Winter Seasonal Beer Holly (Christmas Ale)

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jamaral141989 said:
I guess it really depends who you ask. A mead maker would tell you to never heat honey up due to loss of flavor and other chemicals naturally in honey. I'd say as long as you are cooling the wort directly after flame out and not letting it sit in 180 F or above for more than a few minutes that you should be fine. That being said I'm sure at that temperature Something changes with in the honey but it shouldnt be significant enough. Adding the honey during fermentation should be fine but I would make sure that the honey you're using Isn't completely raw. Being a sugar source honey is likely to have multiple strains of yeast/bacteria in it especially when raw.

So if it were me, if it were raw I would throw it in at flame out if it were not raw honey you should be OK putting it in primary fermentation as at that point most other bacteria will be outcompeted by the yeast that you pitched.
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Well that's great to know. I appreciate the input. I was just reading through the website for your brewery and it sounds like you really pride yourselves on your microbiology! Next year I will have to adjust my process and give this a try.
 
treacheroustexan said:
Has anyone cut this batch in half? Looking for a christmas ale recipe to fill my 2.5 gal keg. This looks pretty good!
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Yes, indeed - I also use the 2.5 gallon kegs, and have a half-batch of this one on tap right now. I overdid the ginger, but even so, this one is a crowd pleaser!
 
Yes - exactly right. 50% of every ingredient (except the yeast). Boiled the "tea" in an Erlenmeyer, and added it, plus some gelatin, to the cold-crashed beer after I siphoned it into the keg. Came out clear, with a nice color and taste.
 
Brewed this today, ended up using WLP 545 for the whole batch. My OG was low due to using too much water to start with doing BIAB. I mashed at 154 since I went with a Belgian yeast that seems to attenuate better than 001 or 090 have for me.
Looking forward to this one!! I will post on what I think of it with 545 a little after Thanksgiving, I think.
 
Just picked up the ingredients to make this beer today from my LHBS. Cant wait to bring this over to my parents for christmas even though it will still be pretty young. Wont be my first allgrain but will be my first all grain doing it solo.
 
My batch has been in the fermenter for 2 weeks and is down to 1.006, a little lower than I was hoping given that I mashed high at 155/156, but WLP545 eats through sugar like a Saison strain so it's not overly surprising either. That'll put me at about 7.8ABV which is just about .5% lower than the OP.

Hydro sample was a little boozy and belgian funky, anything else was very muted, so it was hard to discern much of the actual flavors. It had what I would call signature 545 smell and taste, hints of dark fruit and cinnamon/black pepper smell and taste. I was hoping for a little more caramel like flavors in the taste, and who knows they might show up with a few weeks of aging. I let it ferment at 66/67 for a week and then raised it to 70 for the second week, I'm pretty sure it's done fermenting, so I'm going to move it to low 60 for a week or two and then bottle it up.

One thought I had to try to get some more caramel taste is to pull maybe 2 quarts of the beer for the tea but boil it down a little but to concentrate it, not to the point of candi syrup but thinking in that direction. I'm not saying I want to make candi syrup as that will kick up fermentation in the bottle and I'm not going there :) Again, this is only if the flavors don't come out with a little more aging, which I have had happen with using WLP545, it can lead you down an elusive path of what the end aroma and flavors will be. I would prefer not to stray anymore from the original recipe at this point so I may just ride it, a lot just depends on taste after it sat for a couple weeks.
 
I brewed this beer back 2 months ago, put it in secondary after 3 weeks and was at 1.013. Boiled the two pints of beer, steeped the seasonings, and put it in secondary. Today I put it in the keg and there was little white specs all over the better bottle. I also discovered that the alcohol in the airlock had evaporated down over the last week, so that it could let air in. Final gravity was now down to 1.009. The beer tasted hot with alcohol and had a honey/apple juice flavor. Worried it is oxidized or infected, but hoping cold conditioning will cause a Christmas miracle!

Santa, please save my beer!
 
Couldn't wait more then a week to crack the first bottle. Tastes delicious already! I'm excited about this one. I'll post another picture once it finishes conditioning and I add my custom labels.

image.jpg
 
Brewed it on saturday. Had yeast activity by 6pm that night. Its been running full tilt since then. Had to put a blow off tube on last night. This ones gonna be fun! Cant wait to make the spiced tea and keg this thing.

My OG post boil was ~1.076 Not super low not super high. Im ok with that considering this was my first solo AG batch and the weather was 50* so I probably had issues hitting my sparge temp exactly. Not enough experience to account for that correction just yet.

Ill be curious to see what the color on this one turns out like in the end. The hops smelled fantastic.
 
So I'm gonna have to brew this without the spices addition, since I unfortunately I did not receive my ingredients in time (Friday was a holiday)

I read its still very good without the spices, but any special indications for it to be even better? :)
 
Gonna squeeze this one in again before Christmas, by popular demand....went out and bought some really fresh, big-a$$ vanilla beans to use this time (my LHBS has everything a guy could want).
 
Checked gravity last night. pretty sure its stopped at 1.010 from 1.074 so ~8.4% abv which is plenty imo. Tried the gravity sample I had and little hot with alcohol but with chiling and some carbonation shouldnt be noticeable. Cant wait to add the spices this weekend (having to borrow a french press, never used one before either.)
 
@Pyg - Yours looks darker than most others, did you change the grain bill at all?

@skraeling - I'm with you, I got enough booz from my hydro sample that I couldn't detect a whole lot, but I'm pretty sure that'll mellow after it's carbed and cooled.

I'm going ot start bottling mine shortly, no Ginger in the spices for me though. Though we had some fresh in the fridge but the wife used that for something, and looked in the cupboard and don't have any ground ginger either, so i'm going to forgo that one. Still sure this will end up being very drinkable. I want to brew it again with a neutral yeast though just to see the difference.
 
bolus14 said:
@Pyg - Yours looks darker than most others, did you change the grain bill at all?



@skraeling - I'm with you, I got enough booz from my hydro sample that I couldn't detect a whole lot, but I'm pretty sure that'll mellow after it's carbed and cooled.



I'm going ot start bottling mine shortly, no Ginger in the spices for me though. Though we had some fresh in the fridge but the wife used that for something, and looked in the cupboard and don't have any ground ginger either, so i'm going to forgo that one. Still sure this will end up being very drinkable. I want to brew it again with a neutral yeast though just to see the difference.
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The fermentables from recipe were:

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

I used View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1480563288.051404.jpg
I also added 3# light dome
& honey

I gave the grain bill to my LHBS and the pic is what they filled the bag with.
No idea why it is so dark.
Could it have been the honey used?
 
Pyg said:
The fermentables from recipe were:

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

I used
I also added 3# light dome
& honey

I gave the grain bill to my LHBS and the pic is what they filled the bag with.
No idea why it is so dark.
Could it have been the honey used?
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Mine almost looks like a red ale. Not quite as dark as yours.
 
Pyg said:
All I can think is my use of honey.
Mine was a little on the dark side.
As long as they taste ok, who cares the colour!
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true that. It was my first solo AG batch I usually brew with a friend (who is way better at this than me). This went shockingly well.
 
Agreed on tasting good. Was just wondering if you changed something, and if you had how it might have compared to the OP
 
Did the spiced tea addition tonight. Holy motherballs this thing should taste spectacular providing i didnt f something up. I did 1/2 tbs of ginger instead of the full TBS though especially with it being fresh. I prefer slightly less ginger personally.
 
skraeling said:
Did the spiced tea addition tonight. Holy motherballs this thing should taste spectacular providing i didnt f something up. I did 1/2 tbs of ginger instead of the full TBS though especially with it being fresh. I prefer slightly less ginger personally.
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The dark comes from your chocolate malt. I used 3 oz, and mine came out similar in color.

View attachment 1480938835566.jpg

I really enjoyed my version of the recipe, but definitely reduce your ginger by half if you're not a fan. It takes a long time to age out and can overpower your beer. My first 20 or so pours were rather strong on ginger, but at 8.5%, made for a decent nightcap winter warmer. I didn't re-brew this year, but I would have cut mine back to 1/2 tbs from 1 tbs, and maybe upped my cinnamon to 2 tbs. This recipe looks good. I like the tea addition idea, I added mine in the last 5 of the boil. It made my garage smell like christmas. It was awesome. This may give it some more aroma. Cheers.
 
thaymond said:
The dark comes from your chocolate malt. I used 3 oz, and mine came out similar in color.

View attachment 379480

I really enjoyed my version of the recipe, but definitely reduce your ginger by half if you're not a fan. It takes a long time to age out and can overpower your beer. My first 20 or so pours were rather strong on ginger, but at 8.5%, made for a decent nightcap winter warmer. I didn't re-brew this year, but I would have cut mine back to 1/2 tbs from 1 tbs, and maybe upped my cinnamon to 2 tbs. This recipe looks good. I like the tea addition idea, I added mine in the last 5 of the boil. It made my garage smell like christmas. It was awesome. This may give it some more aroma. Cheers.
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After a month+ in the bottle the ginger had subsided, but is defiantly prominent.
There is a hop bitterness and a touch of cinnamon burn on the back end.
Next year I will probably cut the ginger in half, up the carb & maybe cinnamon.
Still no vanilla flavor, seems to have been drowned out
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1480991497.486693.jpg
 
I tasted one bottle of mine, made with WLP 545 - Belgian Strong Ale, a couple nights ago. It's definitely Belgian yeast dominate, I may have under pitched since I didn't have time to make a starter so that may be why. Otherwise I didn't pick up much flavor of the tea. The bottle was barely carbonated, was only 3 or 4 days after bottling and I put it in the freezer for an hour and then the fridge for 4 hours, certainly not the best way to take a sample of it.

I plan on giving it another couple days to bottle condition, then put another bottle in the fridge for a couple days and try it this weekend. I'm hoping the yeast flavors subsided and let some of the caramel malt, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange come through, otherwise I would say that this strain isn't ideal for this brew.
 
ill definitely be upping the cinnamon, I cant taste it myself so I may have to have others try it and get some feedback. Im getting zero vanilla at all. Ill definitely be doubling it next year.
 
Brewed up 10 gallons of this (per OP's first post recipe) on 11/30. OG was 1.088 and now, 6 days later, is around 1.024 and still going.... so about 8.25% ABV right now, 72% attenuation so far. This most certainly is one of the longer, more continuous fermentations I've ever had. Usually 3-4 days and I'm done. I wonder what it is about this recipe that causes it to chug along as it does?

I'm going to read through the 18 pages of the thread to see if there are any good points to be gleaned about the spicing levels. My buddy that 'commissioned' this batch is a big fan of Karbach's 'Yule shoot yer eye out' winter warmer. I couldn't find a good recipe for it, but thought this would be a good one. That one is definitely ginger forward...

Thoughts?
 
Wow we bottled this one yesterday, and it is GOOOD.

Okay, I made changes to the recipe and since it was too late to have this ready for Christmas, it is not a Christmas Ale anymore… but it is Gooood.

I used a full pound of Crystal 80L. Annnd a full pound of Crystal 120L (instead of Special B).
I used Cascade instead of Centennial (that’s what I had on hand). Had to bump up the additions to a total of 2.75oz to equalize IBUs of the recipe. I added only 0.5lbs of Honey…
And since it is not a Christmas Ale anymore, no spice tea.

I know. It’s a different beer now. But still, pretty good!
Oh and my CPVC manifold disconnected during my mash, so I got a crappy 57% efficiency. I’m gonna glue it together next time!
 
jojacques said:
Wow we bottled this one yesterday, and it is GOOOD.

Okay, I made changes to the recipe and since it was too late to have this ready for Christmas, it is not a Christmas Ale anymore… but it is Gooood.

I used a full pound of Crystal 80L. Annnd a full pound of Crystal 120L (instead of Special B).
I used Cascade instead of Centennial (that’s what I had on hand). Had to bump up the additions to a total of 2.75oz to equalize IBUs of the recipe. I added only 0.5lbs of Honey…
And since it is not a Christmas Ale anymore, no spice tea.

I know. It’s a different beer now. But still, pretty good!
Oh and my CPVC manifold disconnected during my mash, so I got a crappy 57% efficiency. I’m gonna glue it together next time!
Click to expand...

Hahaha yes, totally different beer now! But I'm still curious how it will turn out. Let us know once it carbs up.
 
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482284765.249699.jpg
FINALLY got around to taking a decent picture of the color. Definitely clear and some red in there. Next year I might ease up on the chocolate malt a tad, but only barely. I'm in love with the flavor!

Very happy I reduced the ginger this year. This one is delicious and I couldn't be happier. Another fan favorite.
 
My color is very close to yours. I regret using WLP545. I'm getting more yeast character than anything else. Some malt in the background, but the caramel I tasted in the wort samples is more or less non existent and the spice tea is nowhere to be found.

I'll definitely make it again but use a neutral yeast next time.
 
Used the OP's recipe and it is very nice indeed. One corny is on its way to surprise a wife, the other corny is in my keezer to be consumed over the holidays. Ginger forward, but not obnoxiously so. Very similar to Karbach's 'Yule shoot y'er eye out' Winter Warmer.
 
Time to start think about brewing this one soon to have it at it's peak for the holidays. Didn't manage to fit it in last year but depending on how things go I might brew it sometime next month. The only difference from the OP again will be to use a smooth hop like Target for the 60 min addition so I don't waste any precious Centennial. :)
 
Shenanigans said:
Time to start think about brewing this one soon to have it at it's peak for the holidays. Didn't manage to fit it in last year but depending on how things go I might brew it sometime next month. The only difference from the OP again will be to use a smooth hop like Target for the 60 min addition so I don't waste any precious Centennial. :)
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Damn, maybe I should schedule this one soon too then and just plan on bottling the whole thing.
 
Brewing this next week. Plan to keep to OP. Exept half the ginger. Any advise from over the years?
 

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