12 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition

I just want to clarify, I'm already making the caramel quad. When I say I want to try the sour, I mean I'd rather taste that over the bock if you were to change your mind. Like I said, that's my preference.

Now, I've got my recipe all planned out to get a starter going next week for a Saturday brew day. I'm nervous about making the toffee but I'll try to manage that during the mash. As long as the temp next Saturday is not 5°F like it is today then I might survive. If this batch doesn't turn out, I'll make another in a few months with corrections.

 

Ok Caramel Quad 2.0 in progress. This time I’m mashing a little hotter for 90 mins. That should get me closer to the target OG. I’ll be swimming on Belgian Ales in about 6 months.
Edit: OG came out to 1.102, much better

 

Check it out everyone! https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/fothb-iii-coatee-cha-tu-yub-nub.643587/

 

Ok group 2'ers: The spiced bourbon stout says to "take your favorite stout recipe", well my fav. recipe is a 13% stout I brewed last year and it came out AWESOME! I have my own barrel to bourbon barrel age it in too. But before I pull the trigger I'm wondering if anybody has reservations about such an in your face brew?? Speak now!!! Otherwise it's gonna be 25.5lbs of grain in a 10 gallon mash tun, wish me luck!

 

I'm all for it! The holidays are a lot of fun with strong tasty beverages.

 

No qualms here. My bock is likely to get up there as well, not to the 13 level but definitely into the 10-11 ish range. I like big beers.

 

I’m sorry to have to say that because of personal issues that are just starting now and not knowing how long it take, I’m not going to have much time for brewing. I will have to withdraw my name from this years exchange. Sorry for the inconvenience

 

At this stage, there's no harm done. We have plenty of time for someone else to pick this up if they want. Personally, I appreciate you letting us all know.

Take care of whatever is going on and focus on what's important.

 

I hope everything works out for you.

 

Best wishes, and thank you for "brewering" up and letting us know...

 

So I busted out my Mini Randall today... Had purchased a big bag of diced candied ginger on Amazon to play around with, and got a new seasonal DIPA from Sierra Nevada while grocery shopping today...



I infused a tablespoon of the diced ginger, and it was quite good!
This beer is a bit more on the piney/resiny side, and I like that hop quality with the earthy ginger. I do plan on trying this later with more of a citrusy/grapefruit bomb to check out that flavor profile.
I did find that the candied ginger makes the beer a bit too sweet, and you can get as much as if not more of a flavor meld by chewing a piece or two of the ginger and taking a swig...The infused version is much more subtle, but that's with only 20 min of infusion; I would imagine that if I "dry gingered" a beer with it for a week, it would be more prominent.
Once I pick a hop profile, I'll make a test batch...

 

Looks good! I have candied ginger in my recipe too, I may grab the same off Amazon.

 

Don't let that candied ginger fool you. It'll infuse a lot of ginger flavor. Perhaps too much. The first time I used it on saison, I measured and it came out well. The second time, I just dumped, and that wasn't wise

 

I'll definitely keep my spice/ginger additions moderate. I do not want them overpowering the beer. I can always add a tincture later if I feel it needs it.

 

I just stumbled across this thread, and if there's a slot available, I would love to participate. I may lay down a couple on the list regardless.

 

There are a couple of spots on list 2

 

Yeah, I definitely felt like I would get much more from prolonged contact than the 20 min infusion I did in the Randall... I will judge much better from the full scale test batch, but for now, just trying to get an idea of flavor combinations with various hop profiles

 

Here's the link to the specific product I got...I thought the price was right for the amount, which gives me plenty to fool around with. I also like that it is diced, which should provide more surface contact for the beer to interact with. I have to admit, I've never had candied ginger before this, and it is delicious!!! I'll have to be careful that I actually have enough left over for the beer after my snacking!

 

Hey Guys, been out of town for a bit so I'm just catching up on the thread. @badgerfan79 I've removed you from the list, thanks for letting us know, we now stand at this for our current list:

1) Caramel Quadrupel (@Scturo ) (@BigCrazyAl )
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel (@HawleyFarms ) (@btbnl)
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock (@MapleGroveAleworks ) (@Blackdirt_cowboy )
4) Juniper Rye Bock (@HopHeavy's brother) (@cmac62)
5) Fruitcake Old Ale (@cegan09) (@Auger)
6) Saffron Tripel (@TBC ) (@Yeroc )
7) Christmas Gruit (@BradleyBrew ) (@November)
8) Honey Ginger IPA (@biochemedic )(@Brewfessor)
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale (@dryboroughbrewing )(@mirthfuldragon)
10) Gingerbread Ale (@jerbrew ) (@fourfarthing )
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout (@gromitdj ) (@anotherbeerplease )
12) Abbey Weizen (@HopHeavy ) (@Zimm9)

 

Right now the gingerbread ale and the Crabapple Lambicky Ale are up for grabs

 

Put me down for the Crabapple Lambic. Thanks!

 

Done and done!

 

Sorry guys but I am going to have to regretfully withdraw from this years 12 BoC.

I typed a whole paragraph of excuses but really it sounded lame so I am going to just quietly fade to black.

 

Just saw this, sorry to hear it @JDXX1971. Hope to see you next round.

Mine is bottled and sitting in my aging cellar (wife’s shoe closet). I’ll check on them in a couple of months and see how they are coming along,

 

I haven't brewed yet, but I've been messing with tasting herbs and spices that I steep to prep for the gruit.

I like the gruit base recipe, but I want to tweak the the herbs and spices while still keeping with the gruit concept. Do I have to stay with moshers recipe or am I free to tweak the spices and such a bit if I stay true to the idea?

 

I know I said I was going to brew already but life threw in some delays. I finally have everything I need to get it all brewed properly and I went to the LHBS today to get the grain and yeast. Can't wait for Saturday!

 

Ummm... Today is Saturday!

 

Next Saturday, lol. I haven't had time for a yeast starter and I want to make the toffee ahead of time. Wednesday is the real start of all these festivities.

 

Yeah, I know. Poor joke on my part!

 

Just updated the list, right now we have the gingerbread ale in group two available and the fruitcake old ale in group one.

 

The Juniper Rye Bock (JRB) is in the lagering fridge at around 35 F. I'll give it a couple months and then test. It may need some additional Juniper at bottling. I have never used a beer gun before, but that sure sounds easier than bottle conditioning a lager/bock. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

I will jump in on the gingerbread ale. @JDXX1971 its your fault that I'm watching this thread, so think of this as your contribution in your absence.

@badgerfan79 hope everything works out for ya.

 

My initial Caramel Quad trial is tasting really good. At 8.5%, I’ll call it a BDSA. I may also offer it as a 1 of 3 option in the 12BOC if anyone is interested.

 

Spiced Cherry Dubbel in progress (with a Space Dust clone on the other burner).

It was one of those brew-days when everything goes right - I even cleaned the jockey box and half a dozen kegs at the same time.

At one point a humming bird flew in and got itself caught in the skylight dome, but that was resolved effortlessly with the mash paddle.

 

You are all set!

 

Well I burned the hell out of my first attempt at toffee. Any tips @Scturo?

 

Don’t burn it.

 

I tried to keep stirring as much as possible, and scrap the bottom. Mine didn’t go too smooth either. Did you taste the dark areas? I thought I burned mine too, but the dark areas didn’t taste bitter, so I used it.

 

Mine literally burned into carbon on the bottom and the top didn't even melt at all. I've never done this before so I had no idea what to expect. Might as well have lit money on fire lol. Anyway, I might go a slightly different route and see if a homeade candi sugar will work instead. I'm out of dme now...

 

I did the Caramel Quad a few years back...low and slow, low and slow is the key...and a lot of stirring. I found it a lot like making bochet (caramelized honey mead), and found that just a short time separates just right from too much from burnt.