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

[jgourd]

Tasting notes on the Abbey Weizen. Note that I am not an expert by any means, but I know what I like, I think I know good beer, and I've been brewing since 2008. So take it for what's it worth...

Aroma: Light and crisp. Slight fruitiness reminiscent of oranges or pineapple with maybe some banana under there. A tiny bit of sweetness. Fermented on the cooler side?

Appearance: Beautiful golden color with a touch of ruby red grapefruit.

Flavor: Pears mixed with bananas and a hint of citrus. It almost feels like I recently ate a grapefruit after I take a sip and let it go through the aftertaste (a few minutes). I get the same dryness on the tongue and citrus linger.

Mouthfeel: Dry and nicely carbonated to what feels like about 3 volumes CO2. Rolls of the tongue immediately, but in a good way.

Overall: Delicious! I also think that this beer was brewed well with attention to detail. For my taste, if I were to rate it out of 10 (10 being orgasmic and 1 being puke inducing), I'd go with 9.75 for this one.

 

[Stovetop535]

^ Glad you enjoyed it. I really appreciate the feedback, most of my friends will drink just about anything so good feedback for me is hard to come by.

Yes, it was fermented on the cool side, 65* along with a healthy 2 liter starter. I did allow it to warm up a little the last couple of days, but not too much.

 

[pheboglobi]

I got the Dunkel Buck and the Christmas Bliss safely. The juniper berry stout arrived with a smashed bottle, but the other two bottles were intact.

 

[gavball6]

All of the Dunkel Bucks and Abbey Weizens were received in pristine condition yesterday!

 

[gavball6]

2 nights ago, I continued the adventure that is the 12 Beers of Christmas. This time, the Fruitcake Old Ale was the lucky winner.

Aroma: This one definitely gives off the scents of winter. My giant nose sensed vanilla and cinnamon initially, which gave way to a sweet, fruity aroma.
Appearance: The color of this beer was of a rich mahogany. Although not easy to see through, the ale was surprisingly clear considering the elements that were needed to provide the complex flavors it evoked. A tan head quickly diminished a minute or two after pouring the beer,
Flavor: There was a lot of flavors going on in this one. Overtop a subtle vanilla backbone, dark fruit flavors dominated my palette. Plum and raisin notes with a finish reminiscent of a red wine with dark cherry notes. As the beer warmed up, notes of tart cherry become much more prominent.
Mouthfeel: The medium, high carbonation caused tight small bubbles to dance across my tongue with each sip. The finish was somewhat chewy as the sweetness and maltiness lingered after swallowing each gulp down.
Overall Impression: This is exactly what I was expecting from taking part in this adventure. You really could sense the alcohol in this one and their were a ton of fruity flavors that you would expect with this beer. Definitely not a session beer, but one that warms you up on a cold winter night.



Cheers!

 

[FermentedTed]

Came home last night to find I received the Spiced Cherry Dubbel, Christmas Gruit, and Spiced Burbon Stout... and all 9 bottles were in perfect condition! Planning to begin my tasting of these amazing beers this weekend... can't wait!

 

[stblindtiger]

Got the Juniper Berry Stout today... All three made it safely.

Just got home from work and decided to crack open an Abby Weizen. WOW! Love this beer! As I try these beers, everyone gets better and better! Nice job!

 

[stblindtiger]

Well, I just literally cracked open a Spiced Cherry Dubbel!

Must have had the top of the bottle damaged in shipping and I didn't notice...

 

[stblindtiger]

Beer still tasted great though! Just had to filter it through a screen to make sure there wasn't any glass in it. Kind of sketchy, but I think it's fine...

 

[NuclearRich]

Beer still tasted great though! Just had to filter it through a screen to make sure there wasn't any glass in it. Kind of sketchy, but I think it's fine...

AHHH! Oh man! You have two others, dontcha?! I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya that no glass dust gets in your GI tract and causes you to bleed out...

 

[stblindtiger]

Lol... I think I'll be okay! I'm not wasting any of these beers!

[ame]http://youtu.be/YbpCw5ZnP5o[/ame]

 

[bobdozer]

Just received the abbey weizen and the saffron trippel. All the trippels are intact. One of the weizens leaked just a couple drops inside the cryovac. Just enough to get the aroma of homebrew inside. More of an air freshener than an issue.

 

[bobdozer]

Also, I've never really ventured outside of mostly american styles. Maybe Irish style for all the stout I like to drink. I've never had a Belgian before and I am drinking one of the caramel quads right now. Now obviously it is spiced and recipes are different everywhere but I guess the question I have for everyone who has tried this quad is, Is this yeast character typical for a Belgian? If so, I have really been missing out. This is a fantastic beer. I'll try to put together some kind of tasting notes at some point, but I'm not a wordsmith by any means. If this is what Belgians are like, I think this may have converted me.

 

[NuclearRich]

Also, I've never really ventured outside of mostly american styles. Maybe Irish style for all the stout I like to drink. I've never had a Belgian before and I am drinking one of the caramel quads right now. Now obviously it is spiced and recipes are different everywhere but I guess the question I have for everyone who has tried this quad is, Is this yeast character typical for a Belgian? If so, I have really been missing out. This is a fantastic beer. I'll try to put together some kind of tasting notes at some point, but I'm not a wordsmith by any means. If this is what Belgians are like, I think this may have converted me.

This makes me so proud and happy. I'm really glad you enjoyed the quad.

As far as the yeast quality, it depends on which quad. I sent three different ones. Only one actually had spice added (rumcake) and the 2012 is a different yeast than 2013.

 

[danbrewtan]

Got the abbey weizen and the saffron trippel. All intact

 

[danbrewtan]

Also popped open a saffron tripel - does it need more time to carbonate? Tastes great, but quite low carbonation. Won't stop me from drinking it!

 

[stblindtiger]

Also got the saffron Triple today too!

 

[pheboglobi]

Yeah, the tripel needs some extra time to carb up, though I thought it would have been carbed by now. I think the strength of it may be retarding the process, even though I added some wine yeast. Glad you enjoyed it tho!
Anyone else who tries it may want to wait a bit or at least pour it with agitation so there's some carbonation...

 

[FermentedTed]

Just received the saffron tripel today... Gonna leave it in a warm spot and sample it last. LOVE the waxed caps!

 

[jgourd]

2 nights ago, I continued the adventure that is the 12 Beers of Christmas. This time, the Fruitcake Old Ale was the lucky winner.

Aroma: This one definitely gives off the scents of winter. My giant nose sensed vanilla and cinnamon initially, which gave way to a sweet, fruity aroma.
Appearance: The color of this beer was of a rich mahogany. Although not easy to see through, the ale was surprisingly clear considering the elements that were needed to provide the complex flavors it evoked. A tan head quickly diminished a minute or two after pouring the beer,
Flavor: There was a lot of flavors going on in this one. Overtop a subtle vanilla backbone, dark fruit flavors dominated my palette. Plum and raisin notes with a finish reminiscent of a red wine with dark cherry notes. As the beer warmed up, notes of tart cherry become much more prominent.
Mouthfeel: The medium, high carbonation caused tight small bubbles to dance across my tongue with each sip. The finish was somewhat chewy as the sweetness and maltiness lingered after swallowing each gulp down.
Overall Impression: This is exactly what I was expecting from taking part in this adventure. You really could sense the alcohol in this one and their were a ton of fruity flavors that you would expect with this beer. Definitely not a session beer, but one that warms you up on a cold winter night.



Cheers!

Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It was sketchy initially, and it took a good few months for it to condition and mellow out a little. I put the ABV at around 10% with the added fruit (although I don't have an exact number).

 

[stblindtiger]

Here's my recipe for the Christmas Gruit:

Christmas Gruit
Dunkelweizen
Type: All Grain Date: 8/5/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal Brewer: Skibbereen
Boil Size: 9.76 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Skibbereen
End of Boil Volume 6.76 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal Est Mash Efficiency 75.8 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients


Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 33.3 %
4 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 22.2 %
2 lbs Pilsner (2 row) (Gambrinus) (1.6 SRM) Grain 3 11.1 %
2 lbs Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 11.1 %
1 lbs Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) Grain 5 5.6 %
1 lbs Wheat Malt (Gambrinus) (2.3 SRM) Grain 6 5.6 %
1.75 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 7 25.4 IBUs
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 8 5.2 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 -
4.00 oz Juniper Berries (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 10 -
3.00 Items Bay Leaves (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 11 -
0.50 tsp Gale, Sweet (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 12 -
0.25 tsp Rosemary (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 13 -
1.0 pkg Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565) [35.49 ml] Yeast 14 -
2 lbs Bass Wood Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 15 11.1 %
1.0 pkg Brettanomyces Bruxellensis (White Labs #WLP650) [50.28 ml] [Add to Secondary] Yeast 16 -

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.081 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.019 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.2 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 30.6 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 9.7 SRM
Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs
Sparge Water: 6.68 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.20

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 22.00 qt of water at 167.1 F 156.0 F 45 min

Sparge Step: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.55gal, 5.13gal) of 168.0 F water
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage

Carbonation Type: Keg Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 12.54 PSI Carbonation Used: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 45.0 F Age for: 30.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage Storage Temperature: 65.0 F
Notes:

Made a starter with both yeasts. The Brett starter was made about a week before pitching with the two lbs of honey, the Saison yeast starter was made the night before. I also added pure oxygen prior to pitching the saison yeast but did not aerate at all with the Brett and Honey addition in Secondary.

If I did the recipe again, I would Pitch Brett L instead of the Brett B.

 

[bobdozer]

Here is my recipe for the spiced dunkel weizenbock.

Dunkel Buck

Recipe specifics:

Style: Weizenbock
Batch size: 5.0 gal
Boil volume: 7.0 gal
OG: 1.067
FG: 1.015
Bitterness (IBU): 24.6
Color (SRM): 15.8
ABV: 6.88%
Efficiency: 72%

Grain/Sugars:

5.00 lb Wheat (US), 38.5%
4.00 lb Munich (US), 30.8%
2.00 lb Pilsener (Belgian), 15.4%
1.00 lb Flaked Wheat, 7.7%
1.00 lb Crystal 60L, 7.7%

Hops:

1.50 oz Tettnanger (AA 3.7%, Pellet) 60 min, 19.6 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnanger (AA 3.7%, Pellet) 30 min, 5.0 IBU

Yeast/Misc:

Allspice, 1.0 unit(s), Spice 1 tsp, boil 0 min
Caraway Seeds, 1.0 unit(s), Spice 1 tsp, boil 0 min
German Ale yeast, 1.0 unit(s), Yeast 1007 wyeast

Orange Peel, Bitter, 0.5 unit(s), Spice .5 oz
Star Anise, 1.0 unit(s), Spice 1 tsp, boil 0 min

Ginger, 2.0 unit(s), Spice 2 oz in secondary
-----

 

[stblindtiger]

Drinking Dunkel Buck now as I wait for the Kickoff in the Eagles-Bears game. Very nice!

 

[stblindtiger]

Really enjoying the Christmas Bliss! I haven't had a bad beer yet!

 

[stblindtiger]

Also, I've never really ventured outside of mostly american styles. Maybe Irish style for all the stout I like to drink. I've never had a Belgian before and I am drinking one of the caramel quads right now. Now obviously it is spiced and recipes are different everywhere but I guess the question I have for everyone who has tried this quad is, Is this yeast character typical for a Belgian? If so, I have really been missing out. This is a fantastic beer. I'll try to put together some kind of tasting notes at some point, but I'm not a wordsmith by any means. If this is what Belgians are like, I think this may have converted me.

I am right there with you! It's been the Dunkel, Dubbel, and Weizens that have really opened up my eyes! I'm really loving these dark wheat beers, with the Abbey Ale yeasts. I've drank a bunch of commercial Belgian beer but have never brewed any of those either. I've never been a big fan of the typical wheat beers, so I haven't brewed them. I've mainly been brewing a bunch of saisons, IPA's, Porters, Stouts, and sours. I guess it's about time I change that!

 

[bobdozer]

Thanks for the positive feedback on both beers. The reviews I've gotten on the Christmas ale (my wife begged me to label it Christmas bliss) have been real hjt or miss. I actually brewed it may 2012. So it seems that age has been good to it.

Anyone heard from obscurebrewing? Just wondering if we are all going to get a crabapple lambic? I may have missed an update from him, but I haven't seen anything.

Its the end of quarter at work so I've been stuck at work all weekend and havent had a chance to try any of the newer beers I've received. But Tuesday I'll be tasting the trippel, abbey weizen and the gingerbread ale. Can't wait

 

[stblindtiger]

I could taste a little bit of oxidation, but it was expected on a year old beer. That was being nit picky though, it was a great beer! I really enjoyed the Christmas Bliss!

Hoping we get the Crabapple lambic as well. Lambic is probably my favorite style. Not sure how sour it would turn out with such a short turnaround, but I would definitely age them.

 

[Stovetop535]

Received a few more bottles today. As of tonight I have everything except the Gingerbread Ale and the Crabapple Lambicky Ale.

All the other bottles came safely, no leaks or broken bottles.

 

[bobdozer]

I received the gingerbread ale tonight. All 3 bottles sage and sound. The only 2 left for me are the gruit, that was supposed to arrive tonight. Ups has been holding on to it 15 miles away for 2 days now. And the crabapple lambicky ale. Ready for a day off Wednesday to try a couple that I haven't gotten to yet.

 

[jjefrey]

So far I have received all but 3.

Spiced Cherry Dubbel - tracking shows delivery for tomorrow
Christmas Gruit - Tracking shows delivery for the 27th
Crabapple Lambicky - ?

Of the ones I have received all but one bottle came through perfect. One of the Abbey Weizen appears to have leaked a few drops but it was minimal. Haven't had a chance to sample but will be working my way through the starting tomorrow.

 

[pheboglobi]

I received the Gingerbread, the Gruit, and the Spiced Cherry Dubbel all safely today. I'm only missing the Crabapple Lambicky Ale now.
Everyone should have received the Saffron Tripel by now, hopefully it arrived safely for everyone.

 

[stblindtiger]

Received the Gingerbread Ale yesterday. All three safe and sound!

Only missing the Crabapple lambic....

 

[danbrewtan]

Last I heard from our Crabapple Lambicky brewer was on Oct 7th when he provided his address.

Any updates, obscurebrewing?

 

[jjefrey]

Last I heard from our Crabapple Lambicky brewer was on Oct 7th when he provided his address.

Any updates, obscurebrewing?

According to his profile page. He has not logged in to HBT since December 6th

 

[NuclearRich]

... and he only has 11 posts to his name, making him a less than frequent visitor to begin with. I very much hope he is just busy and still plans on shipping. I would be very annoyed otherwise, it just aint right to have given his address for everyone else to ship if he wasnt intending to ship.

 

[biochemedic]

I hate to say it, but there's been one every year...

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Stovetop535]

I also have recieved everything except the Lambick.

If anyone has not received the Abbey weizens, or if they were lost/broken/didnt arrive safely, let me know and I will send a few more out.

 

[stblindtiger]

We should all order 10 pizzas delivered to his house or something.

 

[jjefrey]

I received the cherry dubbel today.
Tracking for the gruit shows delivery for tomorrow.

That will be everything except the lambic.

 

[stblindtiger]

What do you see in my Gingerbread Ale?