used orange zest a bunch of times. I'd also use more than 2 tsp of orange zest. I'd zest 2-4 oranges, just the orange part & no pith. I'm not sure how much that'll give you, but it'll definitely be more than 2 tsp.

Finally, for a Christmas Ale, I'd say don't worry too much about trying to get high attenuation and a low FG. You want it to be a rich and luxurious ale for the holidays.

Have fun with it. Holiday beers are a great change of pace.
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice with the ginger... i would rather use fresh anyways and i'm now confident in how much to use-i t hink i'll go with 2 oz.

as for the orange-i was going to zest 1 (not an option for ingredient in beer tools), but i think i'll up that to 2 now.

i wasnt really looking at an FG of 1016 as low...i figured i would still have a rich brew at that gravity, but getting down to that from 1082 is pretty healthy attenuation.
 
mkling said:
Hey,

Just a note about the ginger. If it were me, I'd use fresh ginger, not candied ginger. Fresh ginger can add a wonderful spark to beer. I've never used candied ginger, but I've eaten it. It has ginger flavor, but greatly subdued compared to the real thing. I just can't imagine it would be as nice in beer.

When I use fresh ginger, I grate it on the largest setting on my kitchen grater (the one you usually use to grate cheese). I've used anywhere from 1.5 ounces to 5 ounces in a 5 gallon batch. I'd say with this beer 1-2 ounces will be fine. I've use ginger at different times in the brew process. You can add it with 10 minutes left in the boil, at flameout, or going into secondary. Each adds different flavor components.

I've also used orange zest a bunch of times. I'd also use more than 2 tsp of orange zest. I'd zest 2-4 oranges, just the orange part & no pith. I'm not sure how much that'll give you, but it'll definitely be more than 2 tsp.

Finally, for a Christmas Ale, I'd say don't worry too much about trying to get high attenuation and a low FG. You want it to be a rich and luxurious ale for the holidays.

Have fun with it. Holiday beers are a great change of pace.
Click to expand...


would you mind explaining the different flavors/aroma when adding ginger? i wanted mainly aroma, with maybe a hint of taste....i'm thinking maybe a very late addition?
 
defenestrate said:
would you mind explaining the different flavors/aroma when adding ginger? i wanted mainly aroma, with maybe a hint of taste....i'm thinking maybe a very late addition?
Click to expand...

When I've made beer with ginger in it, when the addition is added changes the flavor, and it really is a lot like your hop additions but with shorter times because the goodness from the ginger seems to enter the wort faster.

In my tasting, the 10 minute addition adds a general spiciness -- kind of like what you get with ginger ale or in some curries. It's a spiciness that's there and can be assertive, but like bittering hops, comes in a bit late in the taste and lingers.

The 0 minute addition adds a lot of fragrance, very flowery, bright, and fresh -- just like the taste of the freshly grated ginger. The flameout addition can also add a bit to flavor, I think. I've only added to secondary once and it was similar but with less ginger in the flavor profile.

Hope that helps.
 

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