12 Beers of Christmas 2012!

[dgez]

Well it's time! Im off work for two weeks so its time to start cracking these open!
I'm starting with the caramel quad because its the first recipe in the book, and I've had them in my fridge the longest.

Bottle: Clean, good fill

Aroma: Wow, I'm getting a big wiff of toasted caramel and to a much lesser extent something I can only describe as maybe dark fruit. If this is a 10% beer, I am not detecting any alcohol in the aroma.

Appearance: Opaque and deep brown/raisin in color. Little head, faded almost instantly.

Flavor: Again wow, tastes just like it smells, but not as sweet as the aroma would suggest. Carbonation is low. Alcohol is present but faintly hanging out in the background. No off flavors

Body: medium-full, low carbonation.

Overall: very tasty, just wish it had a little more carbonation. As I sit here and type, I am feeling a slight alcohol warmth. And now that I look at my glass again, I believe I am drinking this faster than I should. Definately a sipper, would go great as an after dinner drink while conversing with the in-laws, cause you'll need it.

Edit: Yes definately a sipper!

 

[watersr]

Have been following this thread intently. Wanted to get in on it but couldn't. Would love to do it for next year.

 

[jtakacs]

no label on mine... i had labeled some of them to test out a new labeling system... paint the bottle with a "chalk board" paint and use chalk. reusable, but that beer went out before i started it...

so far i've recieived;

1) Caramel Quadrupel (biochemedic)
4) Juniper Rye Bock (dgez) <----- arrived w/ bonus! thanks dgez! can't wait!
5) Fruitcake Old Ale (SavoryChef) <---------arrived in perfect shape and looking good!
8) Honey Ginger IPA (RedBeard1)
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale (Clanchief)
10) Gingerbread Ale (sfrisby)

the old fruitcake ale i thought was outstanding - the next day i had the gingerbread porter which i really enjoyed. nicely balanced, good carb, nice bite and very little hop influence which i think makes perfect sense... the next day i had the honey ginger IPA... i think the honey and ginger wiped out a lot of the hop influence - very good beer with a perfect head, carb, etc... so far i've really enjoyed them all and like mine the least.

i might go with the quad tonight - but i already had a martini and don't want to be on the floor.

i'm going to revisit all of them in january and then save a bottle of each for next year to compare/contrast... hopefully i can return for next year.

 

[jtakacs]

duplicate post somehow.

 

[Draygon]

I have received

Caramel Quad
Juniper Rye (Thanks for the extra !!)
Fruitcake Old Ale
Crabapple Lambicky Al
Gingerbread Ale

If it was shipped to me I did not get the Honey Ginger IPA, if anyone is not going to ship to me if you could let me know that way I can plan around that and know about what I need to complete the shipping. I do hope I get shipped the Spiced Cherry Dub and the Christmas Gruit, as those look / sound like they should be quite tasty.

I will begin posting reviews of those I drink after Sunday...when I am off for 3 weeks

 

[sfrisby]

Fruit has shipped. I received mine. I thought the cherry dubbel was a no show for this year. Right?

Edit: nope. It was the weizenbock that was a no show.

 

[biochemedic]

Fruit has shipped. I received mine. I thought the cherry dubbel was a no show for this year. Right?

Edit: nope. It was the weizenbock that was a no show.

Right on the weizenbock...and the cherry dubbel is going to just be a dubbel...Pint_destroyer was unhappy with the cherry version(s) and did not feel it was worthy of sharing, so wanted to just send his base dubbel

 

[dgez]

Fruitcake Old Ale:

Bottle: Nice label, good fill

Aroma: I'm getting spices up front. Allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon type spices. Hints of tart fruit.

Appearance: Deep chestnut brown, pencil thin head that dissapated over a few minutes.

Flavor: Yeah, if you were to crush up and juice the month of December, this is it. Spices, a tart fruitiness, sour (not a bad sour, but a slight puckering). To me, the spices are the dominant flavor, followed by a cherry/blueberry tartness. Great finish, the flavor lingers long after your last sip.

Body: Medium-Light. Carbonation is spot on.

Overall: I hate fruit cake, but I love this beer! The flavors are in perfect harmony with each other. While I think the spices are the dominant flavor, they are not over powering. Excellent brew, Great job!

 

[dgez]

Thistlehair: Honey Ginger IPA

Bottle: Nice label, good fill

Aroma: Honey and ginger up front, faint hop aroma.

Appearance: Dark straw in color. Pretty good clarity. Good head, about a half inch on the pour, faded to a thin layer that stayed for the whole beer.

Flavor: Its all here, a touch of sweetness from the honey, a little bite from the ginger, bitterness from the hops. Very good. As its warming up a little, I'm starting to pick up on a little bit of fusels...or it could just be that ginger bite, I can't tell. I'll try another in a a week or so to see if I still detect it. Just curious, what was the ferm temp on this?

Body: Light and refreshing. Perfect carbonation.

Overall: Another excellent brew. The honey and ginger complement each other very well. Clarity and head were great. Crisp and refreshing!

 

[SavoryChef]

Here's a pic

 

[RedBeard1]

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed it. Germ temp was mid 60's to low 70's in a dark corner of the back room. Was just trying to talk the wife into a fermentation fridge with the argument that she could also age her cheese. Maybe when we move into a bigger place. I would appreciate some constructive criticism on this, as I can tell some of you have really honed the craft. I have a few ideas, but will hold on to them to see what you guys have to say.

 

[jtakacs]

gruit arrived today in perfect shape - looking forward to trying it out!

 

[Piratwolf]

gruit arrived today in perfect shape - looking forward to trying it out!

Agreed. So far I've really liked the packaging from everyone who chose to go that route. I'm trying my first tonight & I've been really looking forward to this!!

 

[Piratwolf]

My first tasting notes--Fruitcake Old Ale

Aroma: BIG nose of spices, rich malt, dark berries, and alcohol aromatics up front. Cinnamon & sweetness dominate first. As it warms, I'm getting yeast notes, other spices ( maybe cloves?), then a sherry-like note with heavy fruitiness almost reminiscent of red wine: blackberries, tart cherries, raisins, and maybe plum.

Appearance: deep mahogany with orange-red glimmers at the edges when held up to the light. Pours a very low, tan head with fairly large bubbles. Head drops away within seconds to a faint rim. Good clarity.

Flavor: deep cherry and caramel malt flavors shine through with notes of spices and an almost sour tartness that lingers in the aftertaste. Hops absent or covered (as expected in an old ale). The strong fruitiness and secondary spice notes add a nice balance to the caramel malt, and that tartness clears the palate for the next sip. There does seem to be a very faint yeast/fermentation off-flavor in the background, but I only got it after warming up and it's very minor. Overall, a great balance of good flavors! My wife likes it a lot

Mouthfeel: less body than expected from the aroma, but the moderate mouthfeel allows the big flavor remain drinkable rather than cloying. The finish is thin enough to make me want another drink. Perhaps a touch higher carbonation level might add a hit of liveliness.

Overall: this is a very enjoyable beer. The balance is spot on--tartness and fruit balance out the malt and alcohol sweetness, and the spices add a perfect hint of complexity that rounds out the profile without clashing in the slightest.

Well done, and thank you for sharing!

 

[dgez]

Abbey Weizen

Bottle: Clean, good fill

Aroma: Grainy, yeasty, bread crust. Bready, I can't get over it! Fantastic bready aroma. Smells like liquid nourishment.

Appearance: Straw color, good clarity with a slight Haze. 3/4 inch head, faded slowly. About a 1/8" head throughout the length of the beer.

Flavor: I can only describe this as liquid bread. Isn't that what beer is anyway? Screw eating, drink this!

Body: light and crisp. Perfect carbonation.

Overall: I just love that bready flavor. When the Egyptians built the pyramids, this is what they were paid with. I'm not sure how this classifies as a Christmas beer, because I could drink this year round.
Fan-effing-tastic!

 

[Piratwolf]

According to UPS tracking, 3-4 of my packages should have arrived by this evening. Can anyone confirm arrival intact? I'm a bit nervous about them leaking.

Thanks!

 

[dgez]

According to UPS tracking, 3-4 of my packages should have arrived by this evening. Can anyone confirm arrival intact? I'm a bit nervous about them leaking.

Arrived in perfect condition!

 

[sfrisby]

Bio,

Im drinking both Gruits right now. Yours from last year is phenomenal. There's a ginger beer component that I find fantastic. Not to take away from this years gruit at all. It too is a wonderful beer.

My point is, to all, consider saving a bottle of each for next year. A year of aging is fantastic!

 

[jtakacs]

i'll be saving one of each as well...

thanks for the review dgez... not very christmas-y for sure, but the recipe didn't seem to be... i increased the abv and body a bit and tried to make it a bit darker than the original recipe intended.

 

[Shuznuts]

According to UPS tracking, 3-4 of my packages should have arrived by this evening. Can anyone confirm arrival intact? I'm a bit nervous about them leaking.

Thanks!

Arrived in perfect condition as well!

 

[RedBeard1]

got mine, piratwolf

 

[Piratwolf]

Thanks, dgez, Shuznuts, & RedBeard1!

Unfortunately, I have to report that I messed up the carb level on the Tripel. It was really highly carbed & I feared it would turn into a mail/bottle bomb, so I vented it 24 hours before bottling. Apparently that was too much b/c the carb level is low. Sorry

On the plus side, the Strong Saison is just about perfect!

 

[Clanchief]

I'm not posting full reports on the beers right now, because I don't have them in front of me to drink and properly appreciate. Here's what I will say:

I've had three so far, the Caramel Quad, the Fruitcake Old Ale, and the Gingerbread Ale. All three were excellent. My God, the Fruitcake Old Ale was even something that SWMBO would drink, and normally I can only get her to have lambics (hence the reason I made a lambic for this!) and ciders. SHE loved it. I've absolutely loved the three I've had so far, and I plan on enjoying one a night starting tonight until I've had them all.

 

[sfrisby]

I'll be honest, I was bummed the cherries didn't work out for the dubbel. I'm a fan of real cherries in a brew, not that extract flavoring stuff. But on its own, this is a very nice dubbel. I know its supposed to be a spiced cherry dubbel, but did this beer get the spice treatment without the cherries or is it just a plain dubbel. I get more belgian funk and if it is spiced, it is very subtle, hiding behind that belgian yeast. I think its great color for a dubbel. Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[sfrisby]

Thanks for contributing the lambicky. I think this is a great beer for this time of year. I'm still bumbed Sam Adams took it out of the season mix pack. If it wasn't for replacing it with Chocolate Bock, I would have written Boston Beer Company to complain! To me, of all our 12 beers, the lambicky is most unique to this time of year. They you very much for contributing it this year.

 

[sfrisby]

For me, the single biggest wow to this beer was the caramel aspect. I didn't expect a big caramel aspect based on your recipe, but I'll be darned if it isn't caramel in your face. I say that in a good way. Were the sugars carmalized or treated in any way before you added it? Based on the recipe, I expected the sugar contributions to just dry out the beer and leave no major contributing flavor but I was dead wrong. I would love for you to expand on the sugar treatment to obtain that caramel flavor because there are plenty of potential beers that I would like to add that component. Thanks!

 

[sfrisby]

As unique a recipe as a gruit is, I really was expecting something along the lines of the fruitcake old ale. But the method definetly distinguishes itself from other beers. One thing I found interesting was where I got blueberries the most out of the old ale, there wasn't a single addition to the gruit that leaped out the most to me. I found all the contributing flavors to have melded nicely. Great job!

 

[sfrisby]

For those that are considering aging a bottle for next year, I would suggest keeping an eye on the ABV. I am drinking last years along side each of ours. The lower ABV beers were clearly oxidized. And that is being stored for the last year at 55*. My personal suggestion would be not to hold on to anything under 8%. This would include my gingerbread porter with extract that due to crappy efficiency came in under 5%.

 

[sfrisby]

Abbey Weizen had very nice clarity. A very clean beer with great clarity. When you get to beers this light, it is tougher to hide flaws (which may be why I picked the gingerbread porter ) and I fine this beer to be very clean. Although it may be designed to enjoy in the evening during our 12 beers of christmas, I can just as easily see myself enjoying this during the day while watching a bowl game. Great contribution. Thank you!

 

[Piratwolf]

Very nice clarity. A very clean beer with great clarity. When you get to beers this light, it is tougher to hide flaws (which may be why I picked the gingerbread porter ) and I fine this beer to be very clean. Although it may be designed to enjoy in the evening during our 12 beers of christmas, I can just as easily see myself enjoying this during the day while watching a bowl game. Great contribution. Thank you!

Which one is that, sfrisby?