12 Beers of Christmas 2013 Edition! (Need Brewers!)

[danbrewtan]

Transferred the christmas stout to the secondary today. It smelled fantastic! Such good chocolate and coffee notes already.

 

[Stovetop535]

I finally uploaded the pics from the Abbey Weizen. I didnt take too many since I could not find the digital camera. Here are a handfull from the cell phone.

Just under 8 gallons in my 8 gallon kettle. FermcapS is awesome stuff.

Spices ready to go in at flameout.

And finishing chilling in the freezer, since my chiller really struggles to get the last 10-15 degrees. I took it to 82 with the chiller, then let it sit for a few hours in the freezer.

I just brewed last week, mostly because I was trying to get my keggle setup going for this brew. I have alomst all the parts, but I have not assembled everything. Should still be fine on time though, this is probably one of the christmas brews that needs the least amount of time.

 

[stblindtiger]

How are we making out with addresses, fermentation, etc???

Mine is happily sitting in secondary on some Brett B. Getting excited to see how it turns out. Sample I took after primary was def tasty!

 

[jgourd]

Mine (the Fruitcake Old Ale) has been in the keg and carbonated for a little over a month now. I've been occasionally sampling it. The alcohol warmth has subsided (still a tad there), and the flavor has been "normalizing" nicely. I would still change the dried fruit a bit (less to no dried apricot), but overall it's a decent brew albeit quite the sipper at 8.4% ABV (calculated without the fruit addition which probably added a good 0.5% ABV or more).

 

[NuclearRich]

I bottled the rumcake two days ago! (Caramel quad). Tasted awesome

 

[danbrewtan]

I'll be bottling the stout this weekend! I have everyone's address... I'll send them all out late next week so people can start mailing their brews in November. Can't believe it's almost here.

 

[FermentedTed]

The Honey Ginger IPA is currently being dry hopped and sitting on the ginger in secondary... all things being equal, will be bottling next week.

 

[jjefrey]

I'll be bottling the Gingerbread Ale this weekend.

 

[gavball6]

I also am planning to bottle the Spiced Cherry Dubbel within the next week (Sunday most likely). It has been sitting in tertiary for awhile and I haven't paid much attention to it, so I am looking forward to getting another taste at bottling time.

 

[Stovetop535]

I will be bottling the abbey weizen Monday or Tuesday. I just bottled a wheat today and my valve on my bucket leaks terribly. I will definitely need to replace it before I bottle anything else.

 

[stblindtiger]

When are we sending these out again?

 

[danbrewtan]

The boubon spiced stout is bottled and ready to go!

We'll send them out after thanksgiving.

 

[Stovetop535]

Just bottled the Abbey Weizen tonight. Might take an extra week or two to carb up though, we leave the heat set around 65*. Last winter to get my bottled beer to carb I had to have a dedicated carbonation closet with a separate heater I would run.

 

[gavball6]

Spiced Cherry Dubbel got bottled up tonight. 53 bottles in total!

 

[Stovetop535]

I snuck a bottle of the abbey weizen after only two weeks in the bottle and I have to say, I am pretty happy with it. Nice and hazy with just enough character from the abbey yeast. This will probably be a recipe I brew again.

I would be interested in everyone's own personal recipe they used for the beers if people don't mind sharing. I realize they are based on the posted recipes from the book, but some of them are pretty vague.

 

[danbrewtan]

I agree. Would love to see everyone's grain bill. I chose a very basic stout recipe hoping that I could get the classic stout flavors but nothing too crazy that would distract from the spices. The sample I had on bottle day had a LOT of potential. It was very green tasting (duh) but the other flavors were there and the spices added a (what I hope to be) fantastic complexity. Especially the juniper berry. They weren't overwhelming but you could pick them out. I think it's going to be fantastic.

Anyway, here was my grain bill. I made a 7 gallon batch because I wanted lots for myself

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.87 gal
Post Boil Volume: 8.06 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 7.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 6.60 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 37.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 43.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.7 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
13 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 83.2 %
1 lbs 5.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.4 %
1 lbs 5.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.4 %
2.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 4 29.6 IBUs
2.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 13.7 IBUs
1.0 vial White Labs Irish Ale Yeast (no starter)

Mashed at 156* for 60 minutes. Fly sparged. I used spring water and added a bit of calcium carbonate to harden it up a bit (about 1 teaspoon for the 7 gallons).

And here's what I used for the spices:

Into 6 oz of Vodka (Svedka) and 4 oz of bourbon (Maker's 46, doubled what recipe called for), add:
0.5 tsp vanilla extract; 0.25 tsp allspice; 0.5 tsp cinnamon;
0.25 oz crushed coriander; 1 whole star anise; 0.5 oz crushed juniper; pinch of black
pepper

I made that mixture during brew day and put it in a plastic bottle that I left on top of the fridge. There's so much alcohol in it you don't have to worry about any contamination. After 3 weeks or so I transferred to secondary and and added the spice infused mixture to the beer then. I just strained it and added to the bottom of the bucket before I transferred.

 

[jgourd]

Here's my brewsheet for the Fruitcake Old Ale. It's basically Munich as a base with some toasted Golden Promise, a bit of Special B, and some Carafa. I mashed at 154F (it went up to 163F and I brought it back down and extended the mash). I wish I hadn't, because the beer turned out a tad more dry than I wanted. Low hopping. I added dried fruits after primary fermentation (in the primary): green raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, and apricots (along with some orange peel and cloves). Just bottled some from the keg to test carbonation with the transfer and will bottle the ones I mail once my tests are complete.

 

[danbrewtan]

I'm drinking a bourbon spiced stout right now. Wow it's good. The classic stout flavors are there... lots of coffee upfront. The spices roll in right after. You can definitely taste the juniper berry. The finish is chocolatey with cinnamon, coriander, and juniper berry. May be one of the best beers I've made. It's very complex and the flavors are easy to pick out. I love it! Can't wait to hear feedback from you guys.

 

[NuclearRich]

Curious if there is a standard sized box that will work well for shipping these out... anyone know?

 

[biochemedic]

Curious if there is a standard sized box that will work well for shipping these out... anyone know?

I can't remember the exact details, and I'm on mobile so I also can't post a link, but check out last years thread...I posted a bunch of pics on packing and listed a variety of box sizes that work for packing up 3 longnecks...

 

[NuclearRich]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/rumcake-christmas-quad-426567/

The caramel quad is listed here. Entered the spiced half in a comp, did just OK. Hope y'all like it better than the judges lol.

I am starting to get very excited about sending and recieving these!

 

[NuclearRich]

I can't remember the exact details, and I'm on mobile so I also can't post a link, but check out last years thread...I posted a bunch of pics on packing and listed a variety of box sizes that work for packing up 3 longnecks...

I'll repost here for the sake of the group, as it took me a solid 20mins of scrolling lol.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/12-beers-christmas-2012-a-331431/index5.html#post4263407 <----------has packing instructions

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/12-beers-christmas-2012-a-331431/index5.html#post4263939 <----------has different box sizes listed for shipping

Thanks for posting all of that last year bio.

For those of you who are as lazy as I am half of the time, here's a summation:
Pack each bottle individually with a double wrap of bubble wrap, seal each bottle in a ziplock (gallon sized works well) or two, and snugly fill any empty space in the box with whatever packing materials you have: peanuts, newspaper, shredded junk mail, etc etc.
A 12"x12"x12" box will work great, but will need to be filled with a little extra packing.
11x8x6 looked to be a pretty nice fit.
FedEx has a 12x9x6 listed on their website as something they sell, but I didn't see a price.

 

[FermentedTed]

11x8x6 looked to be a pretty nice fit.

For any amazon prime members out there, this looks to be a pretty good deal:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E81M5NW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Not crazy about the creases for the multi-depth thing, but probably won't be an issue.

 

[FermentedTed]

My update on the Honey Ginger IPA:

I had originally planned to leave it on the ginger and dry hops for only a week, but after tasting it decided to let it go for a second week. Also opted to keg and force carb... received the results from a couple competitions I entered over the last month and had positive comments on the carb level, so I think I have finally dialed in my "bottling from keg" process.

She finished up at 1.010, for a ABV of 7.8%... a little bigger than I was expecting, but not by much. Hydro sample tasted pretty good. Even with this cold I'm trying to kick, it seemed that all of the flavors were there... floral from the EKG and maybe from the orange blossom honey, some spicy notes from the ginger and EKG. She's got a little haze, but I guess that's to be expected with 8.5 ounces of hops. So far I like how the Wyeast 1026 worked with this beer... Looking forward to sampling this after it's had more time on the gas. Regardless, definitely on target to bottle up by Thanksgiving and get 'em ready to ship!

 

[Diaperload]

Got a Christmas themed beer question for the brewers on this thread.

I'm planning on doing the Spiced Cherry Dubbel and starting to get the grain bill and ingredients list together. Fresh cherries are not available this time of year and the recipe calls for 2.5 lbs of sour cherries and 2.5 lbs of sweet cherries. I was wondering if I could use canned cherries? I have found cans of pitted red tart cherries in water (14.5oz per can) and pitted dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup (15oz per can). Will these work? If so, how many cans of each should I use for a 5gal batch?

Thanks ahead of time for any help.

 

[SavoryChef]

Got a Christmas themed beer question for the brewers on this thread.

I'm planning on doing the Spiced Cherry Dubbel and starting to get the grain bill and ingredients list together. Fresh cherries are not available this time of year and the recipe calls for 2.5 lbs of sour cherries and 2.5 lbs of sweet cherries. I was wondering if I could use canned cherries? I have found cans of pitted red tart cherries in water (14.5oz per can) and pitted dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup (15oz per can). Will these work? If so, how many cans of each should I use for a 5gal batch?

Thanks ahead of time for any help.

I used 14 cans in a stout once with decent result. It was expensive but tasty. At least the first half was, the other half got drained in the bottom of my keezer.

 

[FermentedTed]

I used 14 cans in a stout once with decent result. It was expensive but tasty. At least the first half was, the other half got drained in the bottom of my keezer.

This just happened to me with my pumpkin ale... serving line got loose somehow. Thanksgiving isn't going to be the same...

But hey, at least it wasn't the beer for this exchange!

 

[bobdozer]

Thought I'd give the dunkel one more taste before shipping time. Its been bottled about 8-9 weeks now. All the green flavor and overly spiced flavors are gone. The spices and ginger are a little subtle but definitely there. I can tell that this is a Christmas spiced beer. Appearance is still a hazy dark amber. The body is lighter than expected but all in all I think its a pretty decent beer. Can't wait to try everyone else's.

 

[danbrewtan]

Sending out addresses soon! I dug up the packaging guide (thanks to biochemedic) from last year's thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/12-beers-christmas-2012-a-331431/index17.html

I will include this in the email. Waiting on one person to get back with me with their address (I'm missing one) and then I'll send out an email.

 

[pheboglobi]

I bottled the Saffron Tripel on Monday morning, and I just finished labeling them.
I measured the FG at 1.012 from an OG of 1.095, placing it about 11.8% abv according to brewersfriend.com. I added some wine yeast to help with the bottle fermentation, so hopefully that works in time for the holidays...