12 Beers of Christmas 2012!

[biochemedic]

Tasted another one of my Spiced Bourbon Imperial Stouts, still very little carbonation (which may stay this way) the Star Anise is still very prominent in it, hoping that still goes down and mellows a bit more in the next few months.

Have we set a ship date for this yet?

Don't worry about the carbonation, it should still develop yet. I know my caramel quad hasn't yet gotten there either, but I'm still not overly worried...I did everything right (I think!). Just put them in a warm place and let it ride. My gruit took a while to carb up last year too...the higher the gravity, the more time it needs...

I think we should target shipping the week after Thanksgiving...I'm pretty sure that's what we did last year, and it gave plenty of time for things to arrive before holiday time...

 

[sfrisby]

I wanted to propose that everyone offers reviews for our beers this year. Rhoadsrage reviews were fantastic and likely a little more than most if us can do, but I think we should offer constructive reviews to the best of our abilities. Naturally, this means, hopefully don't drink the beer at 1am as the 10th beer of the night.

If we are getting 11 others to sample our beer, independent feedback could be a great thing.

 

[Clanchief]

I wanted to propose that everyone offers reviews for our beers this year. Rhoadsrage reviews were fantastic and likely a little more than most if us can do, but I think we should offer constructive reviews to the best of our abilities. Naturally, this means, hopefully don't drink the beer at 1am as the 10th beer of the night.

If we are getting 11 others to sample our beer, independent feedback could be a great thing.

I agree with that and would love it.

BTW, here's a picture of the Crabapple Lambicky Ale sitting in secondary.

 

[biochemedic]

I agree it would be nice to get some feedback from everyone. One thing I suggested as a possible solution last year was to have everyone PM or e-mail tasting notes to each brewer individually, and then each brewer could then post up the notes in a single post (perhaps even with a picture, a la rhodesrage's reviews...)

I figured this would be a less confusing/less fractured way of doing things.

One other possibility would be to have everyone agree that on X day we are going to taste/post reviews on Y beer...I know that at least for me and my crazy schedule that would be much harder.

What do the rest of you think?

 

[SavoryChef]

December is busy for me, so certain may not work for me.

 

[jtakacs]

i have to catch up on all of this, i had some family health issues i had to deal with and haven't brewed in about six weeks... looks like my abbey wiezen is up for this week though! woohoo!

 

[dgez]

About 2 weeks ago, I moved the juniper rye bock into a 35 degree slumber. There it shall hibernate until the week after thanksgiving. I actually just sneaked a taste and it's very good! Very malty with moderate alcohol and juniper notes. I expect this to mellow slightly over the next 10 weeks. I think it will be a great beer to have in a room with an Xmas tree, roaring fire, and Christmas Vacation on the tv!

 

[sfrisby]

I very much like the idea of having assigned beers on assigned nights, but I recognize the logistics for 12 people may not be realistic. We could make a volunteer system and those that are willing and able do just that.

 

[RedBeard1]

Honey ginger ipa in the works!

 

[RedBeard1]

Spent hops

 

[biochemedic]

Sweet! That's a lot of hops!

 

[jtakacs]

my goal was to do my abbey weizen in the last week of september, but it's boiling now... hit all my numbers although it sat in protein rest for longer than i would have wanted (extra 15 minutes - my ex wife stopped by so we argued for a bit, bi***) - anyway, looking good - i didn't follow a recipe, but i'm excited about it; maris otter as the base, german malted wheat and a bit of munich. it's about 60-40 barley/wheat... with my setup i get low efficiency on wheat beers for whatever reason, but i hit 70% (pre-boil anyway) so i'm happy...

it'll be at the upper scale of weizen for gravity (maybe a point over, but i figured the beer will handle it) - single hopped only with 100% saaz, 2.5 oz worth, most of which are at the end so i'm gonna wind up with 15+ BU...

i'm underpitching and fermenting at moderate temps with wyeast abbey II - i actually want high phenolics, esters, etc, so i'm hoping the high temps (65-70) will do right by this. i want to taste the yeast on this one. i'm also going to go in the spirit of christmas beers - low co2, should get plenty of head retention from the yeast and clock in a bit darker than normal weizens with the MO and munich added (maybe 6-8 SRM, i'll have to check)...

as for tasting - there is NO way i can match a schedule that says "taste this on this day" - but i guarantee i will post all results for each beer...

guys - i'm JAZZED for this. been looking forward to todays brew day for a loooong time (it's been two months since i've brewed - sh** just got in the way)...

i have to backtrack on this thread to figure out how we're sharing addys and ship date...

 

[jtakacs]

I very much like the idea of having assigned beers on assigned nights, but I recognize the logistics for 12 people may not be realistic. We could make a volunteer system and those that are willing and able do just that.

the only thing i can guarantee is that when things start to land, they'll hit my fridge for a week+ and then from that point on i will only drink the beers we're doing here... i'm excited about feedback. i checked my logs and i've only brewed two wheats out of the last 40 (not counting sours with wheat) - i don't work with wheat often, so i'm a bit nervous.

i am going to lay one of each down for a year and will post the results of that to this thread as well...

 

[jtakacs]

by they way, kudos to all of you doing loooooong beers... i usually only make two kinds of beers; ones with short time from brew to bottle and those that take 12-24 months... the long beers are tough...

 

[humann_brewing]

wow that sound like a great idea, hope all the beers turn out good and what a great way to get a nice eclectic mix of beers

 

[biochemedic]

Update: Just cracked one of the Caramel Quads when I realized it's been almost 2 1/2 months since I bottled...I'm very excited at how this is turning out! It's carbonating very nicely, and damn tasty if I do say so myself! And wowza...I can't stop sipping it, but you don't want to drink this one too fast!

Draygon, keep the faith on your monster beer carbonating as well...I kept mine in a warmer area of the house, so perhaps try that with yours as well if it's still not picking up if you sample again...

 

[Piratwolf]

Checking in! The Saffron Tripel has been in bright tank under low CO2 since the start of July, and I'm looking to chill & carbonate then bottle from my kegerator on the 27th. I'll probably prime and bottle the Brett BGS before that. The Thiriez (3711 French Saison) Tripel has been bottle conditioning about 4 months already and will have 6 months by the time it gets to those who want it

I'm very excited about trying all these beers. It seems to me that the "PM & post" approach to reviewing the beers is most likely to work. While I've been know to drink good beers too late in a night to appreciate them, everyone has put too much effort into this for me not to do my reviews sober. Plus, it'll help me prep for my BJCP tasting exam!

EDIT: I'm looking through all the posts to get a count on the split counts to send out and don't see any from Pint_destroyer. Anyone know if he's still in?

 

[sfrisby]

EDIT: I'm looking through all the posts to get a count on the split counts to send out and don't see any from Pint_destroyer. Anyone know if he's still in?

I would recommend getting a last minute confirm from everyone confirming participation prior to shipping next month. Last year we had one guy who gladly accept our beers while never shipped his own.

 

[biochemedic]

Further to "checking in" and such, I only so far have addresses from dgez, SavoryChef, Piratwolf, and Draygon. If the rest of you can get me your addresses by PM, this will at least serve as a "roll call" for now...

 

[Piratwolf]

I would recommend getting a last minute confirm from everyone confirming participation prior to shipping next month. Last year we had one guy who gladly accept our beers while never shipped his own.

Good call!

 

[biochemedic]

Ok, at this point I've gotten addresses from everyone except: Pint_destroyer, MasterJeem, Clanchief, jtakacs.

 

[NuclearRich]

can i put my address in???

 

[jtakacs]

just sent it to you bio...

 

[jtakacs]

consider me confirmed - we still thinking week after thanks giving?

 

[biochemedic]

jtakacs, got it, thanks...just need the last 3 now (Pint_destroyer, MasterJeem, Clanchief)

Yes, I think we should be thinking about shipping right after Thanksgiving in order to have plenty of time for packages to arrive before the big holiday shipping rush...

 

[Clanchief]

Just sent you my address as well.

 

[biochemedic]

Great Clanchief, got it... I'll bug MasterJeem and Pint_destroyer by PM soon if they don't PM me first...

 

[RedBeard1]

An update on Honey Ginger IPA

On my original brew day, which I posted a few pics of here, a friend stopped by and wanted to learn and help. A long story short, i was distracted and missed some times on my hop additions, scorched the LME in the bottom of the boil kettle, and was just not careful about my process and not really happy with the result. After a few tasting a few hydrometer samples, I decided that this is not a beer that I want to share with you all.

Never fear! I re-brewed, this time with a different recipe. I didn't want to order online and wait for delivery, and there is a new LHBS in Kingsport. Their ingredient selection is very good, but not endless like Northern Brewer. I was also inspired to use lighter malt by an episode of the Sunday Session about traditional IPA's. So aaaannnnnyyway I I've got something for you all to taste come December. It is hopped with 7 1/2 oz of East Kent Goldings, and sitting on 1 1/2 more ounces of hops, 2lbs of honey, and 3oz of candied ginger right now. Just had a little taste this morning to gauge the ginger flavor, and I am expecting to bottle either Tuesday or Wednesday. It measures in at 57 IBU, 7 SRM.

How is everyone else's beer? I'm getting really excited about this!

 

[NuclearRich]

Would anyone be able to share a recipe for the caramel gingerbread quad? I would like to make this for myself (since I didn't get in on this sweet gig).

 

[jtakacs]

abbey weizen is in bottles conditioning as i type - happy to report that this went off without a hitch... hit all my numbers perfectly and let it rest on the yeast cake for quite a while. no secondary at all and for a wheat beer with a high percentage (40%) it came out pretty darn clear.

took my first taste yesterday and it has limited wheat influence because the yeast just dominates the beer... also a bit hoppier than i thought it would be.

i wanted it to be less "summery" and more "wintery" so it's a little darker than a standard wheat and less dry for sure... pretty well balanced imo and with carbonation (i shot for the low end of the scale for co2) it should be a really nice beer..

all grain, all saaz hops, wyeast abbey II yeast and fermented pretty cool - originally i was going to try to do it warmer than normal to get some esters out of it, but i wanted to control what i could...

i'll tell you what tho, i've never been more nervous about brewing a beer knowing 11 other people who do this are gonna be drinking it, but i think you'll all like it...

as with all of my beers (and most homebrews from what i can tell) this will need to be cold conditioned for at least a week before drinking it...