12 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition

[November]

I got my last one tonight. I have them all resting comfortably in the keezer. I'm heading out of town for Christmas, but I'm looking forward to starting on them when I get back!

 

[jerbrew]

@TBC finally opened the box of saffron Tripel. One didn’t make it. Not broken but leaked out of the top. All good on the rest still waiting on one from @dryburoughbrewingView attachment 603509

 

[btbnl]

@btbnl
Spiced Cherry Dubbel
Aroma: Malty with caramel notes.
Taste: Nice dubble. There’s this taste I often get in dubbels that I don’t really find in other beers; I identify it as a pleasant tobacco type flavor. I get that here along with the malt and dried dark fruit. Sorry, I’m not sure I perceive the cherries and spice. I take that back -- I get some spice in the lingering aftertaste.

Agreed - if I'd had the time I would have re-brewed with twice the cherries.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

My last delivery notice just pinged me, if anyone is still missing beer in group 1 let me know.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

My last delivery notice just pinged me, if anyone is still missing beer in group 1 let me know.

I did receive your beers. Thanks again! Looking forward to trying one this weekend. I signed up for the same beer for the 2019 exchange so I can't wait to try it.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

Nice descriptions @Yeroc thanks for the feedback!!

 

[fourfarthing]

Agreed - if I'd had the time I would have re-brewed with twice the cherries.

Can you send me your recipe? I am brewing for 19 and haven’t made a dubbel before.

 

[btbnl]

Can you send me your recipe? I am brewing for 19 and haven’t made a dubbel before.

It was my first dubbel too. For 5.5G in the fermentor:

• 6lb Belgian Pale
• 3lb Belgian Munich
• 1lb Special B
• 8oz Belgian Aromatic
• 8oz Flaked Wheat

Mash at 148F

Boil for 60 minutes

• 1.5oz East Kent Goldings at 60 minutes
• 2lb Turbinado, 1tsp Ceylon Cinnamon, Whirlfloc at 10 minutes
• 1 drop Almond Extract at flameout

Ferment at 66F

• White Labs Trappist Ale (WLP500)

Rack onto cherries in secondary

• 1 can (49oz) Vitners Harvest sweet cherry puree
• 1 can (49oz) Vitners Harvest sour cherry puree

Cold crash

OG 1.074, FG 1.012

In hindsight I'd bump up the cherries and cinnamon.

 

[biochemedic]

Uh oh. Did put the wrong label on the two boxes? Crap I'll get with @biochemedic. He got way too much. might have to pay him to ship. I apologize for that. I feel pretty dumb. I'll get back to you.

I just got home from the road yesterday, and I unpacked @jerbrew's box...it did indeed contain the shipment that was supposed to go to @HopHeavy. I have repacked the extra 9 beers and I am making every attempt to forward them to @HopHeavy & his bro today...

 

[Yeroc]

@anotherbeerplease, would you mind sharing your stout recipe?

 

[biochemedic]

@HopHeavy, the rest of your loot is forwarded along, check your PMs for tracking....

Here's the last of my haul ready for partaking!

 

[BradleyBrew]

Thanks everyone... all the beers are great!

 

[TBC]

Thanks everyone... all the beers are great!

Nice! We’re going to be kicking off the second annual tasting of the beers of Xmas in about 2 hours. I got the 10 from group 1 and the Tripel from @Yeroc all chilled and ready to go

 

[TBC]

@TBC finally opened the box of saffron Tripel. One didn’t make it. Not broken but leaked out of the top. All good on the rest still waiting on one from @dryburoughbrewingView attachment 603509

That’s interesting was the cap taped. I’ll make it up to you the next time I ship to you, maybe next FOTD round.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

@anotherbeerplease, would you mind sharing your stout recipe?

Sure thing! It's a kitchen sink beer but it's a fun process if you are into that sort of thing.

My notes aren't perfect... but this will get you damn close:

5oz carapils
8oz black malt
8oz crystal 40L
8oz Caramunich
11oz crystal 120L
12oz chocolate
12oz roasted barley
1lb Flaked oats
1lb dark candi sugar (added with 10min left in boil)
2lb 11oz Munich 20L
4lbs Vienna
12lbs 11oz 2 row

Mash at 148 for 90min.
Boil for 60min, 3oz bittering charge of Nugget at 60min for 90IBUs.
post boil OG 1.97

I had already made a 1gal starter in the carboy with WLP 500 yeast. I decanted the starter and poured the cooled wort on top of it. Make sure you use a blowoff tube during fermentation. I lost nearly a gallon. Fermented right around 75F degrees or so.

Now doing just the above makes a damn good stout, but this what I did for Krampus:
After fermentation (measured FG at this point was 1.021) I racked into my 5gal Balcones barrel. This was I believe the 4th time I had used the barrel.

I "sanitized" the barrel by pouring boiling water into it and let it sit for an hour. Then I rinsed with whiskey and bourbon. In this case I rinsed with some aged Segrams (sorry) which had itself been sitting on flavored oak chips for about 3-4yrs and was tasting surprisingly good. I also used some Buffalo Trace bourbon for the rinse.

I racked into the barrel and let it sit for 4 months. Ambient temps ranged from 60-85+.

Then I racked to a keg in July and put it in my kegerator for 3 months of cold conditioning at 39F until October. Towards the end of this I added the spices which were not exactly what Mosher recommended but fairly close. Mosher recommends:

0.5 tsp vanilla extract; 0.25 tsp allspice; 0.5 tsp cinnamon;
0.25 oz crushed coriander; 1 whole star anise (or 0.25 tsp ground); 0.5 oz crushed juniper; pinch of black
pepper. Gravity: 1.050 (12*P). Color: India ink.

I used more vanilla (3-4 real vanilla beans), I used real anise (2 stars I believe, but this was too much and next time I would only use 1), I skipped the juniper because I didn't have any on hand, instead I used a bit of pumpkin spice 0.5tsb or so, the rest more or less per the recipe, and I sanitized it all on Eagle Rare whisky. Let that mixture sit for 2 weeks and dumped it into the keg. Cold stored again for a while and finally bottled in late Oct. Stored at 75F for 1.5 more months then I shipped it.

 

[Yeroc]

Thanks, anotherbeerplease. Those are pretty good notes.

 

[jerbrew]

That’s interesting was the cap taped. I’ll make it up to you the next time I ship to you, maybe next FOTD round.

Yes, it was taped. Good thing you packaged them well. Couldn’t even smell beer until I got in there.

 

[jerbrew]

@HopHeavy, the rest of your loot is forwarded along, check your PMs for tracking....

Here's the last of my haul ready for partaking!

View attachment 603606

You’re the man! Apologies and thank you for doing this. You have a thank you pack on your way soon. What’s your poison?

 

[jerbrew]

Thanks everyone... all the beers are great!

Nice picture.

 

[jerbrew]

That’s interesting was the cap taped. I’ll make it up to you the next time I ship to you, maybe next FOTD round.

Even more weird, I opened it and it was still carbed up.

 

[Scturo]

Having @biochemedic’s Honey Ginger DIPA. Big honey, and subtle ginger. Very well done, especially since it’s a DIPA.

 

[biochemedic]

As I had replied to @HopHeavy regarding his replacements, surprise me with something unique and local to you that I'd never be able to get here!

 

[fourfarthing]

Group 2 complete set

 

[Auger]

So far I've tried the crabapple lambic from @mirthfuldragon which was freaking delicious. Nice crisp sourness with a bready maltiness to round it out...I really enjoy this one, excellent job. I think I can pick up the crabapples, but not knowing what they taste like it's hard to be sure. I think they are there, subtle and well balanced with the acidity.

The Abbey Weizen from @Zimm9 - love the label. This was a really nice beer to drink. Definitely some belgian yeast phenols in there with the nice softness from the wheat. Clean and well-balanced, I could sit and down a few of these no problem.

Gruit from @November - pretty mild beer, actually a really good starter gruit for people that might be put off not knowing what to expect from the style, since it's nothing too wild. The spices come through very subtly. What yeast did you use? I made this one last year with a french saison yeast and it was way more forward with the yeast character. I think I have one or two left to do a side by side.

Caramel Quad by @BigCrazyAl - my first impression of this was burned caramel, but after a few more tastes, no, it doesn't actually taste burned or scorched, no acrid or bitter flavors, its just a really well developed dark caramel/toffee flavor. This beer is a mouthful! I feel like I can chew it. It's a slow sipper and the flavor develops as it warms in the glass, but overall I definitely enjoyed it, you brewed a nice, complex beer here.

 

[November]

What yeast did you use?

I think I used Belle Saison yeast.

 

[HopHeavy]

@jerbrew and @biochemedic the goods were here when I returned from a Christmas trip this afternoon... Many thanks!

@Scturo ​

I dove into the Caramel Quad just before... Hopefully I will be brewing this in the next few weeks. Have my 530 ready to spin up. Have to say, I like yours a lot! A faint tootsie roll sweet to beat any high ABV heat! Did you use Mosher's 1:1 molten DME/sugar method? I always thought that sounded nuts, but if that is how you did it, I am a believer...

 

[Scturo]

@Scturo ​

I dove into the Caramel Quad just before... Hopefully I will be brewing this in the next few weeks. Have my 530 ready to spin up. Have to say, I like yours a lot! A faint tootsie roll sweet to beat any high ABV heat! Did you use Mosher's 1:1 molten DME/sugar method? I always thought that sounded nuts, but if that is how you did it, I am a believer...

View attachment 604654

Glad you like it. I did use the 1:1 method. It just got a little darker than I wanted. But the taste was fine. I’d recommend making it before you start mashing, so you are not under any pressure to rush. I also mashed for 90 mins. Good luck with with your brew next year.

 

[Zimm9]

@Blackdirt_cowboy Damn, sorry the one leaked. Any chance it still held carb?

Thanks for the feedback, @Auger . I took 3 bottles of Abbey Weizen to the family Christmas gathering and was surprised that my dad drank 2 of them the first night. He's a bmc guy and doesn't drink much of what I make. Guess I need to brew another batch of it!

There were 5 of us trying out the 12BoC. Unfortunately, I did not take notes of the various reactions. Krampus was the unexpected fave. Only 2 of us really enjoy craft beer and I think all 5 would say stouts are not something we'd drink often, but we all agreed to open a 2nd bottle of Krampus. The Gruit was also really well-liked. A little more time and we'd have probably gotten into a 2nd bottle of that.

Due to cargo space, I had to leave the remaining bottles behind. If I get any back full I'll make sure to jot down some better feedback.

 

[biochemedic]

@jerbrew and @biochemedic the goods were here when I returned from a Christmas trip this afternoon... Many thanks!

@Scturo ​

Did you use Mosher's 1:1 molten DME/sugar method? I always thought that sounded nuts, but if that is how you did it, I am a believer...

View attachment 604654

Glad you like it. I did use the 1:1 method.

Glad everything arrived safely!

I also used the Mosher-described method of just melting and caramelizing the DME and sugar when I brewed the Quad a few seasons ago...I thought it came out well that way, although before that I would've never guessed that you could melt DME!

 

[fourfarthing]

Group 2, this is basically ready, though less awesome then I had hoped. Solid, just not sparkletastic.