Ale for Christmas

[Proudfoot]

Greetings!

I got an idea of making a nice "warming" beer for Christmas and I guess it would be good to get it going sooner rather than later. Only problem is that I haven't really made darker (& perhaps a bit stronger) beer before, which would be nice to have at christmas time. Especially when winter is actually really cold as we have in Finland. I am also just started to drink those darker beers lately so I'm somewhat lost here. I've tried some porters and stouts lately and I can say that I do not enjoy _too_ roasty taste but then again I have found few dark beers that are really good. Anchor Porter first comes to mind. If someone has a recipe in mind, I would appreciate a link or just ideas so I could get started.

I love american and english hops (cascades, EKG...) and atleast in pales more flavor/aroma = better. Of course in darkers can't be as much dominate I suppose, but perhaps noticiable? It would be interesting also to brew something stronger (6-8% ?) without going too extreme. But I'm not sure if much stronger beer has enough time to condition...

 

[codyjp]

At first I thought I didn't like stouts. After a bit though, they moved into my #2 position (Behind the IPA).

I'm thinking this is my next. However I'm not sure if it'll be fully ready by Christmas!

 

[Dog House Brew]

Greetings!

I got an idea of making a nice "warming" beer for Christmas and I guess it would be good to get it going sooner rather than later. Only problem is that I haven't really made darker (& perhaps a bit stronger) beer before, which would be nice to have at christmas time. Especially when winter is actually really cold as we have in Finland. I am also just started to drink those darker beers lately so I'm somewhat lost here. I've tried some porters and stouts lately and I can say that I do not enjoy _too_ roasty taste but then again I have found few dark beers that are really good. Anchor Porter first comes to mind. If someone has a recipe in mind, I would appreciate a link or just ideas so I could get started.

I love american and english hops (cascades, EKG...) and atleast in pales more flavor/aroma = better. Of course in darkers can't be as much dominate I suppose, but perhaps noticiable? It would be interesting also to brew something stronger (6-8% ?) without going too extreme. But I'm not sure if much stronger beer has enough time to condition...

The is enough time to get it finished before Christmas. That's 12 weeks, if you brew soon you could do 3 week primary, 3 weeks secondary, and if you bottle there is enough time for carb/conditioning. One of my favorite recipies is Denny Conn's BVIP. Bourbon Vannila Imperial Porter. That recipe is all over the web and is tried and true. If you are not into something this complex, the recipe as a straight up porter is fantastic.