Sure, I'm a glutton for punishment. Put me on the list for Abbey Weizen. Apologies in advance!
12 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition
- Thread starter dryboroughbrewing
- Start date
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Nah, it will be fine I bet.
Zimm, no apologies in homebrew. Think positively, this beer is going to be the best you ever brewed!! No Doubt.
Cheers 
btbnl
Well-Known Member
Sign me up for the Spiced Cherry Dubbel!
Is that Oakland CA? I think we will do all 12 beers in CA
btbnl
Well-Known Member
Is that Oakland CA? I think we will do all 12 beers in CA
Yes it is!
Brewfessor
New Member
Looks like 7 out of 12 for the 2nd group already!
Is it too early to talk recipes?
Have people traditionally followed Mosher’s recipes exactly or have they put a personal spin on them?
For the Ginger IPA, I’ll probably stick to a basic English IPA, but use a healthy amount of Brambling Cross in stead of EKG. I plan on brewing a trial batch sometime next week.
Is it too early to talk recipes?
Have people traditionally followed Mosher’s recipes exactly or have they put a personal spin on them?
For the Ginger IPA, I’ll probably stick to a basic English IPA, but use a healthy amount of Brambling Cross in stead of EKG. I plan on brewing a trial batch sometime next week.
The recipes are generally followed. In past years, adjustments have been acceptable, usually to make a bigger beer and / or fine tune a spice bill. Switching styles is likely unacceptable, but @dryboroughbrewing is running things here. I would bet most would protest if you elected to do a pumpkin ale instead of the Honey Ginger IPA!
MapleGroveAleworks
Well-Known Member
I'll be following the recipe exactly for the spiced weizenbock. I'll just be careful on the spice additions. I don't really care for over the top spiced beers, but I'll be sure the spices are apparent, just not overpowering. Haven't decided on the yeast yet though.
btbnl
Well-Known Member
So I've never brewed with fruit - anyone want to flesh this out a bit?
I'd assumed I'd rack onto whole fresh cherries in secondary, but doing some reading I've seen fresh/frozen/canned/dried fruit being used whole/chopped/pureed in the boil/primary/secondary.
If fresh, what's the recommended way to prepare them to avoid accidental infections?
If whole, should they be de-stoned?
If secondary, can I just assume there will be enough yeast in the beer to ferment the cherry sugars?
Any and all advice and experience - especially from anyone who has brewed this beer before - gladly received.
Thanks!
badgerfan79
Well-Known Member
This sounds like a blast but I’m not sure I’m confident enough for it. Plus I’m in the middle of the country and it seems like the second list is a California one.
TBC
Well-Known Boozer!
Join. We will work out logistics at a later date.
TBC
Well-Known Boozer!
I always freeze my fruit then crush/ purée before I put it in a secondary and rack on top. I always use a blowoff tube because you can get a violent secondary fermentation. My first time I didn’t have a blowoff tube and it blew and ate my popcorn ceiling and stained it purple. Was using blackberries that time.
badgerfan79
Well-Known Member
OP
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All set!
OP
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Signed up!
OP
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Not anymore... since you're signed up for it!
2k17 HG IPA brewer here...
I brewed per the recipe, but that one is fairly loose...
Brew a good IPA exclusively with EKG, and add the ginger and honey in the secondary. So I played around a bit with some ginger and honey in the last 5 of boil. From there, I was adding every few days or so based upon the taste. When I bottled, I added an extra nug of ginger just to see. I felt the hops came through in the end, although the honey started strong and died quick, I was pleased with the brew overall.
I did, however, brew exclusively with whole EKG hops.
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BigCrazyAl
Well-Known Member
I called my lhbs and they have everything including the yeast that's called for in the recipe. I'll be working on what to do about water profiles since I haven't done that before. Aside from that, I'll start a test batch in a couple weeks to get a hang of things like building up a big starter and making the toffee/caramel addition. It will give me time to see how bottle conditioning goes for this 10-11% ABV beast.
I kinda did my own thing, with a little help from our fellow members. But that's how I roll. Full on rebel.
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I did the tripel, so it was pretty much improv, except for the spice additions.
Brewfessor
New Member
Thanks! Since it’s the IPA I’ll be able to do many test batches throughout the year... I’ll plan on sticking with EKG, but I’ll still do a brambling cross test batch.
And a pretty damn good imrpov if you ask me. That was an excellent Tripel.
Don't worry about that, this was just for shipping cost/convenience, I'm sure we can work it out if you are no in Cali.
I plan on making a really good Juniper Rye Bock, as I see it recipes are "merely guidelines"
anotherbeerplease
Well-Known Member
Am I reading this wrong? On the 2nd list I see 2 guys from CA, the rest Ohio, Illinois and east coast and/or unlisted? Personally I'm down for a little terroir - a good winter brew should be made in a place that gets cold, why do you think I wanted to sign up for this!
Everyone is willing to take a chance on me so you should be fine!
I'm starting to look forward to this. If nothing else, it will push me to do a few things I should do anyway like getting my water tested. I won't be able to start a trial batch until after the new year but I will definitely get one going asap.
Hey, it was kinda cold here this morning.
I'm not participating this year, but I did last. I made the beer to recipe and when it was done I found it wasn't what I wanted to send out. I ended re-brewing a very similar beer, but I greatly increased the ABV and body and complexity of the beer to make it more of a winter seasonal.
anotherbeerplease
Well-Known Member
Which beer did you brew? Any tips for this year's go around? In my opinion Mosher would most definitely be on board with an evolving recipe list, nothing set in stone... so long as it fits the spirit of 12 brews of xmas.
You will be sorely missed! Maybe the next go, then.
anotherbeerplease
Well-Known Member
Do we have any way to get ahold of him? Could see what his current thoughts are, and what he might suggest today
I made the cherry dubbel. More of a quad though on 2nd pass. I think it's pretty good. After having a few of the other guys beers (which so far have exceeded expectations!), mine is pretty heavy. No regrets though. I don't like highly spiced holiday beers (though I won my first gold in competition with one). So the bigger body hides most of the subtle mulling spices and stuff that give it that holiday character, and also the bigger body was necessary to carry the tart cherry finish. Those are all just my opinions of course
Next guy brewing it has to make his own decisions. I PDF'ed my recipe, and if the guy who's brewing it this year wants the recipe I'll send. I'd also send a bottle, but sadly they all got sent out already
anotherbeerplease
Well-Known Member
Nicely done! I too am not a huge fan of spices, usually I do 1/2 or 1/4 of spices in a recipe and find that's more than enough, and let the beer speak for itself. Although I'm happy to stick to recipe in this case considering these will not really be brewed for me. Nothing beats a warming winter brew that stands on its own accord with natural flavoring.
HawleyFarms
Well-Known Member
I'd definitely be interested in seeing your recipe. I plan on brewing at least 2 or 3 versions in the next 6 months and seeing which one I prefer most. I have a dubbel recipe I've played with a few times so planned to use that as they base recipe with some add-ons.I made the cherry dubbel. More of a quad though on 2nd pass. I think it's pretty good. After having a few of the other guys beers (which so far have exceeded expectations!), mine is pretty heavy. No regrets though. I don't like highly spiced holiday beers (though I won my first gold in competition with one). So the bigger body hides most of the subtle mulling spices and stuff that give it that holiday character, and also the bigger body was necessary to carry the tart cherry finish. Those are all just my opinions of course
btbnl
Well-Known Member
I made the cherry dubbel. More of a quad though on 2nd pass. ... So the bigger body hides most of the subtle mulling spices and stuff that give it that holiday character, and also the bigger body was necessary to carry the tart cherry finish. Those are all just my opinions of course
As one of the two cherry dubbelers this year, I read through the 2017 thread with a particular eye out for your posts and found both recipes you posted (re-attached here for convenience).
Looks like in batch 1 you used 15lb of sour cherries on 12lb of grain and 1lb of sugar (per 5G), and that was too tart, and in batch 2 you used 32oz of sweet cherry juice and no sour cherries at all on ~20lb of grain and 1lb sugar. Is that right?
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Yep, that's right. Except, I did not use that pilloncillo for the second batch, I subbed brown sugar.
If you go with the tart cherries, watch out. My initial dubbel was split into two, and the one with cherries was very tart. I ended up dumping it. Maybe less would have been better, but you can see the direction I ended up going, and I'd do that again. For the cherry juice, it was 100% natural no sugar added sweet black cherry juice. Found locally. I added that right at the end of fermentation.
btbnl
Well-Known Member
Thanks - good to know.
The way I'd read the recipe was to add an extra pound of sugar to the base dubbel (so 2lb/5G) and ferment on 2.5-5lb/5G each of both sour and sweet cherries.
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