Looking for a good, quick, Holiday Recipie Extract Recipe ready by Christmas!

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gman122889

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I've been poking around here trying to find something to brew quick for the holidays. I would like to have it ready by Christmas or New Years. I know that's asking for a really quick turn around. I'm kind of new to this (will be my third batch) and I haven't realized just how much time goes into aging your beer perfectly so I haven't timed things well. This will change for next year. I'm going to brew my spring IPA in January so I won't run into this problem again...anyways...

I'm looking for something spiced. I kind of had a gingerbready tasting something in mind. I found a recipe on the 12 Beers of Christmas thread but that one seemed really dark but mild when I put it into BeerSmith.

I'd like to have a stronger brown ale as a base (kind of like Dogfish Indian Brown Ale but quite not as hoppy but not mild) and then add the ginger bread spices to have a subtle gingerbread aftertaste to it. That's kind of how I envision it...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Also, if you don't think I can do something like this in the amount of time I have let me know. Suggestions for something holidayish that I can do would be awesome. Like I said...newbie over here just wanting to make awesome beer!

Cheers! :mug:
 
I'd do a lighter stout recipe with a little spice(allspice, cinnamon, clove, paradise seed, citrus peel) in it. My christmas beer every year has the same flavors. You could do it with a brown just as easy. As long as you kept it in the 6% range you should be ok by christmas assuming you did it tomorrow....
 
Thanks! I'm going to do a Nut Brown Ale as a base and add some cinnamin, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla extract. I think that might work.
 
IMO nothing worse than making home brew with a tight deadline. Beer is ready when it's done.

Now with that being said, if you are going to toss in all those spices it is going to cover most "green" issues of newly brewed beer.

Have at it and enjoy your holidays!
 
I brewed a 9% holiday ale last month and my plan is to have one or two this season even if they are young and age the rest for next year. Then I will have my pipeline going to have a nicely aged holiday ale every year.
 
Take it easy with the ginger. Especially if it's fresh. Are you going to put the extract in before bottling? Or during secondary?

I plan on using just some grocery store bought spice for the ginger.

I'm not sure what the best practice is with Vanilla Extract...I don't have a vessel for secondary fermentation so I think I'll add it during bottling.

Any hints on how much to use for just a subtle vanilla taste?
 
IMO nothing worse than making home brew with a tight deadline. Beer is ready when it's done.

I'm learning that...like I said I just started and want to have something for some friends during the holidays...ever since I've started brewing, friends seem to want to get their hands on some quick (without contributing either :mad:)...So as I adventrue further into the hobby I will plan my brews better. Looking forward to doing some Big Brews in the next year!
 
My solution for friends that want homebrew is to put them to work and split the ingredient cost with them. Or charge them retail. Either way, it usually clears itself up.

For the extract I'd imagine you'll be able to get a little vanilla in the nose of the beer with about a Tbsp in 5 gal. It's hit or miss depending on the type of beer though. If it was me, I'd just leave it all in the primary and throw a couple split beans in there.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I brewed yesterday. I used a nut brown ale recipe and added some spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves). I'm going to add 3 vanilla beans soaked in Captain Morgan to the fermenter a week into fermentation. I'm hoping it turns out good by New Years. If not I'll have something good to look forward to drinking when I come back to school after the holidays. Cheers! :mug:
 

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