Do you want to brew one of the 12 beers of Christmas?

[spyder2723]

Just curious if anyone had received a package from me yet, it has been a week and a half and I want to make sure things are getting where they need to be, and the shipping place didn't give me any tracking info. Thanks!

 

[Scruffy1207]

Just curious if anyone had received a package from me yet, it has been a week and a half and I want to make sure things are getting where they need to be, and the shipping place didn't give me any tracking info. Thanks!

Not me yet. Btw I'm sending mine out today, sorry about the delay, I'll make sure it gets there by the 16th

 

[Xcorpia]

Just curious if anyone had received a package from me yet, it has been a week and a half and I want to make sure things are getting where they need to be, and the shipping place didn't give me any tracking info. Thanks!

Got mine the day before yesterday. Thanks!

 

[usfmikeb]

Just curious if anyone had received a package from me yet, it has been a week and a half and I want to make sure things are getting where they need to be, and the shipping place didn't give me any tracking info. Thanks!

Did you have four dashes on the bottlecaps?

 

[spyder2723]

Yep 4 dashes is me. Glad to hear they are getting out there.

 

[usfmikeb]

I think I received it last week. My wife's been opening the boxes in her zeal to see what I've received so far, and sometimes I don't know what I've received!

 

[Scruffy1207]

Yep 4 dashes is me. Glad to hear they are getting out there.

Cancel, I got it

 

[rhoadsrage]

Alright, I have about 12 days before I depart my full DBF and head to the land of watered down Folgers and cookies as far as you can reach. So I want to open some of the gems you sent. I will try to post a picture but feel free to post more reviews and pics of you have them. I was going to start at the top and work your way down but feel free to drink in any order. Let me know how they are drinking.

 

[KFH]

After dealing with a nasty cold that worked its way through everyone in the house one at a time, I've finally got my brew bottled up.

Well, half of it anyway.

I've decided to enlist everyone participating in this little exchange as taste testers/guinea pigs for two different spice combinations.

First is:

1 12oz can frozen apple juice concentrate
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp allspice
2tsp cinnamon

Second is:

1 12oz can frozen apple juice concentrate
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp allspice
1tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice.

Everyone will be getting 1 750ml bottle of each, shipping out either Wednesday or Thursday.

 

[Scruffy1207]

After dealing with a nasty cold that worked its way through everyone in the house one at a time, I've finally got my brew bottled up.

Well, half of it anyway.

I've decided to enlist everyone participating in this little exchange as taste testers/guinea pigs for two different spice combinations.

First is:

1 12oz can frozen apple juice concentrate
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp allspice
2tsp cinnamon

Second is:

1 12oz can frozen apple juice concentrate
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp allspice
1tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice.

Everyone will be getting 1 750ml bottle of each, shipping out either Wednesday or Thursday.

Sounds interesting!

 

[usfmikeb]

Where are we on the last three shipments? I leave for Florida in a week...

 

[spyder2723]

Yeah I would say we are getting very close to the last day for shipment for me as well. I know in my case if the final three aren't out by tomorrow I would prefer to receive them sometime after Christmas.

 

[Scruffy1207]

Where are we on the last three shipments? I leave for Florida in a week...

Lots of stuff went on, you'll get your package on time. I'll make sure of it.

 

[usfmikeb]

Cool, just want to make sure I don't return from vacation to find boxes of frozen exploded beer bottles on my porch.

 

[Xcorpia]

Just wanted to give a heads up: the Berry Lambicky Ale Ver. 2.0 over-carbed, so immediately pour into the tallest glass you have. Sorry, don't know what happened. The SG only dropped only 2 points when I racked to 2ry, so fermentation was definitely done or so I thought. Maybe I made a mistake weighing the priming sugar. Flavor-wise I like it better than Ver. 1.0.

 

[sfrisby]

So, if im right, we are still waiting for Willum, Scruffy, and KFH. Scruffy and KFH have both posted here recently so all seems good there. But has anyone reached out to Willum? I was going to send a pm but first check if anyone beat me to it.

 

[sfrisby]

So a couple of comments. I'll probably break up into separate posts to help ID the content but since I am going to be gone the week of christmas, I decided to get a headstart on the 12 beers of Christmas by opening one tonight. Naturally, since it looks more inviting than any of our beers, I enjoyed a sample from Xcorpis' exotic elixers and capricious concotions with the Holy Gingersnap!

Since I happen to have a Gingerbread Porter on tap, I wanted to compare. I definetly think I learned something about Marris Otter. I used Marris Otter for the first time for my Gingerbread Porter and there is a similar flavor profile with Holy Gingersnap! Gingersnap is much lighter, not just IBU's but in body. Quite frankly, I found it much easier to drink than my own. I found it to be a very subtle and very pleasant flavor. I think everyone will throughly enjoy it. But maybe I'm biased, heterosexual male or not, you can't help but to get caught up in the beer partially because of the packaging. Thanks Xcorpia

 

[sfrisby]

Update on Belgian Quads....

I have now had 2 bottles each of the bourbon barrel quad and regular quad. The good news is, the sweetness that I mentioned in my note has mellowed some. Definetly won't call it a dry beer, but it is more drinkable that it was before.

Now the bad news. I have had two bourbon barrels and they are both the same so I know it wasn't a radom fluke, but they are flat as a board. Although I bottled both versions together and dissolved sugar together, somehow no sugar got in the bottling bucket. I don't know how that happened (regular is carbed fine) but it is what it is. If you have any carb tablets, I would suggest cracking it open, dropping a couple in, and sealing back up (you might want a new cap ). That is what I am going to do. Good luck.

 

[Xcorpia]

I just popped open a Juniper Rye Bock. Carbonation is perfect in my opinion. No head, medium light body. I get juniper in the nose. Honey flavor up front, caramel and bitterness in the end and a raisin/prune with rye after-taste. Very interesting! Thanks Rhoadsrage!

*edit* opened a second bottle. It has like a 3/8 head that dissipates in 5 minutes.

Enjoying it with a pomegranate. Yum!

 

[usfmikeb]

Looking forward to getting feedback on the dubbel, but I can tell its getting better with age.

 

[sfrisby]

Had a cherry dubbell this evening. It is exactly what you expect. True Belgian flavor with a hint of cherry. Just as advertised. At Costco today, I saw fresh sweet cherries that made me think of this beer thus choosing it tonight. Was wondering how sweet cherries would compare to the bing that I assumed was used for this. Thanks for a great beer!

 

[usfmikeb]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I used 5lbs of black cherries and 5lbs of tart cherries, and let them sit in secondary for 10 weeks. I'll definitely be trying this recipe again, and want to try juicing the cherries for one of the batches.

 

[sfrisby]

Wow! 10lbs of cherries! Was this a 5 gallon batch?

 

[rhoadsrage]

As the full moon finally wanes, and there is a brief pause in the craziness at our house I race to the beer fridge in hopes that I will have time to pour one of these gems. Where to start? The top of the list I guess?

Usfmikeb's Spiced Cherry Dubble

The body pours a hazy mahogany that is nice and dense with a beige thick creamy head that has a slight peach hue from the fruit. It last for a good bit and there is a gentle carbonation of microbubbles gliding up the sides of the glass. The aroma is that classic Abbey yeast esters with nice dark tart cherry notes and I swear I can smell the cherry pits. The taste has a fresh dark but bright cherry flavor with a good tartness, The Dubble character are full but a bit softer than the fruit. The yeasty abbey esters blend with a woody malt and dark fruit esters to round out the beer. The cherry note comes back in the aftertaste that adds just a touch of sweetness. There is a slight jammy quality that comes through as the beer warms but it is not sweet. The mouthfeel is medium-light with a clean finish and the alcohol is well hidden until the last few sips and then it is a welcome alcohol warmth. There is a tight fizz in the finish that compliments the cherries in the finish. This is a delicious beer. It is a great blend of fruit and Dubble flavors that all blend making it very hard to put into works just want you are tasting. The alcohol is catches up to me but is only present in the last few sips.

 

[Shuznuts]

As the full moon finally wanes, and there is a brief pause in the craziness at our house I race to the beer fridge in hopes that I will have time to pour one of these gems. Where to start? The top of the list I guess?

Usfmikeb's Spiced Cherry Dubble

The body pours a hazy mahogany that is nice and dense with a beige thick creamy head that has a slight peach hue from the fruit. It last for a good bit and there is a gentle carbonation of microbubbles gliding up the sides of the glass. The aroma is that classic Abbey yeast esters with nice dark tart cherry notes and I swear I can smell the cherry pits. The taste has a fresh dark but bright cherry flavor with a good tartness, The Dubble character are full but a bit softer than the fruit. The yeasty abbey esters blend with a woody malt and dark fruit esters to round out the beer. The cherry note comes back in the aftertaste that adds just a touch of sweetness. There is a slight jammy quality that comes through as the beer warms but it is not sweet. The mouthfeel is medium-light with a clean finish and the alcohol is well hidden until the last few sips and then it is a welcome alcohol warmth. There is a tight fizz in the finish that compliments the cherries in the finish. This is a delicious beer. It is a great blend of fruit and Dubble flavors that all blend making it very hard to put into works just want you are tasting. The alcohol is catches up to me but is only present in the last few sips.

I've been following the thread for a while. Jeez! It's like I just read paragraph from a Pulitzer novelist or something. What a critique! It's like I'm there sharing the glass with you! Nicely done....both of you.

 

[Scruffy1207]

As the full moon finally wanes, and there is a brief pause in the craziness at our house I race to the beer fridge in hopes that I will have time to pour one of these gems. Where to start? The top of the list I guess?

Usfmikeb's Spiced Cherry Dubble

The body pours a hazy mahogany that is nice and dense with a beige thick creamy head that has a slight peach hue from the fruit. It last for a good bit and there is a gentle carbonation of microbubbles gliding up the sides of the glass. The aroma is that classic Abbey yeast esters with nice dark tart cherry notes and I swear I can smell the cherry pits. The taste has a fresh dark but bright cherry flavor with a good tartness, The Dubble character are full but a bit softer than the fruit. The yeasty abbey esters blend with a woody malt and dark fruit esters to round out the beer. The cherry note comes back in the aftertaste that adds just a touch of sweetness. There is a slight jammy quality that comes through as the beer warms but it is not sweet. The mouthfeel is medium-light with a clean finish and the alcohol is well hidden until the last few sips and then it is a welcome alcohol warmth. There is a tight fizz in the finish that compliments the cherries in the finish. This is a delicious beer. It is a great blend of fruit and Dubble flavors that all blend making it very hard to put into works just want you are tasting. The alcohol is catches up to me but is only present in the last few sips.

That'll be a tough act to follow lol.

 

[usfmikeb]

Wow, great review, glad you enjoyed it. I'm thinking maybe I should submit it for this year's AHA...

 

[Xcorpia]

Sheesh rhoadsrage, you made my review seem like it was written by a 5-year-old...

LOL!

 

[Xcorpia]

So I had a Cherry Dubbel tonight. Hello cherries! Rhoadsrage hit the nail on the head so I'm not going to repeat what he already wrote. Thanks usfmikeb!

 

[rhoadsrage]

Usfmikeb.. I would enter this in AHA. I would put it in the 30s but I would enter it as 20. fruit beer and not mention the spice.

Xcorpia... I should have warned you I have to write/doodle while I drink, it quiets all the voices in my head.