12 Beers of Christmas 2020 Edition

[TBC]

Package received from @Hoppy2bmerry. Can’t wait to try the fruitcake old ale and the Wee Heavy (Love the name)

 

[user 263363]

I received @Hoppy2bmerry box today with everything in one piece. Now I just need this gout attack to clear up so I can get to trying these!

 

[grampamark]

The Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock shipped to the West group today, via FedEx.

 

[yoop89]

Just unpacked from @Ultryx! I think I’ll take the suggestion of the label and crack one open now. Love getting cold beer dropped off on my porch.

 

[grampamark]

Just got home from the city. Found that a package from @yoop89 had been delivered. Thanks for the bonus beer!

 

[Ultryx]

Just got home from the city. Found that a package from @yoop89 had been delivered. Thanks for the bonus beer!
View attachment 710485

Received mine yesterday. All was intact (of course with those fancy cans ).

 

[yoop89]

Forgot to post this last night! Great job @Ultryx. The spices are present and pleasant. Might let the next one warm up a bit before drinking. The last drink was the best What yeast did you use in this? Was it something Belgian?

 

[JAReeves]

Thank you @grampamark! Looking forward to trying one of these tonight!

 

[Ultryx]

Forgot to post this last night! Great job @Ultryx. The spices are present and pleasant. Might let the next one warm up a bit before drinking. The last drink was the best What yeast did you use in this? Was it something Belgian?

Thanks @yoop89! I think some of the bottles tasted better than others and I think they were better shortly after being brewed. I was out of state for several months though so I had to make due with the time I had in order to make sure everyone would get a set! I think they taste better a little warmer also.

I used Safale S-04! First time using it also!

As an aside, I want to thank everyone in the West Coast group who participated this year. I had a great time brewing beer to share and I've been enjoying getting all the packages trickling in. I'll be having some this weekend so I'll jump on and let others know what I think.

Looking forward to 2021 and I hope we can entice others to participate so we can fill the West and East coasts! Cheers and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[yoop89]

Had me fooled! The spice profile was very nice and had me thinking along the lines of Belgian.

Loving the old ale by @Yeroc. The subtle Brett character blends nicely with the base beer. Could drink these all night.

 

[Yeroc]

That is really nice to hear. Glad you enjoy it!

Had me fooled! The spice profile was very nice and had me thinking along the lines of Belgian.

Loving the old ale by @Yeroc. The subtle Brett character blends nicely with the base beer. Could drink these all night.

 

[Yeroc]

I think I’ll start to crack open some 2020 West Coast Xmas beers this weekend. I’ve received these three:

@Ultryx Gingerbread Ale
@JAReeves Honey Ginger IPA
@yoop89 Christmas Gruit

Still waiting in these:
@RPh_Guy Crabapple Lambicky Ale
@jerbrew Caramel Quadruple
@grampamark Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock

 

[TBC]

Kicking off the annual 12 beers of Xmas in about an hour. Can’t wait and it should be a blast!

 

[JAReeves]

I just got @jerbrew's Quadruple. It's chilling, and when my sister arrives I think we will open it and do a taster between 3-4 people. It sounds strong.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Still waiting in these:
@RPh_Guy Crabapple Lambicky Ale

I'm really sorry I haven't been able to get out sooner. I was waiting on a shipment of crabapples and then it never ended up coming so I had to make a switch to cranberries. It's been a pain. I'll send tracking info when I ship.

There unfortunately was one casualty in the package from @grampamark but everything else has gotten here safely so far.

 

[Yeroc]

@yoop89, Your Gruit is wonderful. I decided to have it Saturday afternoon while making cherry mash candy with my daughter. Very nice afternoon beverage. Really like the herbal spice aroma and the subtle, “just there” bitter backbone. Nice dry finish encouraged me to take the next sip and the next. There was a nice tannin woodiness to this that I liked. Is that from oak or herbs, I wonder. Hard to believe this is 10% abv. Very easy to drink.

@Ultryx, I let the Gingerbread Ale warm up about 20 minutes before opening and the carbonation caught me a bit by surprise. I get a subtle gingerbread in the aroma. Really enjoyed drinking this beer. The holiday spice was just right; I’ve found that is a balance hard to pull off without going over the top (or maybe just hard for me). Very quaffable brown ale that’s easy to drink.

@JAReeves, Rounding out the sampling of the first three beers received. Like the label reads, a winter ale ginger honey IPA. For me this drinks a bit like a America brown ale with a strong hop bittering charge. Not sure I’m getting ginger in the taste, but maybe a little in the nose right after the pour followed by light hop pineness and toffee/caramel malt character. Very pleasant sipper on a Sunday afternoon. I might have to try this with our pork roast on Christmas day. Somehow, I think this would pair well with roasted meat.

 

[Yeroc]

I just got @jerbrew's Quadruple. It's chilling, and when my sister arrives I think we will open it and do a taster between 3-4 people. It sounds strong.

Received my Quad in a Sunday delivery. Really nicely boxed. In the fridge cooling down for a few days.

 

[passedpawn]

Two that I've opened.

@TBC, mild Belgian funk, followed by a just-right fruity flavor. Hit the mark on this one.

@fourfarthing, excellent flavor. Somewhat dry, slight Belgian funk. Very quaffable. It went down very quickly - wish I had chilled another!

 

[grampamark]

Belgian Quad from @jerbrew has arrived.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Two that I've opened.

@TBC, mild Belgian funk, followed by a just-right fruity flavor. Hit the mark on this one.
View attachment 711192

That's funny. I also named my lambic belsnickel the same and put the exact same photo on the labels.

 

[fourfarthing]

Two that I've opened.

@TBC, mild Belgian funk, followed by a just-right fruity flavor. Hit the mark on this one.
View attachment 711192

@fourfarthing, excellent flavor. Somewhat dry, slight Belgian funk. Very quaffable. It went down very quickly - wish I had chilled another!
View attachment 711191

I will join ya

 

[yoop89]

.....Really like the herbal spice aroma and the subtle, “just there” bitter backbone. Nice dry finish encouraged me to take the next sip and the next. There was a nice tannin woodiness to this that I liked. Is that from oak or herbs, I wonder. Hard to believe this is 10% abv. Very easy to drink.

Thanks for the kind words! With trying all the spices/herbs alone I feel the tannin comes from a combo of the bog myrtle and the juniper. I was actually considering oaking a batch for next year to see how it changes it. I think ill be making this one every summer now for a fun holiday ale to share. Also, the abv sneaks up on everyone that tries it so I usually try to warn them ahead of time

 

[TBC]

That's funny. I also named my lambic belsnickel the same and put the exact same photo on the labels.

That was my wife’s idea. She is a huge Office fan.

 

[JAReeves]

Just got @yoop89’s Christmas Gruit! Looking forward to it! Thanks for staying on UPS and getting this delivered!

 

[Yeroc]

Thanks for the kind words! With trying all the spices/herbs alone I feel the tannin comes from a combo of the bog myrtle and the juniper. I was actually considering oaking a batch for next year to see how it changes it. I think ill be making this one every summer now for a fun holiday ale to share. Also, the abv sneaks up on everyone that tries it so I usually try to warn them ahead of time

Agreed on the abv. It really does sneak up!

 

[Yeroc]

@grampamark received the Weizenbock on Sunday. Resting and cooling before I crack into one. Thanks!

 

[satph]

I’m going to start with the last beer and go up the list, starting with @fourfarthing abbey weizen. I get some lemon and some hefe-type esters. Quite pale color and nice prickly carbocation. Dry finish. Homebrewed hefe ain't easy, this is really well balanced. I agree with @passedpawn i could quaff a number of these.

 

[Yeroc]

@grampamark, nice job with the spices on this Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock. So delicate in the nose and in the taste. There's a pleasant hint of star anise in the aroma for me with the other spices playing a supporting role. Hop bitterness is very low as expected. Well carbed but not overly so. The carbonation kept the pleasant aroma lively until the glass was drained, but to be honest, it didn’t take long to finish the first bottle. Highly quaffable and not a sipper! Really nice job.

I’m curious if you followed the recipe in Radical Brewing or used a different base recipe. Did you toast some of the wheat malt? Were your spices and measurements the same as Mosher’s recipe? What yeast did you use?

 

[grampamark]

@grampamark, nice job with the spices on this Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock. So delicate in the nose and in the taste. There's a pleasant hint of star anise in the aroma for me with the other spices playing a supporting role. Hop bitterness is very low as expected. Well carbed but not overly so. The carbonation kept the pleasant aroma lively until the glass was drained, but to be honest, it didn’t take long to finish the first bottle. Highly quaffable and not a sipper! Really nice job.

I’m curious if you followed the recipe in Radical Brewing or used a different base recipe. Did you toast some of the wheat malt? Were your spices and measurements the same as Mosher’s recipe? What yeast did you use?

View attachment 711818

I’m glad you liked it! I did follow the base recipe, including toasting part of the wheat. I didn’t use Abbye yeast, however; I used Munich instead (it’s a Weizenbock, not a Belgian )

I used the spices in the recipe except for the candied ginger. I just used a bit of ground ginger at the end of the boil. I wanted to avoid having the ginger be the predominate spice.

I’ve approached the 12 BOC as a beer exchange, not a strictly-to-style competition. Both years that I’ve participated I’ve tweaked the recipes a bit, to reflect my own approach to brewing. So sue me. My crack legal advisors (or legal advisors on crack), Dewey, Cheatam & Howe, are standing by.

 

[Yeroc]

I’ve approached the 12 BOC as a beer exchange, not a strictly-to-style competition. Both years that I’ve participated I’ve tweaked the recipes a bit, to reflect my own approach to brewing. So sue me. My crack legal advisors (or legal advisors on crack), Dewey, Cheatam & Howe, are standing by.

No complaints here. Seems like this beer is fully made in the spirit of the 12 Beers of Xmas exchange to me.