Winter Seasonal Beer Holly (Christmas Ale)

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Brewed this and gave out bottles as Christmas card substitutes last year and it was a big hit. My LHBS owner suggested putting the spices in bourbon and letting it infuse the spice character and then adding the bourbon to the beer instead of the spice tea in the OP. I stuck to the original method last year, but I intend to give it a shot this year. I have no idea if I need to adjust the amount of spices though and im also struggling with how much of the spiced up bourbon to add to a 10 gallon batch. I certainly wouldn't mind having some bourbon notes in there but I don't want to totally overpower the beer. Any advice?
 
MrAverageGuy said:
For a bourbon vanilla porter I'm planning, the recipe calls for 10 ml of bourbon per pint of finished product.
Click to expand...

Hopefully my math is right here:
1pint = .125gal
40pints = 5gal

If you add 10ml/pint of bourbon in 5gal batch you would add 400ml. I have made Denny Conn's BVIP a couple times and have used 250ml in that and early on the bourbon is definitely there, more than some background notes. Over time it will likely fad/blend into the beer but I would say you're looking at aging 6-9 months minimum for that to happen.

If it were me and you want this ready for Xmas and you only want some background notes of the bourbon I would look around 125ml-150ml max.
 
bolus14 said:
If it were me and you want this ready for Xmas and you only want some background notes of the bourbon I would look around 125ml-150ml max.
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Thanks for the advice. Curious what would y'all say is the "base style" of this beer? My wife wants to enter ours into a homebrew competition but you have declare a base style and I'm not really sure what to put,
 
bolus14 said:
Hopefully my math is right here:
1pint = .125gal
40pints = 5gal

If you add 10ml/pint of bourbon in 5gal batch you would add 400ml. I have made Denny Conn's BVIP a couple times and have used 250ml in that and early on the bourbon is definitely there, more than some background notes. Over time it will likely fad/blend into the beer but I would say you're looking at aging 6-9 months minimum for that to happen.

If it were me and you want this ready for Xmas and you only want some background notes of the bourbon I would look around 125ml-150ml max.
Click to expand...

That sounds about right.
 
Mueltrain54 said:
Thanks for the advice. Curious what would y'all say is the "base style" of this beer? My wife wants to enter ours into a homebrew competition but you have declare a base style and I'm not really sure what to put,
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I'd say 30C (BJCP 2015 - Winter Seasonal) is the category you want to enter it in. Maybe state American Strong Ale as the underlying base?
 
It's that time of year again! I have brewed this the last four years, and every year it's everyone's favorite of mine. So I finally got smart and scaled up to an 11 gallon batch!

This year I dropped the OG a bit to 1.067 since last year's was a bit boozy. I also went with slightly lighter, 40L crystal. These changes should bring is a little closer to amber and a little closer to 7.5% ABV.

Last year when I entered this in a competition some of the feedback was that the spice aroma wasn't as prominent. Any recommendations for upping the spice blend a little?
 
For those who already brewed with this recipe, is centennial a key hop for this beer, or what other hop substitutes have you tried?.
And the honey addition i guess is to boost gravity, i can substitute honey with candi syrup for more complex character, what do you guys think?
 
Off the shelf honey is a quick, excellent way to boost gravity, but in the end, it gets consumed by the yeast, dries out your beer, and increases your ABV. Caramelized candy sugar will have a bit more dextrins, add to body and color, and will help the flavor a bit more than honey might. If the beer is going to be aged a while, the more aromatic honeys will lend flavor and aroma.
Manuka honey... Well, I don't know anyone who's admitted using this expensive ingredient yet, but it would seem to be some very expensive yeast food, even more so than clover honey.
Yeah, I think candi sugar might be a tad more preferable, IMO.
 
Am planning on brewing 10 gallons of this, should I double the spice amounts from the original recipe?
 
Lefou said:
Off the shelf honey is a quick, excellent way to boost gravity, but in the end, it gets consumed by the yeast, dries out your beer, and increases your ABV. Caramelized candy sugar will have a bit more dextrins, add to body and color, and will help the flavor a bit more than honey might. If the beer is going to be aged a while, the more aromatic honeys will lend flavor and aroma.
Manuka honey... Well, I don't know anyone who's admitted using this expensive ingredient yet, but it would seem to be some very expensive yeast food, even more so than clover honey.
Yeah, I think candi sugar might be a tad more preferable, IMO.
Click to expand...

Never heard of Manuka honey and looks like a promising honey to try, but for an expensive ingredient as this i would rather not boil it and add it later on fermentation. But if we are looking for honey flavor on the flavor profile i think honey malt is a way to go.
 
jmo88 said:
I'll be brewing the tea without sugar and force carbing the beer. Of course keg conditioning would be fine too but I don't do that with any of my beers.
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Sorry to bring this back from seven years ago, but I'm just wondering if you should let the spices sit in the keg for the same amount of time you would let it sit in a bottle for the sake of the flavors? If you do let it sit, should I keep it in a refrigerator, or at room temp?
 
LepusLucis said:
Sorry to bring this back from seven years ago, but I'm just wondering if you should let the spices sit in the keg for the same amount of time you would let it sit in a bottle for the sake of the flavors? If you do let it sit, should I keep it in a refrigerator, or at room temp?
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I'm not 100% sure what you mean. The spices themselves are boiled for a minute and then sit steeping for 15 minutes. After that they are strained using a french press. The spices never go into bottles (or keg), just the "tea" you make.

As for the keg, I imagine you want to age it as long as you would bottles. You want time for the spice flavors to blend and mellow. I plan to keg half my batch this year and will age at room temp for at least two months.
 
BrewCityBaller said:
I'm not 100% sure what you mean. The spices themselves are boiled for a minute and then sit steeping for 15 minutes. After that they are strained using a french press. The spices never go into bottles (or keg), just the "tea" you make.

As for the keg, I imagine you want to age it as long as you would bottles. You want time for the spice flavors to blend and mellow. I plan to keg half my batch this year and will age at room temp for at least two months.
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Perfect, thank you! You answered it.

One more quick question. How imperative is it to keep it at 64F? I dont have temp control for all of the beer I made and its day 3 of the fermentation. They've been remaining around 70F. Will that mess the flavors up at all?
 
LepusLucis said:
Perfect, thank you! You answered it.

One more quick question. How imperative is it to keep it at 64F? I dont have temp control for all of the beer I made and its day 3 of the fermentation. They've been remaining around 70F. Will that mess the flavors up at all?
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I wouldn't say it's imperative, but it's somewhat important. The warmer you ferment the more esters will be produced, and the more flavor you get from the yeast. The malt and spice flavors are what really shine in this beer, so you don't want too much in the way of yeast character.

Fortunately, US-05 is a very forgiving yeast! Fermentis claims an ideal temperature range of 64*-84*F. If that was 70*F internal temperature I would say you're totally fine. If that's the ambient temp then it may be a bit on the warm side, but I wouldn't worry too much. After a few months this beer will be good.

LepusLucis said:
Well I just used Safale-05, sooo I dunno if it’s like Nottingham or not... sorry, I’m kind of new to all this.
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No need to be sorry, you're learning! Nottingham and Safale-05 are two different yeast strains. Notty has a lower temperature range of 50*-72*F. If you used that you'd be in more trouble, but thankfully this recipe doesn't call for it and you used the right stuff. You're good.
 
Argh! Once again I am a few weeks late for this brew. I'm gonna brew it anyway, but posting so that one of you kind folks reminds me to brew this earlier next year.

Edit: Please allow me to pick your brains about the spices for a bit. I am making a 6 gal batch. What I read is that most people find the ginger a bit too much, so I am planning on adding 1 level tbsp, 1 stick of cinnamon, 1tbsp of grated orange zest, maybe a tiny bit more, 1 vanilla bean. Do you think I should up any of the spices? Do you crush the vanilla bean or add it as it is? I am going with the original tea recipe. Also, my grain bill seems to be a bit more than necessary, so I am thinking about omitting the honey. With it, I am going over 9% ABV. What do you think?
 
I would leave the honey in (but use really good honey) - it adds to the flavor. I'm about to figure out the spice tea this weekend for my 2.5 gallon batch now in the primary, and will post what I end up doing. Your ginger approach sounds right. On the vanilla bean, I plan to split and scrape 1 bean for my little batch.
 
HomebrewingDNA said:
Argh! Once again I am a few weeks late for this brew. I'm gonna brew it anyway, but posting so that one of you kind folks reminds me to brew this earlier next year.

Edit: Please allow me to pick your brains about the spices for a bit. I am making a 6 gal batch. What I read is that most people find the ginger a bit too much, so I am planning on adding 1 level tbsp, 1 stick of cinnamon, 1tbsp of grated orange zest, maybe a tiny bit more, 1 vanilla bean. Do you think I should up any of the spices? Do you crush the vanilla bean or add it as it is? I am going with the original tea recipe. Also, my grain bill seems to be a bit more than necessary, so I am thinking about omitting the honey. With it, I am going over 9% ABV. What do you think?
Click to expand...

You are correct in that people tend to find the ginger a bit much, especially if you're using fresh grated. I used a level TSP of fresh grated ginger in my 6 gallon batch this year. I think everything else looks pretty good. I used one cinnamon stick and one tbs of grated orange peel as well. Though I went for 1.5 vanilla beans.

For the vanilla beans, take a knife and cut a slit long ways down the entire bean. Then take a spoon and scrape out the "guts" of the vanilla bean. I then put the guts and the outside of the bean in the tea.

I would leave the honey as well. I would reduce all the ingredients proportionally to reduce your OG, not take something out.

Here is my recipe for an 11 gallon batch:
22.93 lbs 2-row (82%)
0.9 lbs Crystal 40L (3.2%)
0.9 lbs Special B (3.2%)
0.7 lbs Acidulated (2.4%)
0.5 lbs White Wheat (1.6%)
0.33 lbs Chocolate (1.2%)
1.81 lbs Honey (6.5%)

1.28oz Centennial @ 60min
0.64oz Centennial @ 30min
0.64oz Centennial @ 5 min

2 tsp fresh grated ginger
3 vanilla beans
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tbsp fresh grated orange peel

OG: 1.067
IBU: 30
 
BrewCityBaller said:
You are correct in that people tend to find the ginger a bit much, especially if you're using fresh grated. I used a level TSP of fresh grated ginger in my 6 gallon batch this year. I think everything else looks pretty good. I used one cinnamon stick and one tbs of grated orange peel as well. Though I went for 1.5 vanilla beans.

For the vanilla beans, take a knife and cut a slit long ways down the entire bean. Then take a spoon and scrape out the "guts" of the vanilla bean. I then put the guts and the outside of the bean in the tea.

I would leave the honey as well. I would reduce all the ingredients proportionally to reduce your OG, not take something out.

Here is my recipe for an 11 gallon batch:
22.93 lbs 2-row (82%)
0.9 lbs Crystal 40L (3.2%)
0.9 lbs Special B (3.2%)
0.7 lbs Acidulated (2.4%)
0.5 lbs White Wheat (1.6%)
0.33 lbs Chocolate (1.2%)
1.81 lbs Honey (6.5%)

1.28oz Centennial @ 60min
0.64oz Centennial @ 30min
0.64oz Centennial @ 5 min

2 tsp fresh grated ginger
3 vanilla beans
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tbsp fresh grated orange peel

OG: 1.067
IBU: 30
Click to expand...


Thanks very much for the advice. :mug: Instead of reducing the ingredients, I just made a bigger batch today. A bit over 7 gallons went into the fermenter after a perfect brew day, which is the biggest batch I have ever managed with a Grainfather. The efficiency was also great, coming up to about 80%. The hydrometer showed 1.082SG (I put honey as per your advice). With this amount of beer, I am now converting to the following tea "recipe" - 2 vanilla beans, crushed, 1.5 cinnamon sticks, 1topped tbsp orange peel and 1 tbsp grated ginger. I read a lot of the thread and this feels like a healthy balance of flavours.

My only worry about this batch is that I may have underpitched the US-05, because I was not planning on making such a massive batch of Christmas beer. I've never even tasted Christmas beer. What if I don't like it? My hopes will be with the wife to free up that slot in the kegerator. :beard:
 
HomebrewingDNA said:
Thanks very much for the advice. :mug: Instead of reducing the ingredients, I just made a bigger batch today. A bit over 7 gallons went into the fermenter after a perfect brew day, which is the biggest batch I have ever managed with a Grainfather. The efficiency was also great, coming up to about 80%. The hydrometer showed 1.082SG (I put honey as per your advice). With this amount of beer, I am now converting to the following tea "recipe" - 2 vanilla beans, crushed, 1.5 cinnamon sticks, 1topped tbsp orange peel and 1 tbsp grated ginger. I read a lot of the thread and this feels like a healthy balance of flavours.

My only worry about this batch is that I may have underpitched the US-05, because I was not planning on making such a massive batch of Christmas beer. I've never even tasted Christmas beer. What if I don't like it? My hopes will be with the wife to free up that slot in the kegerator. :beard:
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good brew day! In years past I have definitely landed around 1.080 as well. It will still be a good beer. I think that's a pretty good spice balance too.

How much US-05 did you pitch? One package? That might be a little light, but US-05 is hearty, you'll probably be okay. It may take an extra couple of days to finish though. I think you'll be pleased! :mug:
 
Finally got around to brewing this a few days ago, better late then never! I did end up entering last years batch in a homebrew competition. It scored a 34, good enough for second in the category. Certainly a welcome surprise for my first foray into competition especially considering it was only my 4th batch ever.
 
OK, I just took a taste of what is in the keg carbing, and it was really good!

Here's what I did to make the tea for this one - this is for a 2.5 gallon batch:

3/4 of one (about 4" long) cinnamon stick, broken into shards; 1 (sort of older) vanilla bean, split & scraped; 1/2 tbsp fresh grated ginger (moist) - not packed down; 1/2 tbsp sweet orange peel (my bitter orange peel supply was moldy so I threw it away!).

Heated the tea for 5 min in an Erlenmeyer flask - slight boil, allowed to stand for 10 mins after that.

Poured it into the keg thru a strainer.
 
Took second in the winter seasonal category with a score of 34. Certainly a pleasant surprise for my first competition entry. Thanks op for the great recipe, my only real tweak for my version is to boost up the abv to just over 10%.
 

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Mueltrain54 said:
Took second in the winter seasonal category with a score of 34. Certainly a pleasant surprise for my first competition entry. Thanks op for the great recipe, my only real tweak for my version is to boost up the abv to just over 10%.
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Congrats! I am SUPER jealous of that competition. I scored a 35.5 with my version of this beer last weekend and it didn't put me anywhere near the top. I want some hardware!
 
Just a reminder to get people on a Summer brew break not to forget to put this one on the list as soon as it get a bit colder.
I missed the boat last year but going to aim for mid-September to brew it this year so it has plenty of time to mature for Christmas :)
 
Shenanigans said:
Just a reminder to get people on a Summer brew break not to forget to put this one on the list as soon as it get a bit colder.
I missed the boat last year but going to aim for mid-September to brew it this year so it has plenty of time to mature for Christmas :)
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Good reminder! I always target Labor Day weekend to brew this up.

Shenanigans said:
I might actually brew it with maple syrup this time instead of the honey.
Any honey here with a decent flavour is way to expensive. Think I'll get more bang for my buck with the Maple syrup.
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Generally speaking, does the honey really impart much flavor anyway? I was under the impression that honey usually dries the beer out some, but doesn't usually do much for flavor.
 
Anyone brewing this this year? I got a batch sitting in the primary. I've been wanting to brew this for a few years now and I always miss the date. But not this year. Can't wait. I added the honey 24 hours after fermentation started and it took me about 48 hours to get the fermentation temp down to 64* but its been sitting at that for the last three days and fermenting beautifully. In fact the Krausen was out of control I have never seen that much krausen head before. Cheers
 
archy said:
Anyone brewing this this year? I got a batch sitting in the primary. I've been wanting to brew this for a few years now and I always miss the date. But not this year. Can't wait. I added the honey 24 hours after fermentation started and it took me about 48 hours to get the fermentation temp down to 64* but its been sitting at that for the last three days and fermenting beautifully. In fact the Krausen was out of control I have never seen that much krausen head before. Cheers
Click to expand...

Yessir! I brewed 11 gallons on 9/9. What was your motivation for add honey to the primary? I generally only see that with trappist beers.
 

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