12 Beers of Christmas 2020 Edition

[passedpawn]

They're on the dock.

 

[JAReeves]

They're on the dock.

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Those boxes look great. Where did you get them?

 

[passedpawn]

Those boxes look great. Where did you get them?

I bought a ton of these years ago. They are relatively expensive, but they save me a bunch of time and aggravation, and these days that's work $$$ to me.

I love them, but they do not protect as good as the phat box filled with bubble wrap, etc.

https://spiritedshipper.com/

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I absolutely love this holiday beer swap..Two years ago I had to drop out because of some pretty heavy things I was dealing with in my personal life and this year Covid has all but but put me out of business and I cant find any wiggle room in my budget for all the shipping costs. Maybe 2021 will finally be my year! I will certainly keep a look out for as soon as the 2021 roster is posted. Cheers!

 

[jack13]

I absolutely love this holiday beer swap..Two years ago I had to drop out because of some pretty heavy things I was dealing with in my personal life and this year Covid has all but but put me out of business and I cant find any wiggle room in my budget for all the shipping costs. Maybe 2021 will finally be my year! I will certainly keep a look out for as soon as the 2021 roster is posted. Cheers!

Will you be in the East group or the West group?

 

[jack13]

I bought a ton of these years ago. They are relatively expensive, but they save me a bunch of time and aggravation, and these days that's work $$$ to me.

I love them, but they do not protect as good as the phat box filled with bubble wrap, etc.

https://spiritedshipper.com/

And depending on which carrier you use, you may save money on shipping since those boxes are smaller than the 'phat' box alternative.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Will you be in the East group or the West group?

I could go into either group since I'm right in the center of the country (Nebraska). I dont really have a preference

 

[jack13]

Bottled the Juniper Rye Bock (East) today.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Bottled the Juniper Rye Bock (East) today.

that is an awesome setup! Do you have a bottling wand hooked to the 'out' post on the keg? And another bottling wand hooked straight to the CO2 bottle? Nice.

 

[jack13]

that is an awesome setup! Do you have a bottling wand hooked to the 'out' post on the keg? And another bottling wand hooked straight to the CO2 bottle? Nice.

Yep. Thanks!

 

[j1laskey]

Quick question for @yoop89. I am brewing the Christmas Gruit for the East Coast on Thursday (yeah I know it's getting a little late to brew this), but did you crush the juniper berries or leave them whole? Thanks!

 

[yoop89]

@j1laskey I'm on my second brew of this one. The first time around I did 2 oz roughly crushed(food processor with a plastic blade) @ 15' and I feel the juniper was there but I found myself wanting a little more of it. I am actually brewing it again this weekend and am changing up my spices a little. I am either going to double the juniper addition or move the 2 oz to earlier in the boil.

Any other questions let me know!

edit: also i feel that my first try really hit its stride at 4 mo but have not tried it since.

 

[j1laskey]

Awesome! Thanks for the advice!

 

[j1laskey]

Another question for the group....are mash temps up to the brewer?

 

[TBC]

Another question for the group....are mash temps up to the brewer?

my opinion is that’s fine. Just make a GREAT Gruit!

 

[TBC]

I still have to get around to bottling the lambicky ale BUT I created the labels and ordered them last night! Still haven’t decided if I will do anything with the caps.

 

[j1laskey]

Hey everyone, just wondering what programs or companies you all use for designing and printing your labels. I've never made a label in the 15 years I've been brewing, usually keg and if I bottle from the keg it just gets a piece of tape for a label on the bottle.

Thanks!

 

[jack13]

Hey everyone, just wondering what programs or companies you all use for designing and printing your labels. I've never made a label in the 15 years I've been brewing, usually keg and if I bottle from the keg it just gets a piece of tape for a label on the bottle.

Thanks!

Last year I used Leapin Lizard Labels, which I heard about here. Kind of expensive, but very high quality...too high, actually--they don't come off with oxyclean like most other labels. This time around I'll look for a cheaper alternative but if nothing jumps out I'll go with them again.

 

[TBC]

Hey everyone, just wondering what programs or companies you all use for designing and printing your labels. I've never made a label in the 15 years I've been brewing, usually keg and if I bottle from the keg it just gets a piece of tape for a label on the bottle.

Thanks!

I use beerlabelizer.com

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I design labels in on The home computer print them out, cut them up and apply to the bottle with a glue stick. Cheap, cheap, cheap am I.

 

[fourfarthing]

I make em on GIMP which isn't too hard to figure out and print on Avery labels.

 

[passedpawn]

Hey everyone, just wondering what programs or companies you all use for designing and printing your labels. I've never made a label in the 15 years I've been brewing, usually keg and if I bottle from the keg it just gets a piece of tape for a label on the bottle.

Thanks!

I use a program called Microsoft Publisher. It’s easy to manipulate images and text and stuff. Then I print on my home printer (color laser jet) and cut them out and paint them with milk and Stick them on the bottle. Easy and free.

 

[JAReeves]

I design labels in on The home computer print them out, cut them up and apply to the bottle with a glue stick. Cheap, cheap, cheap am I.

I do this also. I use photoshop for design and an inkjet printer with basic copy paper, so not water resistant. Glue stick works great and labels slide off with soapy water.

 

[j1laskey]

Thanks everyone for the input! I never even thought about using a glue stick!!!

 

[jack13]

Juniper Rye Bock, East:

 

[yoop89]

Anyone else we can lock into the West Coast group???? Do we still have four spots left?

 

[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 @JAReeves
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale @RPh_Guy
10) Gingerbread Ale @Ultryx
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @gunhaus
12) Abbey Weizen

 

[passedpawn]

How is everyone progressing?

 

[Ultryx]

My batch of brews has been done for a little bit. Had a bit of a life change and moved 2 states away for a couple months. I'll be back home at the end of September, but I'm still ready to ship all my beers out when the time comes! Looking forward to swapping with everyone!

 

[user 263363]

About to brew v2 of the cherry dubbel. As long as I can do as well as the previous version, and not any worse, I’ll be good to go.