12 Beers of Christmas 2020 Edition

[TBC]

Alright here we go!

Here's the general concept:
12 different brewers will brew one of the 12 beers of Christmas found in Randy's Mosher's Radical Brewing.
Each brewer sends out three 12oz bottles of their beer to the 11 other brewers (33 bottles sent out in total) and receives 3 bottles of each recipe in return. Maybe you drink one, share one, and age the third!?
Some of these are fairly big beers, and need some time and aging to be optimal, so planning and brewing early can be critical. If you're bottle conditioning, be ready to bottle in time, etc. Also, one of the beers (Juniper Rye Bock) is a lager, so a brewer with a lagering fridge will be needed for that one.

Shipping:
It will cost you some money to send out 11 packages! Getting involved in this project means you'll eventually need to wrap up 11 packages with 3 beers each, and mail them potentially all the way across the country from where you live. You may be looking at about $120 in shipping give or take (but you're getting 33 fancy Christmas beers!).
With this in mind, it has been historically a necessity to require that all brewers will need to be located inside the continental U.S.
If you can accept packages at a business address, that will save your fellow brewers some money. (For some reason, the big shippers charge less to deliver to a business address...)
Speaking of the big shippers, generally if you show up at UPS or FedEx with a well packed, sealed box, they don't ask questions. Legally you aren't allowed to ship alcohol via USPS, but in prior years some participants have shipped using Flat Rate boxes from the post office, and haven't had any issues, but this is by no means an endorsement of such an action.
Shipping will need to occur approximately the week after Thanksgiving.
For reference: In 2012, @biochemedic posted some (admittedly perhaps overkill) instructions for packaging a 12 oz longneck for shipping, and also a post with some common box sizes that work well for shipping 3 wrapped/bagged longnecks.

Please have your beers ready to ship by Thanksgiving 2020! So plan accordingly depending on the beer you end up brewing. Some take much longer than others.

Choosing What You Want to Brew:
We'll use the same system as previous years: first come first served (with the noted restrictions below...)
Reply to this thread if you're interested and let us know which beer you want to brew and which group (East coast or West coast) As beers are claimed, I will update the thread with the brewer's name next to their selection.

How to not be a d*u$hb@g:
As much as it pains me to post this part, the simple fact is that, every single year this project has been run, there has been at least one brewer who has simply up and vanished, and at times has been shipped homebrew in good faith before their disappearance has become apparent.

Based on this, I wish to request that all participants be either relatively established HBT members (more than a year since joining) *or* be a paid (Supporting or Lifetime) member, *or*, have successfully participated in the previous year.

Communicate! If for some reason you have to back out, own up to it ASAP, and hopefully allow a replacement brewer to step in. Please do not disappear for a few months and then come back saying 2020 was busy and you can't participate and now it's too late for anyone to take your place. Think AHEAD of time whether you can put in the work to execute this amazing exchange.

We will attempt to fill 2 groups this year based on the increased participation in this thread. Please note your shipping preference - east or west coast.

2011
2012
2013
2014 (didn't happen)
2015 (didn't happen)
2016
2017
2018
2019


Here is the list of Beers:

GROUP 1 (East Coast)

1) Caramel Quadruple @passedpawn
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @CaddyWampus
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock @imasickboy
4) Juniper Rye Bock @jack13
5) Fruitcake Old Ale. @Hoppy2bmerry
6) Saffron Tripel @HopHeavy
7) Christmas Gruit @j1laskey
8) Honey Ginger IPA @CarLock Brewing
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale @TBC
10) Gingerbread Ale @satph
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @wstbrewing
12) Abbey Weizen @fourfarthing


GROUP 2 (West Coast)

1) Caramel Quadruple @jerbrew
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock @grampamark
4) Juniper Rye Bock
5) Fruitcake Old Ale @Yeroc
6) Saffron Tripel @PianoMan
7) Christmas Gruit @yoop89
8) Honey Ginger IPA
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale
10) Gingerbread Ale
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @gunhaus
12) Abbey Weizen @TwistedGray

 

[TBC]

12 BEERS OF CHRISTMAS RECIPES
BY RANDY MOSHER FROM HIS BOOK RADICAL BREWING

1. CARAMEL QUADRUPEL - Start with the tripel recipe on p. 125 (see below), but add 4 pounds of
amber malt, and use the following toffee sugar recipe instead of the sugar in the original
recipe. Sugar and malt caramalized together will impart a lingering toffee-like quality.
Mix a pound of each of light malt extract and white sugar in a heavy saucepan. Heat until it
melts; stir only enough to mix together, and continue until it starts to darken. Use your
judgement about when to stop. Once it starts to brown, things happen quickly, but it can
get fairly dark before it will make the beer taste burnt. When done, remove from the stove
and scrape it directly into your brew kettle or cool it by lowering the pan into a larger pan
of water. Once cooled, add brewing water and reheat to dissolve the caramel, then add to your
brew in progress. Gravity: 1.100 (24*P). Color: deep reddish-brown.

THREE NIGHT TRIPEL
Yield: 5 gallons
Gravity: 1.080 (19*P)
ABV: 7.6 - 8.6%
Color: Pale Gold
IBUs: 43
Yeast: Belgian abbey
Maturation: 3 to 4 months

Recipe:
10 lb Pilsner Malt (72%)
2 lb Munich Malt (14%)
2 lb Jaggery or Demerara Sugar

Hops:
2 oz Styrian Goldings (7%AA) 60 Min
1.5 oz Saaz (3%AA) 15 Min


2. SPICED CHERRY DUBBEL - Start with a good rich dubbel (p. 124 - see below), toss in an addi-
tional pound of piloncillo or turbinado sugar, and use a combination of sweet (black) and sour
(Montmorency) cherries, which should ferment in the beer for a month or so. A pound per gallon
is a minimum. Two is better. One teaspoon of ceylon (true) cinnamon added at the end of the
boil will enhance the natural spiciness of the sour cherries. Add one drop (no more!) of
almond extract for added depth. Gravity: 1.070 to 1.078 (17 to 18.5*P). Color: deep ruby-amber

TWO BITS ABBEY DUBBEL
Yield: 5 gallons
Gravity: 1.063 (15*P)
ABV: 5.5 - 6.4%
Color: Deep amber
IBUs: 29
Yeast: Belgian abbey
Maturation: 8 to 10 weeks

Recipe:
6 lb Pale Ale Malt (63.5%)
3 lb Munich Malt (23%)
1 lb Special B (9%)
0.5 lb Aromatic Malt (4.5%)
1 lb Piloncillo or other partially-refined sugar (9%)

Hops:
1.25 oz Northern Brewer (7%AA) 90 Min


3. SPICED DUNKEL WEIZENBOCK
Yield: 5 gallons
Gravity: 1.083 (19.5*P)
ABV: 6.7 - 7.7%
Color: Deep amber
IBUs: 28
Yeast: Altbier or Belgian abbey
Maturation: 3 to 5 months

Recipe:
5 lb Wheat Malt (38%)
4 lb Munich Malt (31%)
2 lb Pilsner Malt (15%)
1 lb Wheat Malt, toasted 30 min @ 350*F (8%)
1 lb Medium Crystal Malt (40 to 60L) (8%)

Hops:
1.75 oz Tettnang (4.5%AA) 90 Min
0.5 oz Tettnang (4.5%AA) 30 Min

Spices:
1 tsp allspice (added at end of the boil)
1 tsp star anise (added at end of the boil)
1 tsp caraway (added at end of the boil)
0.5oz orange peel (added at end of the boil)
2oz candied ginger (may be chopped coarsely and tossed into secondary)


4. JUNIPER RYE BOCK
Yield: 5 gallons
Gravity: 1.080 (19*P)
ABV: 6.4 - 7.2%
Color: Deep amber
IBUs: 24
Yeast: Danish Lager
Maturation: 4 to 6 months

Recipe:
9.5 lb Munich Malt (62%)
3 lb Pilsner Malt (19%)
2 lb Malted Rye (13%)
1 lb Rice Hulls
4 oz Juniper Berries, crushed (added in the mash)

Hops & Spices:
2 oz Hallertau (3.5%AA) 90 Min
2 oz Juniper Berries, crushed 90 Min
2 oz Juniper Berries, crushed 0 Min


5. FRUIT CAKE OLD ALE
Yield: 5 gallons
Gravity: 1.075 (18*P)
ABV: 6.5 - 7.5%
Color: Deep reddish amber
IBUs: 31
Yeast: Scottish Ale
Maturation: 6 to 9 months

Recipe:
8.75 lb Munich Malt (62%)
3 lb Amber Malt (22%)
1 lb Special B (13%)
4 oz Carafa II Malt (6%)

Hops:
1.5 oz Liberty (4.5%AA) 90 Min
0.5 oz Saaz (3%AA) 15 Min
0.5 oz Liberty (4.5%AA) 15 Min

Spices:
0.25 tsp nutmeg (added at end of the boil)
0.25 tsp allspice (added at end of the boil)
2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon (added at end of the boil)
1 tsp powdered ginger (added at end of the boil)
1 tsp vanilla extract (added at end of the boil)

After primary fermentation, assemble 3 lb of dried fruit: raisins, apricots, cherries, blueberries,
whatever, plus the zest of two oranges and two whole cloves. Pour boiling water over it to rehydrate;
allow to stand for an hour or two to cool and plump, then mix with the beer which has been racked
into a vessel with some headspace. Allow this to ferment for two weeks, then rack off the fruit into
another carboy, allow to settle, then bottle as usual. This beer will benefit from several months aging.


6. SAFFRON TRIPEL - Pick you favorite Belgian tripel recipe as a start. If there's no sugar in it,
substitute 20 percent of the base malt for some unrefined sugar - turbinado or piloncillo, for example.
Jaggery (Indian palm sugar) is also lovely. Add the zest of one orange at the end of the boil, along
with a pinch of crushed grains of paradise or black pepper. Ferment with Belgian ale yeast, and add a
half-teaspoon of saffron threads after transferring to the secondary. Gravity: 1.090 (21.5*P). Color:
orange-gold.


7. CHRISTMAS GRUIT - This is a throwback to the days before hopped beers were the norm. I have included
some hops here, largely for their persevative value. Note that the "gruit" component of this is only
partially authentic (bog myrtle), as yarrow and wild rosemary can't in good conscience be recommended for
internal consumption. The rosemary and California bay laurel provide a safe approximation. Start with
the dunkel weizenbock recipe (Number 4) but substitute he following spices, which may be added at the
end of the boil: 4 oz juniper, crushed; 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon; 0.5 tsp bog myrtle/sweet gale; 0.25 tsp
rosemary; 0.12 tsp mace; two California bay laurel leaves. Add one pound of heather or dark wildflower
honey to the secondary and allow it to ferment out before bottling. Saison of other characterful Belgian
yeast is recommended. As an option, a package of mixed lambic culture, added after the primary, will add
wild aromas and a bit of sourness after a few months. Substituting a bit of smoked malt will impart a
suitably medieval funkiness. Gravity: 1.091 (22*P). Color: hazy amber.


8. HONEY GINGER IPA - Ginger was a popular ingredient in British beers prior to 1850, and here we're
pairing it with a dab of honey. Start with an IPA, and brew and ferment as normal. Once transferred
to the secondary, add 2 pounds of honey, plus 2 ounces of candied ginger, coarsely chopped. This is a
higher-quality ginger than the stuff in the produce section, less pungent and less earthy. I would use
British East Kent Goldings hops exclusively. Gravity: 1.065 (15.5*P). Color: pale amber.


9. CRANAPPLE LAMBICKY ALE - Crabapples add not only a festive touch, but tannins and acidity as well,
which makes it easier to get that tart, champagny character without extended aging. Brew a simple pale
wheat ale like the Amazing Daze (see below). If mashing, go low (145*F) and long (two hours). Ferment
with ale yeast, Belgian or otherwise. Obtain 3 to 4 pounds of crabapples (cranberries work also), wash
well, then freeze. Thaw and add to the beer when it is transferred to the secondary, along with a package
of mized lambic culture. Allow to age on the fruit for two months, then rack, allow to clear (which may
take a month or two), and bottle. Lambic character will continue to increase with time. Gravity: 1.050
(12*P). Color: pale pink.

AMAZING DAZE AMERICAN WHEAT ALE
Yield: 5 gallons
Gravity: 1.049 (12*P)
ABV: 4.1 - 4.7%
Color: Pale Gold
IBUs: 23
Yeast: American Ale
Maturation: 4 to 6 weeks

Recipe:
4 lb Pilsner Ale (44.5%)
4 lb Wheat Malt (44.5%)
1 lb Munich Malt (11%)
1 lb Rice Hulls

Hops:
0.75 oz Cascade (6%AA) 60 Min
1 oz US Tettnang (4.5%AA) 15 Min


10. GINGERBREAD ALE - Liquid cake! One of our Chicago Beer Society homebrewers hit me with this one a few
years ago, and the flavor was quite striking. The base brew should be a soft brown ale, lightly hopped,
with no pronounced hop aroma. The gingerbread flavor depends on a specific balance of spices used in the
common dessert: 1 tsp cinnamon; 0.5 tsp ground giner; 0.25 tsp allspice; 0.25 tsp cloves. Just add them at
the end of the boil. Gravity: 1.055 (13*P). color: pale brown.


11. SPICED BOURBON STOUT - Take your favorite stout recipe and dose it with spices. Into 6 oz of Vodka and
2 oz of bourbon (more if you wish), add: 0.5 tsp vanilla extract; 0.25 tsp allspice; 0.5 tsp cinnamon;
0.25 oz crushed corianger; 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.


12. ABBEY WEIZEN - This one's easy. Take a classic Bavarian Weizen recipe and ferment it with a Belgian abbey
yeast. For a little more zip, add a little citris peel-try a tangelo or a handful of kumquats for a fairly
close approximation of the Seville/curacao orange. Coriander and chamomile (0.25 oz of each) added at the
end of the voil provide even more depth. You could brew this same recipe at much higher gravities if desired.
Gravity: 1.045 (11*P). Color: hazy deep gold.

 

[GnenieGone]

1st In and want to do 3 SPICED DUNKEL WEIZENBOCK. I'll commit to the east coast since apparently participation was low.

 

[user 263363]

I am sitting here reading through Radical Brewing right now and I have been waiting for the 2020 thread for weeks now. I will take the Cherry Dubbel for the East Coast if you'll have me.

 

[HopHeavy]

Can I get in on the East Coast with the Saffron Tripel?

 

[TBC]

@HopHeavy @CaddyWampus @PianoMan welcome aboard. The west coast group must still be in bed!

 

[TBC]

I believe this is my fourth year participating and I’ve only had the crabapple lambicky ale one time so I’m going to take a stab at that. I have a few sours in the fermenters right now so what’s one more.

 

[passedpawn]

Caramel Quadrupel woot

east coast

 

[grampamark]

Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock, West.

 

[Yeroc]

I’d love to make the fruit cake old ale for west coast!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Fruitcake old ale east please.

 

[jack13]

Juniper Rye Bock (EAST)!

 

[wstbrewing]

I gotta try this again. I’d like the spiced bourbon stout for the east coast. I need to make up for this year’s shortcomings.

 

[fourfarthing]

In East Coast Abbey W.

 

[satph]

I'll do the East coast Gingerbread Ale

 

[wstbrewing]

East coast, my brew partner wants in on the honey ginger ipa for next year. Put it under the name Kim. We’ll do that ship/receive together that others did this years.

I’ll vouch and make good should something happen (highly unlikely).

Mike

 

[TwistedGray]

I am interested in West Coast #10 or #12 ... as indecisive as always. Let me try this year's offerings first and go from there.

 

[passedpawn]

East coast, my brew partner wants in on the honey ginger ipa for next year. Put it under the name Kim. We’ll do that ship/receive together that others did this years.

I’ll vouch and make good should something happen (highly unlikely).

Mike

Is everybody OK with this? I sorta feel like trade participants should be members here, at a minimum so they can post their pics of beers, communicate with the thread, etc.

I'm not all emotional about it, don't care THAT much, but thought I'd just mention it.

Thoughts, anybody?

 

[fourfarthing]

Is everybody OK with this? I sorta feel like trade participants should be members here, at a minimum so they can post their pics of beers, communicate with the thread, etc.

I'm not all emotional about it, don't care THAT much, but thought I'd just mention it.

Thoughts, anybody?

We had an exception this year in East Coast that worked out, but maybe its a space available kinda thing?

 

[TwistedGray]

Wrong thread

 

[TBC]

Is everybody OK with this? I sorta feel like trade participants should be members here, at a minimum so they can post their pics of beers, communicate with the thread, etc.

I'm not all emotional about it, don't care THAT much, but thought I'd just mention it.

Thoughts, anybody?

The past few years Hopheavy’s brother and nephew participated and I don’t believe they were members. If their was heavy interest then I’d say give a HBT member preference over a nonmember.

I have no problem with it. It’s more important to me that we have reliable participants that fulfill their commitment.

 

[satph]

I don't think it's a big deal, but if @wstbrewing gets his brew partner to sign up then any issue goes away.

 

[HopHeavy]

Yup. That's exactly how Pete got involved a few years ago... Expressed interest but waited a bit for the roster to fill before they decided to let him on.

 

[wstbrewing]

I don't think it's a big deal, but if @wstbrewing gets his brew partner to sign up then any issue goes away.

I can get her to sign up, not sure about being a paid member or how much she’ll participate.

I’ll get her on during the holidays if that will make it all easier.

Cheers.

 

[j1laskey]

If the Christmas Gruit has not been spoken for in the East I'll take it please!

 

[TwistedGray]

I can get her to sign up, not sure about being a paid member or how much she’ll participate.

I’ll get her on during the holidays if that will make it all easier.

Cheers.

I'm not a paid member...I think they mean to say as long as she's a member on here that would work.

 

[CarLock Brewing]

I'll take care of myself, I'm sure I won't need Mike to "make good".

Thanks buddy, and I can't wait to be part of this next year.

Kim
CarLock Brewing

East coast, my brew partner wants in on the honey ginger ipa for next year. Put it under the name Kim. We’ll do that ship/receive together that others did this years.

I’ll vouch and make good should something happen (highly unlikely).

Mike

 

[CarLock Brewing]

I'm not a paid member...I think they mean to say as long as she's a member on here that would work.

I'm now a member, hopefully this takes care of things.

 

[wstbrewing]

I'll take care of myself, I'm sure I won't need Mike to "make good".

Thanks buddy, and I can't wait to be part of this next year.

Kim
CarLock Brewing

Yeah yeah yeah, welcome to the party. Now you can read posts on your own and not keep taking my phone.

WST

 

[passedpawn]

Welcome, and I'm good with it

 

[TwistedGray]

I'm going to go with the Abbey this year because I know I'll do it justice. East or West doesn't matter; I ship via pony express.

 

[GnenieGone]

Test run of the Spiced Dunkel Weizen. Middle boy can make damn good quickie margaritas.

 

[TBC]

Quick Update: Group 1 (East Coast) is full.

There are still a few openings left in group 2.

 

[gunhaus]

I'll take the stout in group 2

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I'm now a member, hopefully this takes care of things.

Welcome aboard! Nice to have another woman around.

 

[imasickboy]

I'll take an east coast alternate slot should anyone drop out, because I'm too floccing slow to join, yet again.

 

[jerbrew]

Alright here we go!

Here's the general concept:
12 different brewers will brew one of the 12 beers of Christmas found in Randy's Mosher's Radical Brewing.
Each brewer sends out three 12oz bottles of their beer to the 11 other brewers (33 bottles sent out in total) and receives 3 bottles of each recipe in return. Maybe you drink one, share one, and age the third!?
Some of these are fairly big beers, and need some time and aging to be optimal, so planning and brewing early can be critical. If you're bottle conditioning, be ready to bottle in time, etc. Also, one of the beers (Juniper Rye Bock) is a lager, so a brewer with a lagering fridge will be needed for that one.

Shipping:
It will cost you some money to send out 11 packages! Getting involved in this project means you'll eventually need to wrap up 11 packages with 3 beers each, and mail them potentially all the way across the country from where you live. You may be looking at about $120 in shipping give or take (but you're getting 33 fancy Christmas beers!).
With this in mind, it has been historically a necessity to require that all brewers will need to be located inside the continental U.S.
If you can accept packages at a business address, that will save your fellow brewers some money. (For some reason, the big shippers charge less to deliver to a business address...)
Speaking of the big shippers, generally if you show up at UPS or FedEx with a well packed, sealed box, they don't ask questions. Legally you aren't allowed to ship alcohol via USPS, but in prior years some participants have shipped using Flat Rate boxes from the post office, and haven't had any issues, but this is by no means an endorsement of such an action.
Shipping will need to occur approximately the week after Thanksgiving.
For reference: In 2012, @biochemedic posted some (admittedly perhaps overkill) instructions for packaging a 12 oz longneck for shipping, and also a post with some common box sizes that work well for shipping 3 wrapped/bagged longnecks.

Please have your beers ready to ship by Thanksgiving 2020! So plan accordingly depending on the beer you end up brewing. Some take much longer than others.

Choosing What You Want to Brew:
We'll use the same system as previous years: first come first served (with the noted restrictions below...)
Reply to this thread if you're interested and let us know which beer you want to brew and which group (East coast or West coast) As beers are claimed, I will update the thread with the brewer's name next to their selection.

How to not be a d*u$hb@g:
As much as it pains me to post this part, the simple fact is that, every single year this project has been run, there has been at least one brewer who has simply up and vanished, and at times has been shipped homebrew in good faith before their disappearance has become apparent.

Based on this, I wish to request that all participants be either relatively established HBT members (more than a year since joining) *or* be a paid (Supporting or Lifetime) member, *or*, have successfully participated in the previous year.

Communicate! If for some reason you have to back out, own up to it ASAP, and hopefully allow a replacement brewer to step in. Please do not disappear for a few months and then come back saying 2020 was busy and you can't participate and now it's too late for anyone to take your place. Think AHEAD of time whether you can put in the work to execute this amazing exchange.

We will attempt to fill 2 groups this year based on the increased participation in this thread. Please note your shipping preference - east or west coast.

2011
2012
2013
2014 (didn't happen)
2015 (didn't happen)
2016
2017
2018
2019


Here is the list of Beers:

GROUP 1 (East Coast)

1) Caramel Quadrupel @passedpawn
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @CaddyWampus
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock @PianoMan
4) Juniper Rye Bock @jack13
5) Fruitcake Old Ale. @Hoppy2bmerry
6) Saffron Tripel @HopHeavy
7) Christmas Gruit @j1laskey
8) Honey Ginger IPA @CarLock Brewing
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale @TBC
10) Gingerbread Ale @satph
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @wstbrewing
12) Abbey Weizen @fourfarthing


GROUP 2 (West Coast)

1) Caramel Quadrupel
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock @grampamark
4) Juniper Rye Bock
5) Fruitcake Old Ale @Yeroc
6) Saffron Tripel
7) Christmas Gruit
8) Honey Ginger IPA
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale
10) Gingerbread Ale
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @gunhaus
12) Abbey Weizen @TwistedGray

May I please take the caramel quad if not already accounted for? West coast, of course.

If it is my preference is as follows:
Caramel quad
Spiced cherry dubbel
Saffron tripple


Thanks

 

[TBC]

May I please take the caramel quad if not already accounted for? West coast, of course.

If it is my preference is as follows:
Caramel quad
Spiced cherry dubbel
Saffron tripple


Thanks

Done, It’s yours!

 

[GnenieGone]

I can go West Coast..@TBC and I'll brew anything left in the WC group. But if the previous post is correct, I'll take the Saffron Tripple.

I'll take an east coast alternate slot should anyone drop out, because I'm too floccing slow to join, yet again.

 

[TBC]

I can go West Coast..@TBC and I'll brew anything left in the WC group. But if the previous post is correct, I'll take the Saffron Tripple.

Taken care of of this.