12 Beers of Christmas 2020 Edition

[TBC]

Any chance I could get the Christmas Gruit for the West Coast? Haven't done any trading on here but have shipped beer to friends.

I’m fine with it. Does anyone participating in the West Coast group have any concerns?

 

[grampamark]

I’m fine with it. Does anyone participating in the West Coast group have any concerns?

Fine with me.

 

[TBC]

Bump this to the top! There are only 5 spots left in group 2. Don’t delay, signup Today!!

 

[passedpawn]

Wyeast Belgian Abbey - getting yeast ramped up for this years offering to you guys & gals. They look excited!

 

[yoop89]

Getting set up to try out the Christmas Gruit and see what my tweaks to the recipe will be like!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

@yoop89 where did you source the sweet gale leaves? Asking for a friend.

 

[yoop89]

@Hoppy2bmerry I ordered from homebrewing.org, they used to be my LHBS and I still use them online often. They are sold in 2 gram packs but with free shipping it beats any other prices I have found.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Thanks, it looked high quality as well, no twigs etc are obvious.

 

[yoop89]

So far Ive ordered almost a half an oz over the last few years and ill find a small twig every now and then but it doesnt bother me much given there are very limited suppliers.

 

[passedpawn]

Marlee and I brewed my 2020 12BOC caramel quadruple this morning. Part of the recipe has you melt down a bunch of malt extract and sugar into a thick caramel syrup. It gets dark and develops this pretty awesome flavor. Belgian Abbey II yeast starter getting pitched in a few minutes.

 

[user 263363]

After reading some of the thoughts on this thread and doing my own research, I picked up a couple bottles of this at Aldi. It may end up being too sweet, but I’m shooting for very mild cherry flavor.

Hoping to brew my first iteration of the dubbel soon to gauge my process. After much more consideration I have decided to use the averagely perfect recipe from beer advocate.

 

[jack13]

Question on the recipe for Juniper Rye Bock.

I'm planning on doing a small test batch (which will double as a starter for the main batch because my WL Copenhagen Lager yeast packet is a bit on the old side).

Anyway, the color is listed as "deep amber", but I'm not sure where that color is supposed to come from.

Here's the grain bill and other additions:

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

Juniper berries are dark: is that where it's coming from? maybe it's the longer boil?

Also, the percentages on the grain bill add up to only 94% I notice on another of the recipes they add up to 103%.

Thoughts on any of this?

 

[jack13]

Marlee and I brewed my 2020 12BOC caramel quadruple this morning. Part of the recipe has you melt down a bunch of malt extract and sugar into a thick caramel syrup. It gets dark and develops this pretty awesome flavor. Belgian Abbey II yeast starter getting pitched in a few minutes.

View attachment 665937

View attachment 665938

Wow. Yeah, you just had to get a picture of THAT!

 

[imasickboy]

Question on the recipe for Juniper Rye Bock.

I'm planning on doing a small test batch (which will double as a starter for the main batch because my WL Copenhagen Lager yeast packet is a bit on the old side).

Anyway, the color is listed as "deep amber", but I'm not sure where that color is supposed to come from.

Here's the grain bill and other additions:

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

Juniper berries are dark: is that where it's coming from? maybe it's the longer boil?

Also, the percentages on the grain bill add up to only 94% I notice on another of the recipes they add up to 103%.

Thoughts on any of this?

Without any actual detective work on my part, the following spews forth:

Juniper berries are dark, and could possibly "stain" the beer. Very unlikely, however.

Munich comes in several forms. ~4L, ~8L, and someone makes a extra dark Munich that I think is 30L.

Just passing along halfassed personal knowledge, so you have somewhere to start investigating. Good luck!

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

Marlee and I brewed my 2020 12BOC caramel quadruple this morning. Part of the recipe has you melt down a bunch of malt extract and sugar into a thick caramel syrup. It gets dark and develops this pretty awesome flavor. Belgian Abbey II yeast starter getting pitched in a few minutes.

View attachment 665937

View attachment 665938

How much did you start with and how long did it take for the syrup? Asking for a friend..

 

[jack13]

Without any actual detective work on my part, the following spews forth:

Juniper berries are dark, and could possibly "stain" the beer. Very unlikely, however.

Munich comes in several forms. ~4L, ~8L, and someone makes a extra dark Munich that I think is 30L.

Just passing along halfassed personal knowledge, so you have somewhere to start investigating. Good luck!

Duh, dark Munich! Now that you bring it up, I guess I've never thought of that as a base malt, but I guess it is. Dang, I have a ton of the lighter Munich in stock. Maybe I'll just make this a little lighter than it's supposed to be. Hmm...

 

[passedpawn]

How much did you start with and how long did it take for the syrup? Asking for a friend..

2# table sugar, 2# Golden Light DME, and just enough water to make a slurry out of it. That's for a 10g batch. I guess you could use liquid malt extract, but I didn't have that.

Then just heat on low and stir until it changes to that dark color. At some point it expanded to almost overflow the pan. I made this days before I needed it - just left it in the pan and stuck in the fridge. On brew day, I reheated on the stove, then it dissolved easily by adding a bit of the boiling wort to the pan.

She's a'bubbling away in the fermentor now.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

After reading some of the thoughts on this thread and doing my own research, I picked up a couple bottles of this at Aldi. It may end up being too sweet, but I’m shooting for very mild cherry flavor.

View attachment 665961

I’m afraid that will be very very mild, I’ve used organically produced concentrate with good results... just sharing information.

 

[user 263363]

I do appreciate the feedback. I’m still working on it so I will definitely take that in to consideration. Thanks!

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

2# table sugar, 2# Golden Light DME, and just enough water to make a slurry out of it. That's for a 10g batch. I guess you could use liquid malt extract, but I didn't have that.

Then just heat on low and stir until it changes to that dark color. At some point it expanded to almost overflow the pan. I made this days before I needed it - just left it in the pan and stuck in the fridge. On brew day, I reheated on the stove, then it dissolved easily by adding a bit of the boiling wort to the pan.

She's a'bubbling away in the fermentor now.

One of the Westvleterian12 clone recipes calls for doing that. Ahead of time is the way to go. Thanks for the reply.

 

[ThirstyPawsHB]

@TBC I'm going to drop out. Haven't had overtime in 6 months and it doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. Rather drop out now then later. I'm going to brew the beer and bottle it anyway. Maybe fortune will favor the foolish by the end of the year.

 

[Yeroc]

I think I've lost the plot a little. How many open slots are there now which still need to be filled? Does anyone have a current count?

 

[TBC]

@Yeroc I believe this is correct.

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
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]

@TBC I'm going to drop out. Haven't had overtime in 6 months and it doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. Rather drop out now then later. I'm going to brew the beer and bottle it anyway. Maybe fortune will favor the foolish by the end of the year.

No problem buddy. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Yeroc]

Wow, the West Coast group needs more participation. I hope more brews happen across this thread and don't just assume all the slots are filled (since it's filled up so fast over the last few years).

@Yeroc I believe this is correct.

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
7) Christmas Gruit @yoop89
8) Honey Ginger IPA
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale
10) Gingerbread Ale
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @gunhaus
12) Abbey Weizen @TwistedGray

 

[TwistedGray]

Wow, the West Coast group needs more participation. I hope more brews happen across this thread and don't just assume all the slots are filled (since it's filled up so fast over the last few years).

Yeah, that is quite interesting...had to fight for a spot last year

 

[TBC]

Bump this up! There’s still a few more openings if anyone is interested. See the group 2 list below.

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
7) Christmas Gruit @yoop89
8) Honey Ginger IPA
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale
10) Gingerbread Ale @Ultryx
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @gunhaus
12) Abbey Weizen @TwistedGray

 

[passedpawn]

East Coast Caramel Quad is getting kegged this weekend. Been cold-crashing for a few days now. Gravity sample tastes great!

Came in at 8.7% (OG = 1.077, FG = 1.012). I was expecting a higher OG and was thinking about adding some DME to the fermentor, but never did it.

I'll get it carbonated and cleared and in a few weeks I'll post a pic of the final product in a glass. Then, bottling and aging in boxes. Woot. I'm not one to "age" beers, but the high-ABV ones seem to do OK with it. One of my best beers every was a scotch ale that spent 2 yrs in boxes.

 

[passedpawn]

BTW, I have two fermentors. I have this natural oatmeal cooking flavoring (see link below) that I might experiment with on one of the carboys. If it turns out, I'll send one of those with my shipments to everyone.

https://www.apexflavors.com/Beverag...al-Contains-lt010pct-Artificial-Top-Note~4439

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I will be starting the East Fruit cake old ale as soon as I’m ready to package a wee heavy I have finishing up right now. Half the yeast from that will make a big healthy pitch for the old ale.