Looking for Fast winter brew..

Hello all.. I am looking for a fast winter brew that will be done around mid January that with a brew day on Dec. 17th. I know it seems the standard around here to leave your beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, but i have had great success with the 9-14 day primary time with 2 weeks bottle conditioning. Any ideas would be welcomed.... and if possible no cinnamon one of my friends is severely allergic to the stuff.

Thanks,
Korben

The thing with traditional Winter beers is that they are usually high ABV, spiced, or lagers. All three of these take time (longer than a month). I would look at doing some kind of standard stout

Thanks... any suggestions as to a standard recipe.

You do extract or what? How many beers do you have under your belt?

Although it says to mature it for four months, the Whitbread 1850 London Porter is excellent right out of the fermenter and good just a couple of days after bottling. Add a couple of vanilla beans, and call it a winter porter. Or add nothing and call it a winter porter anyway.

I have had about 3 successful brews... I know it probably counts for nothing but i have an extensive back ground in sterile compounds with a back ground in chemistry and pharmacy. I am slightly obsessed with sanitizing. I have only attempted kit brews at the moment with a few minor additions to them maybe adding some different malts and hops with different boil times. Still a newbie.... and trying to learn the lingo.