Winter brew? Ideas please!!

[BrewMeister49]

I am looking for a great, tried and true All Grain recipe for this winter. I have a red wheat IPA about to keg. I thought about Yoopers Stout as its just plain awesome. I also thought about a snow cap clone but cannot find consistency on it. I thought about a porter. I thought about just a malty scotch ale. What are people brewing? I am open! Give me some ideas! And share your recipe too! :rockin:

 

[BroomVikin]

I'd love to have a Dragon's Milk clone on standby for those cold gray days. If anybody's got a reliable version I'd love to see one!

 

[orionol73]

Here is a Dragon's Milk clone from BYO

http://byo.com/stories/recipeindex/item/2069-new-holland-brewing-co-dragon’s-milk-clone

 

[SGTSparty]

There's also a whole thread devoted to clones I was looking at awhile back. Search it, it should be there.

to OP I've had Yooper's Oatmeal Stout on tap for a while now and am really enjoying it. I like it year round but I think it makes a great winter after dinner drink too

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Scotch ale and stout

 

[BrewMeister49]

It's really a great brew. I have one tap for my IPA's. Just not sure what I want next. Topper stoutnis in the top running though!!

 

[kh54s10]

I would go with any Stout or Porter that looks good. I've done a couple of Oatmeal Stouts. You can't go wrong there. Also, you can't go too big or it will not be aged to perfection until spring or summer. Or even later.

 

[Kent88]

Can you lager? What capacity is your mash tun?

Brew a doppelbock, parti-gyle style. 100% Munich malt (make sure the variety can convert itself). Blend runnings/sparges to get a few gallons of the 'bock (aim for something that will give a post-boil gravity of 1.080), and then take the later, more dilute runnings/sparges and maybe add some pilsen extract to get something around marzen strength that you can drink while you wait for the 'bock to get done.

Use hops like Hallertau, German Tradition, etc, primarily for bittering to an IBU level in the low 20s. Get a good yeast starter culture going. Aerate at pitching and again at 18 hours.

If you really feel adventurous and you want to spend the whole day brewing you could even try decocting it, but I haven't done that myself.

Lager that doppelbock until the coldest of the winter is almost upon you. Lager snobs would tell you to age it for 6 months or a year, but I bet that it would be drinkable by February.

 

[BrewMeister49]

I can lager. I brew with the grainfather, and my largest bill yet was 18 pounds and it handled well. I may be leaning towards yoops stout.

 

[SGTSparty]

I can lager. I brew with the grainfather, and my largest bill yet was 18 pounds and it handled well. I may be leaning towards yoops stout.

It's awesome. Also I brewed it with Denny's Favorite Wyeast 1450 – Denny's Favorite 50 and it came out wonderful. Brewed it back on 8/12/16 and it keeps getting better in the keg.

 

[JimRausch]

I brew via the seasons, as I rely on swamp coolers and environmental temperatures to maintain consistent temps. So, here's my seasonal brewing routine: Fall- Ciders, Grafs, Altbiers. Winter- lagers (Vienna, Marzen ,Bock). Spring_ Irish Red, Porter, Stout, American Wheats( most of the time with fruits), Pale ales, Ambers.
Summer- I relax and drink all the abundance of the rest of the year.
By the way, I just looked at SGTSparty's post. I second the WY1450. Great yeast. And if you haven't done it yet, try Denny's Waldo Lake Amber (NB has it, but they do post the recipe, hint hint). That recipe won me grand prize in the Maine Homebrewer's Competition, and a bronze medal in the 21st Boston Homebrew Competition.

 

[benner_28]

This bourbon vanilla porter is delicious and would be a nice one for the winter.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30185

 

[Jbkinn]

My winter brew suggestion is a german Schwartz Beer. It was my first German beer at the Rathskeller in Washington DC. It was cold and snowing outside but warm and happy inside. If you want my recipe let me know.

 

[BroomVikin]

My winter brew suggestion is a german Schwartz Beer. It was my first German beer at the Rathskeller in Washington DC. It was cold and snowing outside but warm and happy inside. If you want my recipe let me know.

I'm always looking for recipes for styles I haven't brewed yet. If you get a second you wanna PM that recipe to me? Thanks!

 

[BrewMeister49]

I'd say just post it on here!! I'm interested too

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I just brewed a cinnamon vanilla Christmas Ale based off an english barleywine malt bill. I can't say if it will be good or not though since I haven't brewed it before and it isn't done yet.

 

[Aristotelian]

I brew via the seasons, as I rely on swamp coolers and environmental temperatures to maintain consistent temps. So, here's my seasonal brewing routine: Fall- Ciders, Grafs, Altbiers. Winter- lagers (Vienna, Marzen ,Bock). Spring_ Irish Red, Porter, Stout, American Wheats( most of the time with fruits), Pale ales, Ambers.
Summer- I relax and drink all the abundance of the rest of the year.
By the way, I just looked at SGTSparty's post. I second the WY1450. Great yeast. And if you haven't done it yet, try Denny's Waldo Lake Amber (NB has it, but they do post the recipe, hint hint). That recipe won me grand prize in the Maine Homebrewer's Competition, and a bronze medal in the 21st Boston Homebrew Competition.

How do you lager your winter beers without temp control?

 

[jdraker62]

Can't go wrong with Bier de Guard. I have northern brewers old recipe if you want. This is a real crowd pleaser. Only beer I've ever brewed steam style. I've made this every year for the last five years.

Bière de Garde has its origins in northern France and is intended to be cellared for many months. Bronze in color, this beer has a clean and caramelly profile, malty palate, smooth body, and respectable alcohol content. Our Bière de Garde kit is fermented ‘steam style’, by a lager yeast fermented at warmer ale temperatures. To further enhance the clean malt character, this beer should be cold-conditioned in the bottle for two months before serving.
O.G: 1.063 READY: 3 MONTHS
Suggested fermentation schedule:
--1–2 weeks primary; 2 weeks cold secondary; 2 weeks warm bottle conditioning (for carbonation); extended cold bottle aging
MASH INGREDIENTS
--10 lbs. Belgian Pilsner Malt
--2 lbs. German Vienna Malt
--0.5 lbs. Dingemann’s Aromatic
--0.5 lbs. Gambrinus Honey Malt
MASH SCHEDULE: OPTION A
TRADITIONAL MULTI STEP
Glucan Rest: 112° F for 20 minutes
Protein Rest: 130° F for 20 minutes
Beta Sacch’ Rest: 149° F for 30 minutes
Alpha Sacch’ Rest: 158 F for 30 minutes
Mashout: 170° F for 10 minutes
MASH SCHEDULE: OPTION B
SINGLE INFUSION
Sacch’ Rest: 149° F for 75 minutes
Mashout: 170° F for 10 minutes
BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
1 oz. Styrian Goldings (Celeia) (60 min)
YEAST
DRY YEAST (DEFAULT):
Saflager S-23.
Optimum temperature: 60–72°F
LIQUID YEAST OPTION:
Wyeast #2112 California Lager Yeast.
Optimum temperature: 58–68°F
BIERE DE GARDE (All Grain)
BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
--1 oz. Styrian Goldings (Celeia) (60 min)
YEAST
--DRY YEAST (DEFAULT):
Saflager S-23.
Optimum temperature: 60–72°F
--LIQUID YEAST OPTION:
Wyeast #2112 California Lager Yeast.
Optimum temperature: 58–68°F

 

[slym2none]

Does anyone remember Anchor Steam's Winter Wheat beer? It was darker than most porters, and just delicious. I've always wanted to find a clone of that recipe, but never have.

 

[Jbkinn]

This is for a 3 gal batch

 

[JimRausch]

How do you lager your winter beers without temp control?

I'm in Maine where the winter temps are regularly subfreezing(and sometimes subzero). I place the carboys in swamp coolers filled with water out in my cold garage and leave them for 2-3 months. The water will sometimes freeze, but seldom fully to the bottom. It's only when that happens that I have to worry about temps falling below the freezing point of the beer. In 4 winters, have only froze 1 batch, and that one when it thawed turned out great.
You don't always need expensive systems. Simple remedies can work well.