I edited my post ^
12 Beers of Christmas 2019 Edition
- Thread starter MapleGroveAleworks
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Jmarsh544
Well-Known Member
I exchanged emails with him. He says he has been busy but he is going to get it shipped out in the next few days. Hopefully they will start arriving shortly.
Any update on this? Did you get a chance to talk to FedEx?
Bad news. It looks like FedEx Pooped the bed on this one. It was a "total loss". Somehow in the hubbub of Christmas shipping they destroyed the entire package. I am submitting a claim now and will send you some replacement beer. Apologies for the delay.
@gromitdj
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
My understanding/experience is that their handling of alcohol shipments is inconsistent. In one case they returned a package to the sender, and in all other cases the packages were destroyed.
Right. In fact, I was the recipient on one such package from you that they released to me, I had to go in and get lectured in person. In this case they said nothing about alcohol or contraband. Just that it was a "total loss". Not sure if that had anything to do with booze.
@chrisgood1 : I'll see what I've got left that isn't promised to someone. I should be able to send a couple...
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
Oh they knew!! I think I received a letter about it and thus began the departure from using Fedex.
I was out of town last week. Arrived back at work today to find beers from @gromitdj, @jerbrew, and @fourfarthing (Dubbel swap). No broken bottles. The only thing missing is the Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock, which I guess nobody received.
Letting those new arrivals sit in the fridge for a few days, but I'm enjoying an Abbey Weizen from @grampamark tonight.
Thanks All!
Letting those new arrivals sit in the fridge for a few days, but I'm enjoying an Abbey Weizen from @grampamark tonight.
Thanks All!
Last night I started posting positive feedback for everyone I’ve gotten beer from, and I will get the rest today. If I have missed you, please pm me after today, and thanks for the beer!
hence the lecture they gave me about it.
I am going to send him one or two of mine so he can at least try your beer. Everyone deserves a taste.
anotherbeerplease
Well-Known Member
Well I hate to call a guy out, but it IS/(was) the 12 beers of "christmas" and we are now well into Jan 2020 and it seems that none of us have received anything from @bradccook. @bradccook, it appears that you log in regularly to this site, and have received all of our beers from the west coast group, would you care to share your status please?
I just sent @bradccook an email asking what happened. Has anyone else from the West Coast group done that or messaged @bradccook within HomeBrewTalk?
I sent him a message about a week ago. Crickets.
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
Wow! I'm not a fan of IPAs, at all! This is seriously good, yum yum yum. The honey shines!! The ginger, mia. Or so very subtle. Well done 
I heard back from @bradccook. Pasting the email below and there was a FedEx shipping slip attached.
FROM @bradccook: "Sorry for the extreme tardiness. I had updated Jeff with the same info. Again my sincerest apologies on how late it is. Everyone is getting there beer though. It's all on the way. Keep me updated on when you get it. And sorry if you guys tried to get ahold of me through the app, I've done a poor job at looking on lately. Crazy end of the year. But beer is on the way. Sorry again."
jack13
Well-Known Member
Wow! I'm not a fan of IPAs, at all! This is seriously good, yum yum yum. The honey shines!! The ginger, mia. Or so very subtle. Well done
View attachment 661410
Thanks! So glad you like it.
Your comment is surprising because I feel the opposite: that the ginger is too strong! In both the test batch and the final brew my issue was not getting enough hop flavor/aroma to overcome the ginger. (even though I upped the hops significantly for the final).
I like yours a lot, too. It actually inspired me to try to brew with anise. But that was based on the fact that I taste something unique in your beer, and since the only spice listed in the recipe that I'm not familiar with is anise, I figured that must be it. But after a chat with someone about it, I'm not so sure. Maybe it's the combination of spices that creates a unique flavor?
Let me ask you this: When you taste your BoC beer, what is the primary spice that comes out to you?
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
It's funny because for me, honey dominates all. No hop or ginger on my pallete.
And yeah, combination of spices, in my opinion. I used very little anise, and there are about a dozen other spices/adjuncts in there. If I don't forget, I will post up the list and ratios I used on Monday.
For me, the roastiness dominated my beer, and I can't pinpoint any specific spice. The previous years' offer tasted relatively close to what I came up with, so there's that, too. That makes me believe as long as you're not heavy handed on the anise you'd be fine a similar muddled flavor.. If my memory serves me right they, too, went light on the anise. ...it reminds me of winter by the fireplace.
@anotherbeerplease,
I‘m enjoying a second bottle of your fruitcake old ale and thinking about what I’ll do when brewing it for West Coast 2020. I make my own “gourmet fruitcake” every few years, and the aroma of your ale was spot on IMHO. You veered way from the Randy Mosher recipe and did something a little different, right? Curious what you would do the same or different if you were brewing this again. Anything different with the grain bill or the dried fruit ratios?
Cheers!
I‘m enjoying a second bottle of your fruitcake old ale and thinking about what I’ll do when brewing it for West Coast 2020. I make my own “gourmet fruitcake” every few years, and the aroma of your ale was spot on IMHO. You veered way from the Randy Mosher recipe and did something a little different, right? Curious what you would do the same or different if you were brewing this again. Anything different with the grain bill or the dried fruit ratios?
Cheers!
@fourfarthing,
I opened one of you cherry dubbels this afternoon. Really nice job. I think I like yours better than mine. I should have opened mine and yours at the same time to compare but already having one big beer this afternoon (see my earlier post), I thought I should limit myself. But I liked your beer so much I had to pop open one of mine to compare. It’s interesting that the cherry flavors in both are different. My perception is that your cherry aroma is more earthy, darker, deeper. The cherry in mine is maybe somewhat more bright and tart on the nose, which might be because my beer seems a bit more carbonated. Or did I use more sour cherries? Did you oak your beer with cubes or anything? I feel like I’m picking up something oaky and vinous that reminds me of the oak in a red wine. Really nice mouthfeel on yours too. The other thing I noticed is that your beer has a lighter red and mine is deeper red, which is neither here nor there -- just an observation. Thanks for suggesting the swap! I think I got the better end of the deal.
I opened one of you cherry dubbels this afternoon. Really nice job. I think I like yours better than mine. I should have opened mine and yours at the same time to compare but already having one big beer this afternoon (see my earlier post), I thought I should limit myself. But I liked your beer so much I had to pop open one of mine to compare. It’s interesting that the cherry flavors in both are different. My perception is that your cherry aroma is more earthy, darker, deeper. The cherry in mine is maybe somewhat more bright and tart on the nose, which might be because my beer seems a bit more carbonated. Or did I use more sour cherries? Did you oak your beer with cubes or anything? I feel like I’m picking up something oaky and vinous that reminds me of the oak in a red wine. Really nice mouthfeel on yours too. The other thing I noticed is that your beer has a lighter red and mine is deeper red, which is neither here nor there -- just an observation. Thanks for suggesting the swap! I think I got the better end of the deal.
Oddly I like yours more than mine. We are our own worst critics. I think I used fewer cherries and more sweet ones that likely fermented to a drier end beer. Also, IIRC I upped my CaCl to get some body back but that is probably also the reason for yours being brighter.
Love the swap, gonna make my friends do a side by side.
anotherbeerplease
Well-Known Member
Really glad you are enjoying it.
I didn't take great notes but I think I followed Mosher's additions except for the ginger because I didn't have any.
I think the yeast made a big difference: I used cultured yeast from Bell's Oberon bottles that had been stepped up.
Recipe was 11lbs maris otter, 3lbs munich, 1lb victory, 11oz caramunich, 11oz special b, 8oz redX for color.
I can't remember but I believe I added about a pound or so of sugar when I racked onto the fruit, to help jumpstart the yeast and add some avb (was targeting 8.5 or 9%)
The aging also helped, I think I brewed 1/12/19, exactly 1 year ago. As I sampled through the year it really started improving in the last few months. Prior to that it was a bit too overpowering.
The end result was pretty unique, not something I would want to have regularly but... for a winter's night I thought it was pretty decent, the more I drank the more I liked it, maybe that was just because of the 9% haha
If you save one for 2020 it may end up pretty dang good by then. Cheers!
jack13
Well-Known Member
Got the last one today, so here's the money shot!
That's a handsome looking group.
I received my beers from @bradccook today. And it looks like @jack13 got his. So they should be coming in...
jack13
Well-Known Member
That one without a label looks the most tasty.
hahhahah. Hey, as long as only ONE doesn't have a label, we're OK!
The Spiced Dunkelweizen from @bradccook arrived a few minutes ago. The FedEx dude called me and said “I’m at the end of your driveway and I don’t think I can make it into your yard”. I was in the tractor, plowing snow, about 1/4 mile away, at the other end of the driveway. I drove down to the road in a pickup and got my box of beersicles.
It’s been way below 0°F all across MT for about a week; delivery vans aren’t insulated and barely have enough heat to keep the driver from developing frostbite, so it’s not too surprising the beer was frozen.
The ice popped the top on one bottle; the bag contained most of the liquid. The other two are still sealed, but have ice at the base of the necks. But, I have now collected the full set.
It’s been way below 0°F all across MT for about a week; delivery vans aren’t insulated and barely have enough heat to keep the driver from developing frostbite, so it’s not too surprising the beer was frozen.
The ice popped the top on one bottle; the bag contained most of the liquid. The other two are still sealed, but have ice at the base of the necks. But, I have now collected the full set.
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
ESBrewer
Well-Known Member
Looking at all those pictures, the one that has a raven (or is it a craw) in the label must be real good...
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Do you recall, did you include any sort of spices for the Abbey Weizen?
German Weizen, unlike a Wit or Weise would not (normally) include spices, and my understanding is that this brew is to express the yeast shift to Abbey from the usual wheat ale yeast. Did you do anything Chrismas-ey in your batch?
Edit: Upon re-reading the description, I now see that it says to optionally spice. I would still be interested in what you chose to do.
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I’m currently 250 miles from my brewing notes at our farm. At my age, I’m lucky to remember what I had for breakfast, let alone what I was brewing 4 years ago.
I did add some spice but nothing comes to mind at the moment. I’ll be back at the farm early next week and will go through my notes.
HB Funk is settling in after 3 years.
TwistedGray
El Jefe Brewing Company
Wrong Christmas trade year, I think?
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