Winter Seasonal Beer Holly (Christmas Ale)

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Couple of questions on the tea:
Vanilla bean - Do you only throw the innards of the bean in the tea and leave out the casing? or should both be put in the tea?

Orange peel bitter - I'm hoping I can find this at the spice store I live near - but if not - using approx. 1/2 tsp of orange zest should be a decent substitute? Should the peel be sanitized first before zesting it?
Thanks
 
Deskjockey894 said:
Couple of questions on the tea:
Vanilla bean - Do you only throw the innards of the bean in the tea and leave out the casing? or should both be put in the tea?
Click to expand...

I toss the casing in the tea as well. Splitting and scraping the insides is good practice though because the vanilla gets distributed really well in the tea.

Deskjockey894 said:
Orange peel bitter - I'm hoping I can find this at the spice store I live near - but if not - using approx. 1/2 tsp of orange zest should be a decent substitute? Should the peel be sanitized first before zesting it?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I don't know about using zest. I can't speak from personal experience but another brewer did this, just look a few posts back. 1/2 tsp should probably be tasty though. You should sample the tea with some of the beer. Just try to estimate the ratio of beer to tea, keeping in mind though that it will mellow with age. If it's an orange bomb, make another batch of tea.

The short boil will sanitize the zest.

Also, if you have a gourmet tea shop nearby where you can make your own blends , you might be able to find it there.
 
I've used zest in the past and it works great, but one word of warning -- make sure not to get any of the white part of the peel in the brew because it's extremely bitter! After doing that once I decided to start buying dried bitter (or sweet) orange peel from the LHBS. You can get an ounce for like two bucks. Plus I don't have a food scale and without that it's pretty hard to know how much peel to zest.
 
Deskjockey894 said:
Orange peel bitter - I'm hoping I can find this at the spice store I live near - but if not - using approx. 1/2 tsp of orange zest should be a decent substitute? Should the peel be sanitized first before zesting it?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I used an oz of zest in the tea for a 5g batch. By volume, it was closer to a tbsp.

Tasted great at bottling-- maybe a little strong on the vanilla and cinnamon, but I expect that to mellow over the next 6 weeks.
 
xxHelderxx said:
Just brewed this over the weekend- I adjusted it to be a Partial Mash, using 2.5lbs of 2 row and 6.6lbs of Briess Light LME.
Click to expand...

I think you need to do a partial mash for the specialty grains. Otherwise, this is the best iteration I could find using extract.
 
The original recipe is for safale 05. So far that's the best, but I have one still aging made with Wyeast Northwest Ale yeast that I can't yet report on.
 
jmo88 said:
Fermentables
US 2-Row Malt 13lb 0oz (84.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Medium Crystal 8.00 oz (3.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Special B 8.00 oz (3.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Wheat Malt 4.00 oz (1.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Chocolate Malt (350L) 3.20 oz (1.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - Honey 1lb 0oz (6.5 %) End Of Boil
Click to expand...

jmo88...do you think substituting brown sugar or molasses for the honey would work? What qualities does the honey impart in this recipe, besides sugar to bump up the OG? Does the honey come through all the spices in the end?
 
nduetime said:
jmo88...do you think substituting brown sugar or molasses for the honey would work? What qualities does the honey impart in this recipe, besides sugar to bump up the OG? Does the honey come through all the spices in the end?
Click to expand...

The honey comes through. It adds a subtle honey aroma and flavor. I tried a friend's braggot the other day for the first time and it reminded me of this beer, and considering the amount he used for the braggot, I'd say the honey in this beer comes through pretty well considering it only a pound. I've used both brown sugar and molasses in other beers and I feel you'll end up with a much different beer.

I add the honey at about 180-190F once I start cooling.
 
Bottled today, I'm worried about the vanilla though. I just split the bean down the middle and tossed it in. Couldn't really taste it when I sneaked a sample from the bottling bucket. Then innards were still in the bean after the tea was made. If it's supposed to be prominent early then fade, and I can't taste it at all, I may not get any vanilla flavor. The ginger was the most prominent, followed closely by cinnamon. Only a hint of orange, I used dehydrated bitter orange peel from the LHBS. It's got six weeks til drinkin' time, looking forward to it!
 
Just bottled this stuff today. I couldn't get my hands on the orange peel bitter, so I went with orange zest. I started with 1/2 a tbsp of it, and then tasted my beer/tea concoction and the amount of bitterness from the orange had me gagging - I thought I would be in trouble. I just tasted the last of the beer that wasn't enough for a bottle and now I can't even detect the orange. The vanilla bean gives it a nice smoothness at the very end. Can't wait to crack one of these open on new year's eve.
 
Yea, the tea alone isn't really a good indicator of what's to come. I'm sure by NYE it'll be awesome.

Just kegged it yesterday and it is right where I want it. I should tap it a few days before xmas.

cheers
 
Ok, 2 1/2 weeks into the bottle and I had to give one a try. The malt flavor is delicious. It melds well with the vanilla. For me, the cinnamon and fresh ginger come through as a slight heat in the carbonation background. Like an earlier poster, my beer has a strong Etoh taste. Maybe the vanilla brings it out. Or actually I think it's the orange bitters. Either way, I'm happy with the beer. It's gonna age great and be the perfect beer for the holidays.
 
Shuznuts said:
Ok, 2 1/2 weeks into the bottle and I had to give one a try. The malt flavor is delicious. It melds well with the vanilla. For me, the cinnamon and fresh ginger come through as a slight heat in the carbonation background. Like an earlier poster, my beer has a strong Etoh taste. Maybe the vanilla brings it out. Or actually I think it's the orange bitters. Either way, I'm happy with the beer. It's gonna age great and be the perfect beer for the holidays.
Click to expand...

Alcohol heat is more of a process problem in maintaining good fermentation than it is in recipe formulation. Perhaps the fermentation plus the simple sugars of the honey has magnified this for you. Age is very helpful in mellowing higher alcohols.
 
My temps were pretty good during fermentation. Pretty stable at 65-67 (which is good for me). In the summer, I was fermenting around 70-72. I know you like to ferment at lower temps, Jmo88, which probably creates a bit purer flavor proflie, almost like a lager. The only esters I've noted so far came from my ginger beers, and I used Notty for those. The flavor I'm getting really isn't "heat" from ETOH. More like that astringency you get from vodka (maybe it's the same thing). I tasted some of the organge bitters I have left and it reminded me a bit of that. I'm sure it will mellow out in a few months. This is still a recipe I'm gonna try again!
 
So I've racked to the secondary and was wondering if anyone has cold crashed this one before tea/bottling? I feel like a good 5 to 8 day wouldn't hurt. Thoughts?
 
alright, brewin' this one right now! It's certainly late for christmas, but luckily it's still plenty cold and winter-brew drinkin' time well into february! I'll keep y'all posted on it. Thank you for the recipe!!!!

P.S. it's the third brew on my all-grain setup, which will be requiring un-ending modification from here on out, but at least it's functional!

IMG-20111120-00099.jpg
 
And, I was down at my LHBS talkin' to the old guy (Gris @ San Francisco Brewcraft) about the recipe, and he suggested isomerizing the adjuncts. i.e. soaking them in a pint of vodka for a week, adding half the mixture to the secondary, and then more at bottling if necessary to taste. Anyone tried that with this recipe yet???
 
Sweet set up. I just brewed this for the 1st time. So far I like the results. What did your brew guy say about the isomerization? What does that do in terms of flavor? Sounds interesting.
 
jmo88 said:
I brewed this last week and did some tweaks in hopes to get a higher FG and better malt character. I changed the base to Maris Otter and the yeast to NW ale yeast (an English style strain). I'll also be adding the tea to a keg this time around. So much for only changing one variable at a time.
Click to expand...

Keep us up on the difference the MO makes in the finished product. I'm considering making this one with MO.
 
I just bottled this yesterday and I must say the base beer was pretty strong. There was no mistaking it was a high alcohol beer. It tastes sort of like an imperial brown ale. After added the priming sugar tea and finishing bottling I had 4-5 oz left over and it tasted pretty great with the spice addition. Very complex, it reminded me of the complexity of a RIS. Right now the orange bitter is coming through the most. I get a hint of vanilla and ginger, with the cinnamon barely noticeable. I think it may be hidden by the alcohol. It will be very interesting to see how it changes after 3 weeks. Does the alcohol smooth out a lot over time? I'll let ya know how it tastes here in a few weeks. Thanks again for the recipe :).
 
Oh also, I did a trial run making the tea with water and my family loved it! They wanted me to make another batch of just the spiced tea haha. It did taste pretty awesome! Very nice mix if spices!
 
I brewed this a few weeks back and kegged it last week. I made the spice tea, and added it when I transferred to the secondary. I pulled a sample from the keg and it's awesome.
 
No change in spice quantity when kegging right? Getting ready to keg and wanted to make sure about this before I go at it!
 
nduetime said:
No change in spice quantity when kegging right? Getting ready to keg and wanted to make sure about this before I go at it!
Click to expand...

No change.
 
oh crap....

i must have misread the first post....i steeped the spices for 15 minutes then dumped it ALL into the keg. :eek:

Suppose I should transfer to another keg without spices right?
 
nduetime said:
oh crap....

i must have misread the first post....i steeped the spices for 15 minutes then dumped it ALL into the keg. :eek:

Suppose I should transfer to another keg without spices right?
Click to expand...

Lol. That sucks. That was the purpose of the French press. :)

I don't really know if it'll get a stronger spice character the longer it sits in the keg, if that's what you're worried about. I'd probably be more concerned with a clogged dip tube though.
 
I just brewed this lst tuesday. It was also my 1st AG brew. Stupid easy really. After the addition of the honey my Gravity reading was 1.082. Signs of fermenting started 2 days later. Looks to be slowing down a lot, so I plan to check the gravity tonight, and then again in a few days. Since so many have made this, would it be ready to drink in early Jan? I plan on kegging 3 gallons or so and bottling the rest.

mmmmmmm beer.jpg
 
d50erock said:
Would it be ready to drink in early Jan? I plan on kegging 3 gallons or so and bottling the rest.
Click to expand...

Due to the high gravity and spices, it definitely gets better with age. It's still darn good after only a month or so of conditioning, so I think your keg should be tasty by early Jan. The bottles will keep getting better/smoother.
 
Just bottled last night. Had a little more volume of beer and felt the spicing wasn't quite up to where we wanted it from last year. Our spice tea:

1.5 tbl ginger powder
2 cinnamon sticks
2 vanilla beans- split
2 tbl orange peel
1 tsp all spice
3/4 cup priming sugar

Brought to boil, steeped for 15 mins, strained.
 
Ok, I just made the tea and I'm a little worried. First, it doesn't smell like Christmas to me. I can definitely smell the vanilla but very little cinnamon. Also, I get a faint armpit like vinegar smell. Is this from the bitter orange peel perhaps? I'm very hesitant to throw this into my beer. I made the tea out of water instead of beer btw.
 
blackbird said:
Ok, I just made the tea and I'm a little worried. First, it doesn't smell like Christmas to me. I can definitely smell the vanilla but very little cinnamon. Also, I get a faint armpit like vinegar smell. Is this from the bitter orange peel perhaps? I'm very hesitant to throw this into my beer. I made the tea out of water instead of beer btw.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't put vinegar armpit in my beer. Where'd you get the orange peel?

Again, the nice part of the spice tea method is tasting what it'll be like in the end before committing. If you make a quart of tea and 5 gallons of beer, take a sample of beer and add enough tea to a tasting glass to make it a ratio of 20:1. You'll get an idea of what it'll be like. If you still get armpit, make another batch of tea with a different source of orange peel.
 
Ok i just finished bottling and tasted the combined product and it was FANTASTIC!!! I don't know what was causing the vinegar aroma but I can't detect it anymore. If something can be messed up cooking, just leave it to me. I am still curious though, as to why some people consider vanilla Christmasy? Most pumpkin pies I've tasted were dominated by cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger... Is it a regional thing? My mother actually tried a new recipe the other day for a pumpkin pie and it tasted like one of those vanilla tootsie roll things. Kinda reminds me of this spice addition. I thought it was a bit odd for a pumpkin pie though. Anyways, it does taste fantastic!!! I'll post a follow up after it's carbed and conditioned. Thanks jmo88
 
blackbird said:
Ok i just finished bottling and tasted the combined product and it was FANTASTIC!!! I don't know what was causing the vinegar aroma but I can't detect it anymore. If something can be messed up cooking, just leave it to me. I am still curious though, as to why some people consider vanilla Christmasy? Most pumpkin pies I've tasted were dominated by cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger... Is it a regional thing? My mother actually tried a new recipe the other day for a pumpkin pie and it tasted like one of those vanilla tootsie roll things. Kinda reminds me of this spice addition. I thought it was a bit odd for a pumpkin pie though. Anyways, it does taste fantastic!!! I'll post a follow up after it's carbed and conditioned. Thanks jmo88
Click to expand...

Good to hear! The holiday quality I was after was baked Christmas cookies, gingerbread, egg nog, bread pudding, cinnamon and orange spiced mulled wine, etc. I feel this spicing and this beer give the impression of those flavors an aromas. I definitely was intentionally avoiding typical pumpkin pie spices so as to separate the beer from traditional pumpkin ales.
 
Ah ok! I can definitely see baked Christmas cookies. I tasted a bit of the spiced tea after it had cooled and it was pretty awesome. I was worried when I tasted it hot, as it seemed bland aside from the strong vanilla aroma. I'm a bit embarrased now, as I don't know why I was expecting christmas spices to be similar to pumpkin pie. I guess pumpkin pies are more thanksgiving/fall. :eek:
 
So I checked my Gravity the other night, tuesday, and looking good so far. It is down to 1.020 and seems to be fermenting still, though very slowly. I might take another reading tonight and see how it looks. I am amazed how high the alcahol % is already, 8.5%, was very happy :)
 

Similar threads

Zippy123
Feedback on recipe to split mash for two different beers
Replies
2
Views
400
Zippy123
Zippy123
rkhanso
My first SMaSH recipe. Opinions appreciated
Replies
7
Views
324
fluketamer
F
PashMaddle
Brew day #2 is done.
Replies
22
Views
1K
lumpher
lumpher
G
Kolsch recipe - need help
Replies
31
Views
2K
superiorsat
S
3 Dawg Night
Pliny the Elder American Pale Ale
Replies
14
Views
2K
redrocker652002
R
Brewer's Friend 300

Latest posts

Back
Top