Great Holiday Ale Extract Recipe

[brewstev]

Mine has been fermenting around 66-68*. We have an 8 month old and keep the house a bit warmer, that and my wife says she's cold when it's 69-71...If tinge means a kind of spicy taste, it probably is the ginger. I'm hoping that steeping a tea rather than putting it in the boil will keep the strong taste of the ginger and the clove under control. I haven't tasted a sample of this yet since I couldn't get one before adding the honey and cider. Maybe I'll give the secondary fermentation a week to 10 days and then check the gravity and give it a taste.

JTK, did you end up moving to secondary then?

I ended up just adding the cider to primary, as you had done, as i only had a 5 gallon for secondary. Glad I did not too since adding the cider brings it up to 5.5 and another round of Krausen has sprung up higher.

Is secondary still needed? Just wait a week for this cider addition to ferment out and then transfer? I was thinking racking off the apples to secondary would be good to let it clear up before bottling

 

[jtkratzer]

JTK, did you end up moving to secondary then?

I ended up just adding the cider to primary, as you had done, as i only had a 5 gallon for secondary. Glad I did not too since adding the cider brings it up to 5.5 and another round of Krausen has sprung up higher.

Is secondary still needed? Just wait a week for this cider addition to ferment out and then transfer? I was thinking racking off the apples to secondary would be good to let it clear up before bottling

I did not rack it at all yet. I just warmed the cider up a bit and dumped the honey into the warm cider on a pot on the stove to dissolve the honey, but I've since read you didn't need to do that. Oh well, I'm hoping it would mix well and give a better flavor throughout the beer.

I haven't decided on whether or not I'm going to rack it or not. I can't see how leaving the apples in the beer will hurt it. I would like to rack it to something so there is less sediment to avoid when racking to the bottling bucket, but I don't have anything other than plastic buckets that will hold the 5.5+ gallons.

I guess I could use 1 gallon jugs and see how many fit in the three smaller carboys I have. If I have one that will hold 5.5 gallons, I'll probably rack it since the majority of the krausen and even fermentation seems to be really slowing down now.

I got more krausen and vigorous fermentation after the cider and honey were added than at any point before that. Did your beer do that?

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I'm going to rack it to carboy or bucket because going from the mess that's in there now to a bottling bucket with sediment on the bottom and devoured apple chucks/foam on the top, I can't see how I'd possibly get anything other than chunky beer if I don't rack it.

 

[jtkratzer]

Today is 2 weeks since I brewed, but only 5 since I added the honey and cider. Maybe I'll rack to a carboy, hopefully it fits in one of the three I have open, on Wednesday. That's a week from the addition of they honey and cider. I'll look for stable gravity readings around the 18th-20th. That'd be the 5 weeks the recipe calls for, just not exactly 1 in the primary, 4 in the secondary. Seems in my case, the fermentation should be almost completely finished before I rack it and it just be a mini clearing tank for about 2.5 weeks to settle out.

 

[brewstev]

I am thinkking the same thing. My "5-gallon" secondary definilty has some head space where could probably fit the beer and I am positive that this beer is going to need to do some clearing/settling out. Time to start thinking about the next brew

 

[jtkratzer]

I am thinkking the same thing. My "5-gallon" secondary definilty has some head space where could probably fit the beer and I am positive that this beer is going to need to do some clearing/settling out. Time to start thinking about the next brew

I just poured 5.25 gallons into my 5 gallon carboy. Not going to hold the 5.5+ gallons this recipe made, but I'm wondering how much beer I'll lose from the apples and sediment at the bottom when I do rack it.

I think I'm going to do it. I'm going to grab a couple wine bottles from my parents' stash and what doesn't fit in the carboy, I'll put in sanitized wine bottles with airlocks. I'm going to rack it on Wednesday.

 

[jtkratzer]

I moved to another carboy to let some more of the "stuff" settle out. It would have been a huge PITA to go straight to the bottling bucket with this batch. It almost all fit in a 5 gallon carboy. I have a wine bottle around 80% full or so. I have my sample from the hydrometer test in the fridge. Can't wait to taste it. Gravity was down to 1.008. Color of the beer looks good.

So, you see the other carboy there...any suggestions on getting the apple chunks out?

 

[jtkratzer]

The sample makes me think this is going to be phenomenal. There is a bit of sweetness in the beginning followed immediately by the ginger/spice and then mellows into the apple/cider. Letting this sit for another 2-3 weeks and then bottling should give me a really nice beer.

 

[Faralon]

Nice, if you're down at 1.008 I'll have to give mine a look tonight! Might be time to keg and age!

 

[jtkratzer]

Took a peek at the carboy this morning while checking on a wheat beer and there is a significant sediment layer on the bottom. I'm glad I'm letting this sit for some time to clear. My 5 week mark to bottle from the boil is 12/20. I'm wondering if I need to wait that long since there has been a significant settling already.

Since I'm starting to drink my first homebrew, I haven't tasted one that's been moved to a secondary or one that sat for more than 2 weeks in the primary since my first was a quick hefe.

I'm wondering if the carbonation will take longer than 3 weeks since I'm expecting a lot of the yeast will have settled since the fermentation is probably complete since it was down to 1.008 almost a week ago.

I found it interesting that when I filled the 6.5 gallon carboy with water to soak and loosen some of the dried krausen, it started showing signs of fermentation again, at least that's what it looked like - more bubbles rising to the surface and creating a new, but smaller krausen.

 

[slackerlack]

Any changes in your beer in the past few days kratzer?

 

[jtkratzer]

Any changes in your beer in the past few days kratzer?

Appearance looks the same. I'm going to give the bottles a soak in OxyClean Free and probably bottle tomorrow, a couple days earlier than the 5 week mark, but the SG was pretty low when I racked it and there is a nice sediment layer on the bottom of the carboy.

 

[jtkratzer]

Bottled today. FG was 1.008, so it was fermented out the last time I checked on it.

Sample tastes pretty good. The ginger is definitely coming through with the apple. I'm hoping the ginger flavor mellows a bit over the next few weeks while it's bottle conditioning.

Color is very similar to apple cider. This should be very delicious and I'm really looking forward to tasting it in a few weeks.

Anyone else drinking this yet and have a picture of what it looks like with a head on it?

 

[permo]

It is so awesome to see how this recipe has inspired so many folks to brew this very elaborate holiday I brew. I simply love beers like this and I am planning a new version of this for next xmas, and it is going to be roastier and bigger than the last version, which is super awesome. Let's brainstorm a little and see what we can come up with. Here is a start


14 pound two row
1/2 pound C80
1/2 pound C40
1# oats rolled
4 oz special B
4 oz victory
4 oz chocolate
1 oz magnum at 60
\2# honey at end of boil
1 nub fresh ginger rough chopped at 5 minutes
2 cinn sticks at 5
2 whole penang cloves at 5
OG before fruit = roughly 1.080
WLP500
5# chopped apples and 64oz apple cider to secondary


Also folks, I love the pics and the reports of how your beers turned out. This is a great recipe protocol for the holidays.

mmmmm........mmmmmm.......

 

[jtkratzer]

I used a scale to measure the ginger and I used a grater, like you would use to shred cheddar cheese, and came up with 1.5 ounces that way and the ginger flavor is probably the strongest flavor I tasted at bottling. I'm hoping it mellows a bit and the apple comes through more. It's interesting the learning experience you get going through the first time - like chopping the apples means more than just slicing them that they'll fit into the carboy with force because they're a pain to remove otherwise.

I haven't gone into the realm of partial- or mini-mash or full grain yet, so no idea what that grain bill will do.

 

[Faralon]

Agreed on the ginger, next time I would do LESS ginger. I used .8oz of powdered ginger for 5.5gal batch. The ginger HAS mellow'd alot from my initial sampling during fermentation.

OG: 1.083
FG: 1.016
ABV: 8.9%
Color: Totally looks like apple cider, but clearer.
Nose: Ginger and Apple with a malty background
Taste: pretty much equal to the nose.
Including the fermentables from 5lbs of apples and 1/2 gallon of apple cider... I claim this a 10% ABV beer easily, but it drinks ALOT easier than other 10% ABV commercial beers I've had.

Beer is currently carbonating, just racked into keg tonight. We'll see in 5days how she is.

 

[slackerlack]

I brewed this following kratzers recipe on Sunday. Within 12 hours my yeast was going at it. I am getting a bubble a second right now sitting at 72°. Trying to drop it down to 68°. I am not getting as much krausen as I had expected. I put a blow off hose on there just in case. Cant wait to move to secondary and add the honey and apple cider.

How do you calculate the ABV when adding all the other sugars in the secondary? I had an OG of 1.048.

 

[jtkratzer]

I brewed this following kratzers recipe on Sunday. Within 12 hours my yeast was going at it. I am getting a bubble a second right now sitting at 72°. Trying to drop it down to 68°. I am not getting as much krausen as I had expected. I put a blow off hose on there just in case. Cant wait to move to secondary and add the honey and apple cider.

How do you calculate the ABV when adding all the other sugars in the secondary? I had an OG of 1.048.

I didn't get much krausen at all during the initial fermentation, but it roared when I added the honey and cider. In the 6.5 gallon carboy, I didn't need to use a blow off hose, but I was watching and was prepared in the event I needed to switch it out.

It will be a couple more weeks until I'm drinking this, but I'll let you know how the ginger mellows (if it does). My wife said she thought it was good when we bottled it, but I think it will go over better if the ginger isn't as bold.

I don't know that you can calculate an OG when adding extra sugars part way through. I tried beer calculus, but the issue is the sugars in the apples. I don't remember if the sugars in cider were able to be calculated by the web-based program either.

I don't think I was able to even get an OG before the cider and honey as the turkey baster wouldn't reach the liquid.

 

[Faralon]

JTK, my wife said the same thing, sounds like our brew's are pretty close as far as initial assumptions.

Best thing you could do when trying to figure out the additional fermentables, minus the apples would be to:

1. Take a gravity reading before adding the honey/ginger
2. Rack the beer onto the honey/ginger
3. Take another gravity reading.
4. Take the initial and second gravity reading and use that additional ABV and add it your final gravity reading.

Example:

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.1% ABV

Gravity before racking onto honey/cider: 1.030
Gravity after racking onto honey/cider: 1.045 (just a guess)
Thats 2% abv at 65'f

Final ABV w/o factoring in fermentables from the apples:

7.1% abv

Guessing the apples add atleast another 1%.

edited to use your OG Slack

 

[Faralon]

Carbonated and ready to go. Been drinking since the 23'rd, and it won't last past xMas for sure. Good sign!!! Cold and Carbonated its GREAT!!

 

[slackerlack]

Racked to secondary on cider and honey yesterday. I had to refrain from pouring the honey in my mouth and focus on pouring it in the carboy.

Still trying to figure out how to get these apples out of the carboy.

 

[slackerlack]

Its been 12 hours since I transfered this to the secondary with the cider and honey. I have absolutely no activity going on from the yeast. Should I pitch another packet?

 

[brewstev]

getting the apples out of the carboy was definiley tough. After racking to secondary, the apples were quite a mess. It took alot of shaking and washing to get everything out of there...but the beer tastes delicious

 

[slackerlack]

The yeast finally started working again.

 

[jtkratzer]

Racked to secondary on cider and honey yesterday. I had to refrain from pouring the honey in my mouth and focus on pouring it in the carboy.

Still trying to figure out how to get these apples out of the carboy.

I used water and a plastic fork to dig/pour them out.

 

[slackerlack]

Did any of you transfer your beer to a secondary with the honey and cider? I did, and I am getting activity in my airlock, but no krausen. Is it normal to not have any krausen some times? This is the first one I have seen with none.

Also, how long did everyone let theirs sit in the secondary?

 

[jtkratzer]

Did any of you transfer your beer to a secondary with the honey and cider? I did, and I am getting activity in my airlock, but no krausen. Is it normal to not have any krausen some times? This is the first one I have seen with none.

Also, how long did everyone let theirs sit in the secondary?

I warmed the cider up a bit to dissolve the honey and get the temp closer to what the beer was at rather than just dump it out of the fridge. The fermentation roared, almost immediately and I got more krausen from the cider and honey than I did with the initial brew.

Cider and honey went in 9 days after pitching the yeast and I racked to another carboy after 16 days from pitching the yeast to let it settle. 16 days later I bottled. Tomorrow is two weeks in the bottles. I think I'm going to try one tonight as it's been warmer than 70 where my bottles sit since the woodstove is going 24/7 these days.

 

[jtkratzer]

I put 2 of these in the fridge to see how they're coming along. It was 14 days from bottling, but it's been warmer than 70 where the bottles sit. All I can say is AMAZING! The ginger is still definitely there and finishes strong, but it has settled out a bit. The first initial taste is the apple and sweet from the honey and finishes with the ginger. I shared two bottles of this with the guests of our New Year's party and it went over very well.

 

[permo]

I put 2 of these in the fridge to see how they're coming along. It was 14 days from bottling, but it's been warmer than 70 where the bottles sit. All I can say is AMAZING! The ginger is still definitely there and finishes strong, but it has settled out a bit. The first initial taste is the apple and sweet from the honey and finishes with the ginger. I shared two bottles of this with the guests of our New Year's party and it went over very well.

After aging how did the batch turn out?

I have a single two year old bottle that I have been saving. I bet its going to be great.

 

[HBrew71]

Reviving a three year old thread.

Thinking of brewing it this weekend. One quick question: do you rack all the spices into your primary from the kettle or are you supposed to leave them behind? Does it matter? I am just wondering if it will be in the primary too long if I did rack it.

Thanks.

 

[FlyFisherman]

wow this one has gotten my attention also !!! I've been browsing forums in search of an interesting holiday brew and believe I've found one!!!