12 Beers of Christmas - 2023 Edition

[passedpawn]

@shetc Juniper Rye Bock

Poured without much head. Low carbonation on mine. Perfect color for a rye beer (IMO). Fairly clear. Faint aroma of rye and malt, waiting for it to warm up a bit to get more. Very interesting flavor. The malty rye kinda gives this a port wine flavor. Wonder what it would taste like at 15% lol.

Mouthfeel is medium.

I like this beer. It's quite different. Think I need to make one of these while the weather is still cool. Beers like this are why I do this event with you guys.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Tom - I just realized I looked at the wrong list, which had @BAF for the stout. Sorry about that.

That's on me ('cause I drinks a bit).

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Juniper Rye Bock

Poured without much head. Low carbonation on mine. Perfect color for a rye beer (IMO). Fairly clear. Faint aroma of rye and malt, waiting for it to warm up a bit to get more. Very interesting flavor. The malty rye kinda gives this a port wine flavor. Wonder what it would taste like at 15% lol.

Mouthfeel is medium.

I like this beer. It's quite different. Think I need to make one of these while the weather is still cool. Beers like this are why I do this event with you guys.

View attachment 836970

Great pic.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Juniper Rye Bock

Poured without much head. Low carbonation on mine. Perfect color for a rye beer (IMO). Fairly clear. Faint aroma of rye and malt, waiting for it to warm up a bit to get more. Very interesting flavor. The malty rye kinda gives this a port wine flavor. Wonder what it would taste like at 15% lol.

Mouthfeel is medium.

I like this beer. It's quite different. Think I need to make one of these while the weather is still cool. Beers like this are why I do this event with you guys.

View attachment 836970

The carbonation level baffles me. That keg lagered for 5 months at 12 PSI. I wonder if the gauge is faulty.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

^^-- This. Hold the mash at 162 for 10 minutes.

A decoction with a glycoprotein rest may help.

Great ideas both.
@Beekeeper when you say hold the mash at 162 for ten minutes do you mean between the mash temp (152) and the mash out (168)? Never tried adding that step.

 

[passedpawn]

The carbonation level baffles me. That keg lagered for 5 months at 12 PSI. I wonder if the gauge is faulty.

I carb at 15psi when I'm bottling from the keg (with blichmann beer gun). I used to have the same problem.

 

[Beekeeper]

Great ideas both.
@Beekeeper when you say hold the mash at 162 for ten minutes do you mean between the mash temp (152) and the mash out (168)? Never tried adding that step.

Here is one thread from 2017 for reference:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...lating-and-head-retention.632676/post-8061094"In other words, all things considered a prolonged rest at 72C (162F) is gonna get you awesome head retention."

 

[thetick]

I gotta say - with 4 of the 12 revealed at this point - I’m a bit nervous when mine comes up.

You and me both, sir! I’m up tomorrow (*swallows audibly*).

I had @mjdonnelly68’s Weizenbock last night. It was amazing! I’m a huge fan of spiced beers and that one is one of the best I’ve had! Thanks!

 

[Beekeeper]

5th Beer of Christmas - @tdf 's Spiced Bourbon Stout
Beer pours a gorgeous, velvety black with a thick brown head that persists. The star anise is front and center in the aroma which is otherwise clean (no hop aroma but none expected). Great mouthfeel and much less minty flavor than the aroma would imply, the roastiness nicely tempers the star anise. As the beer warms up the spices become more prominent but the beer remains very drinkable. Nicely brewed @tdf - Cheers!


View attachment 836966

Baker's Chocolate sensation. @tdf chose a superb stout base recipe upon which to build this wonder. Delish!

 

[tdf]

I'm glad folks are enjoying the stout! I'm about to pour one for myself. I'm attaching the recipe here, minus the spice + bourbon tincture. I just followed the recipe from the book for that. (Sorry it's in metric, I know that's not super popular around here ). The base recipe is a little bigger, and for 24L but I brewed 30L for this beer, which lowered the efficiency, but you can still get a solid idea.

 

[passedpawn]

@shetc by chance is this the capper you use?

 

[passedpawn]

this "public" tasting and related schedule might be the best thing. Whoever suggested it, nice!

 

[user 246304]

Holy cow, just came across this thread. What a great idea. I have lots of reading to catch up on!

 

[mjdonnelly68]

You and me both, sir! I’m up tomorrow (*swallows audibly*).

I had @mjdonnelly68’s Weizenbock last night. It was amazing! I’m a huge fan of spiced beers and that one is one of the best I’ve had! Thanks!

Glad you liked it - cheers!

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

@shetc by chance is this the capper you use?

View attachment 836980

One of these suckers. This is the 1st time I lagered/carbed in a keg, with the intention of bottling the whole keg later on. I suspect that I slowly lost some carbonation as I bottled a couple of cases of beer. For a comp, I only bottle a few beers so no noticeable loss of carb. So yeah, a higher carb level makes more sense in this case, as @passedpawn recommended. Or use a separate CO2 tank to clear the bottles of O2.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Last night's beverage from @Rish. As you can see, it poured dark brown with a moderate off white head, that dissipated to a ring of fine bubbles, pretty clear. Flavor was malty with a balanced holiday spiced combo. Lower ABV made for easy drinking, which I think non-beer geeks (as well as me) would enjoy over some of the more heavy weight beers that people drink this time of year. Well done!

 

[GoodTimeCharlie]

One of these suckers. This is the 1st time I lagered/carbed in a keg, with the intention of bottling the whole keg later on. I suspect that I slowly lost some carbonation as I bottled a couple of cases of beer. For a comp, I only bottle a few beers so no noticeable loss of carb. So yeah, a higher carb level makes more sense in this case, as @passedpawn recommended. Or use a separate CO2 tank to clear the bottles of O2.

View attachment 837022

 

[GoodTimeCharlie]

One of these suckers. This is the 1st time I lagered/carbed in a keg, with the intention of bottling the whole keg later on. I suspect that I slowly lost some carbonation as I bottled a couple of cases of beer. For a comp, I only bottle a few beers so no noticeable loss of carb. So yeah, a higher carb level makes more sense in this case, as @passedpawn recommended. Or use a separate CO2 tank to clear the bottles of O2.

View attachment 837022

I’m not an expert in this but isn’t their pressure loss as the beer travels from keg to tap? I thought that was also dependent on size and length of hose?

 

[JAReeves]

I'm a little off-schedule due to life, but last night had the Juniper-Rye and it was great. I really liked the spicy-bitter up front, which was the dominant flavor while it was cold; but the malt began to smooth it all into a nice balance as it warmed a bit.

Had the dunkle weizenbock after that and found it to be a real nice example of a spiced Christmas beer. I am intrigued by how this will taste a month from now and a month after that; spiced beers are something that I find to be hit and miss in my own brewery, so really wanting to drink these with intentionality.

Nicely done!

 

[JAReeves]

Just received the Gruit, looking forward to catching up with my tasting notes tonight!

 

[4_Sons_Brewing]

I’m a day behind so just getting to the spiced stout. Pours a deep black / brown with a thick brown head. Get hints of cinnamon and lots of black licorice (assume from the star anise).

An enjoyable beer!

 

[Rish]

Forgot to post last night. ^^What 4_Sons said. Big flavors, tasty! I imagine this would age well.

 

[Beekeeper]

@Rish Gingerbread flavor hits the mark. Wanting to get out the whipped cream topping.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

6th Beer of Christmas - @Rish 's Gingerbread Brown Ale
Love the label, one of my favorites. Beer pours an attractive brown with a tan head that dissipates quickly. Light spice on the aroma with no hops apparent (or expected). Spices stand behind the brown ale in the flavor. Pleasantly roasty and very quaffable at 4.5%. Nice beer @Rish - Cheers!

 

[Rish]

Love the label

Thanks, @mjdonnelly68 ! I'll tell my wife. It's probably the best thing about this beer!

 

[passedpawn]

@mjdonnelly68 Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock

Another enjoyable beer. Labeling is sweet. happy wassailing indeed.

Careful pour - bottle conditioned. Clear, dark brown beer. Small head that dissipated quickly. Carbonation feels just right. Aroma of allspice as it warms up.

I can taste the combination of spices clearly behind a barely slight sweet brown sugar finish. Well, it's not sweet, sorta of like unsweetened bakers chocolate that tastes like chocolate but lacks the sweetness.

Very drinkable beer with just the right amount of spices to make it seasonal.

 

[GoodTimeCharlie]

Not sure where my beer is in rotation. Beware. Expect a slow gusher when opening as I was aiming for 3+ carb level

 

[Beekeeper]

Not sure where my beer is in rotation. Beware. Expect a slow gusher when opening as I was aiming for 3+ carb level

12/23/23

Saffron Triple

@GoodTimeCharlie

 

[passedpawn]

I sent a barrel-aged blackberry cider not a kolsch as an extra.

I forgot to tell you, that cider was Dyn-O-Mite.

 

[tdf]

I just checked tracking.

@tdf @JAReeves my pkg is expected on both of your doorsteps Wednesday this week. Everyone else should have gotten theirs.

I got them safe and sound. I think this means that everyone has all the beers!