12 Beers of Christmas - 2023 Edition
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4th Beer of Christmas - @mjdonnelly68 's Spiced Dunkle Weizenbock
Beer pours a very pretty brown with red hues. A thick head that dissipates somewhat quickly (though the carbonation seems correct). No hop aroma and some spiciness on the nose but otherwise clean. Spices come through on first sip but in a muddy fashion (I couldn't pick out any particular spice). Also get the raisin character I associate with winter warmers. Well balanced and drinkable for a 7+% beer. As it warms up the spices become more prominent as does the raisin character. A solid effort and I enjoy drinking it but needs some work for me to want to make a session of it. 2024 12 BOC here I come... Cheers!
Beer pours a very pretty brown with red hues. A thick head that dissipates somewhat quickly (though the carbonation seems correct). No hop aroma and some spiciness on the nose but otherwise clean. Spices come through on first sip but in a muddy fashion (I couldn't pick out any particular spice). Also get the raisin character I associate with winter warmers. Well balanced and drinkable for a 7+% beer. As it warms up the spices become more prominent as does the raisin character. A solid effort and I enjoy drinking it but needs some work for me to want to make a session of it. 2024 12 BOC here I come... Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed it - Cheers!Geez, how did I get behind?!
@mjdonnelly68 Santa Sips is delish. The spices are prominent but very nicely in balance with the malt and body. The most seasonal one I've had so far.
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Glad you liked it - Cheers!
OP
OP
Enjoying @mjdonnelly68 ’s single tonight. Agree with the previous post, get the spices upfront along with a dark fruit (raisin) - love the color and carbonation is spot on.
I gotta say - with 4 of the 12 revealed at this point - I’m a bit nervous when mine comes up.
Cheers all!
I gotta say - with 4 of the 12 revealed at this point - I’m a bit nervous when mine comes up.
Cheers all!
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I do think that the star anise is overshadowing a lot in this brew. I would cut down on it next time. I always feel like 1 pod is too much when I cook with it, and apparently it is for 20L of beer, too.
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@mjdonnelly68 's Spiced Dunkle Weizenbock
The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's got a greet deep ruby color and is quite clear. 2cm head that dissipated almost immediately. There's some serious allspice and ginger in the aroma.
The first sip hit me hard with a gingerbread flavor. It faded into a nice raisiny finish. As the beer warms that raisiny malt flavor comes to the front. Super festive and I'm glad I have 2 more
The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's got a greet deep ruby color and is quite clear. 2cm head that dissipated almost immediately. There's some serious allspice and ginger in the aroma.
The first sip hit me hard with a gingerbread flavor. It faded into a nice raisiny finish. As the beer warms that raisiny malt flavor comes to the front. Super festive and I'm glad I have 2 more
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Awesome thread! Hate i missed this I need to get on board on the 2024!
Wait until you get to mine LOL. Just to remind you... Star anise (5 pods), orange peel, chamomile, bay leaf, rosemary, juniper berries, and something else I can't remember. Might be a dumper!
But srsly, bay leaf. cmon. I was going with the gruit theme, which means you're trying to bitter with something other than hops. It's an experiment.
I thought the same thing about the caraway seeds in my recipe. Sometimes you just need to go with it and see what happens. I can't wait to try your beer and see how all of those ingredients come through. Very exciting.
Glad you liked it - cheers!@mjdonnelly68 's Spiced Dunkle Weizenbock
The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's got a greet deep ruby color and is quite clear. 2cm head that dissipated almost immediately. There's some serious allspice and ginger in the aroma.
The first sip hit me hard with a gingerbread flavor. It faded into a nice raisiny finish. As the beer warms that raisiny malt flavor comes to the front. Super festive and I'm glad I have 2 more
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Since we're all homebrewers let me ask a home brewing question: About the head quickly disapaiting what do you guys do to improve head stability? I know that head retention suffers in higher gravity beers, but at 7.3% I wouldn't consider this one a banger. I would also have thought that all the wheat in the malt bill would help with head retention. What would you all try to get the head to stick around?
huckdavidson
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A decoction with a glycoprotein rest may help.
^^-- This. Hold the mash at 162 for 10 minutes.
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Mugwort is good for that.
5th Beer of Christmas - @tdf 's Spiced Bourbon Stout
Beer pours a gorgeous, velvety black with a thick brown head that persists. The star anise is front and center in the aroma which is otherwise clean (no hop aroma but none expected). Great mouthfeel and much less minty flavor than the aroma would imply, the roastiness nicely tempers the star anise. As the beer warms up the spices become more prominent but the beer remains very drinkable. Nicely brewed @tdf - Cheers!
Beer pours a gorgeous, velvety black with a thick brown head that persists. The star anise is front and center in the aroma which is otherwise clean (no hop aroma but none expected). Great mouthfeel and much less minty flavor than the aroma would imply, the roastiness nicely tempers the star anise. As the beer warms up the spices become more prominent but the beer remains very drinkable. Nicely brewed @tdf - Cheers!
@shetc Juniper Rye Bock
Poured without much head. Low carbonation on mine. Perfect color for a rye beer (IMO). Fairly clear. Faint aroma of rye and malt, waiting for it to warm up a bit to get more. Very interesting flavor. The malty rye kinda gives this a port wine flavor. Wonder what it would taste like at 15% lol.
Mouthfeel is medium.
I like this beer. It's quite different. Think I need to make one of these while the weather is still cool. Beers like this are why I do this event with you guys.
Poured without much head. Low carbonation on mine. Perfect color for a rye beer (IMO). Fairly clear. Faint aroma of rye and malt, waiting for it to warm up a bit to get more. Very interesting flavor. The malty rye kinda gives this a port wine flavor. Wonder what it would taste like at 15% lol.
Mouthfeel is medium.
I like this beer. It's quite different. Think I need to make one of these while the weather is still cool. Beers like this are why I do this event with you guys.
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That's on me ('cause I drinks a bit).
Great pic.
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The carbonation level baffles me. That keg lagered for 5 months at 12 PSI. I wonder if the gauge is faulty.
Great ideas both.
@Beekeeper when you say hold the mash at 162 for ten minutes do you mean between the mash temp (152) and the mash out (168)? Never tried adding that step.
I carb at 15psi when I'm bottling from the keg (with blichmann beer gun). I used to have the same problem.
Here is one thread from 2017 for reference:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...lating-and-head-retention.632676/post-8061094"In other words, all things considered a prolonged rest at 72C (162F) is gonna get you awesome head retention."
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You and me both, sir! I’m up tomorrow (*swallows audibly*).
I had @mjdonnelly68’s Weizenbock last night. It was amazing! I’m a huge fan of spiced beers and that one is one of the best I’ve had! Thanks!
Baker's Chocolate sensation. @tdf chose a superb stout base recipe upon which to build this wonder. Delish!
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I'm glad folks are enjoying the stout! I'm about to pour one for myself. I'm attaching the recipe here, minus the spice + bourbon tincture. I just followed the recipe from the book for that. (Sorry it's in metric, I know that's not super popular around here ). The base recipe is a little bigger, and for 24L but I brewed 30L for this beer, which lowered the efficiency, but you can still get a solid idea.
). The base recipe is a little bigger, and for 24L but I brewed 30L for this beer, which lowered the efficiency, but you can still get a solid idea.
this "public" tasting and related schedule might be the best thing. Whoever suggested it, nice!
Holy cow, just came across this thread. What a great idea. I have lots of reading to catch up on!
Glad you liked it - cheers!
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One of these suckers. This is the 1st time I lagered/carbed in a keg, with the intention of bottling the whole keg later on. I suspect that I slowly lost some carbonation as I bottled a couple of cases of beer. For a comp, I only bottle a few beers so no noticeable loss of carb. So yeah, a higher carb level makes more sense in this case, as @passedpawn recommended. Or use a separate CO2 tank to clear the bottles of O2.
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Last night's beverage from @Rish. As you can see, it poured dark brown with a moderate off white head, that dissipated to a ring of fine bubbles, pretty clear. Flavor was malty with a balanced holiday spiced combo. Lower ABV made for easy drinking, which I think non-beer geeks (as well as me) would enjoy over some of the more heavy weight beers that people drink this time of year. Well done!
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I’m not an expert in this but isn’t their pressure loss as the beer travels from keg to tap? I thought that was also dependent on size and length of hose?
I'm a little off-schedule due to life, but last night had the Juniper-Rye and it was great. I really liked the spicy-bitter up front, which was the dominant flavor while it was cold; but the malt began to smooth it all into a nice balance as it warmed a bit.
Had the dunkle weizenbock after that and found it to be a real nice example of a spiced Christmas beer. I am intrigued by how this will taste a month from now and a month after that; spiced beers are something that I find to be hit and miss in my own brewery, so really wanting to drink these with intentionality.
Nicely done!
Had the dunkle weizenbock after that and found it to be a real nice example of a spiced Christmas beer. I am intrigued by how this will taste a month from now and a month after that; spiced beers are something that I find to be hit and miss in my own brewery, so really wanting to drink these with intentionality.
Nicely done!
Just received the Gruit, looking forward to catching up with my tasting notes tonight!
