Thinking of brewing an xmas brew, when should I do it?

[kdog93]

I may do a variation of the "Ho-ho-holy sh**" Christmas Ale for my friends this winter, and i was basically just wondering when i should actually brew it, and how long to age it.

I was thinking about brew day being sometime in mid august.
2 weeks in primary
2(-4) weeks in secondary (with oak chips)
bottle condition til mid december (2 1/2 - 3 months)

Total: 4 months

Is that too long of a fermentation? (keep in mind that it IS a strong beer, est ABV is 10%)
How long with the oak chips?
Is the conditioning period too long? Will the oak flavors still be present after 3 months in the bottles?

Please let me know guys. Im usually all for experimenting when my homies are being guinee pigs, but I'd like to give them a decent quality beer for the holidays.

 

[billl]

Sounds fine to me. 4 months certainly isn't too long to age a big beer.

For oaking, so many factors are in play and everyone have different preferences. The best way to go would just be to sample it regularly and pull it when hit the oak level you want.

 

[Cyclman]

Do it, now. More age on a big beer will smooth it out. I would leave it in secondary until 6 weeks or so before you want to drink it.

 

[jiggs_casey]

Brew it now. Assuming you're bottling, big beers can take a while to carbonate.

 

[kdog93]

haha i was just about to put the recipe up for some second opinions and i found out today is the day my trial of beersmith ends