Winter Seasonal Beer Great Lakes Christmas Ale Clone

[Maniacmcgoo]

Attempted a version of this found on page 32 with a few adjustments because the supply place was out of some stuff.

will edit this when i get home to provide a more detailed recipe. OG of 1.082 smelled wonderful as i pitched the yeast haven't even looked at it since the air lock clogged and popped the top off saturday afternoon. Added an blowout tube so it won't happen again but I'm pretty excited to see how this looks in 2 1/2 - 3 weeks.

Here's my recipe.

Fermentables:
7lbs Gold DME
.66 lbs Wheat DME
1lb Crystal Malt 40 (Steep)
.08lb Roasted Barley (Steep)
1.25lb Honey (1lb Orange Blossom honey .25 lb Clover) (Flameout)

Hops:
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.3%) (60 mins)
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.3%) (30 mins)
1.0 oz Cascade (5.0%) (5 mins)

Other:
2 Cinnamon sticks (boil in bag 60 mins)
1.0 oz ginger (boil in bag 60 mins)
1 tbs nutmeg (15 mins)
1 Cinnamon stick broken up and dropped in (45 mins)
.5 oz ginger chopped and dropped in (45 mins)

Yeast:
2 vials London Ale Yeast WLP013

Notes:
Steeped 20 min at 155-160 F
Boil 60 mins
Aerate extremely well
1.082 OG tasted some Ginger and Hops flavors at taking the Hydrometer reading with a faint Cinnamon scent. Hope the ginger mellows a bit and the cinnamon comes on a bit stronger.
Pitched yeast at 68 F

 

[Maniacmcgoo]

Took an SG reading today and the OG of 1.082 and an SG today of 1.010. Great color, hard to tell the flavors individually so I'm guessing it's all balanced out pretty well.

 

[fimpster]

I was looking for a winter warmer that I could turn around pretty quick seeing as how it is already mid October. This looks like just the ticket, as you don't have to spice it in secondary. I've never had the GL version, but I'm sure I can turn this into a great beer. Hoping to have it ready by mid December.

 

[bg1414]

has anyone used ground ginger and know the amount to use, my scale is broken

 

[fimpster]

Well, I brewed this up yesterday, but forgot to add the honey at FO. Oops, hydro sample still tasted good though.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

It is not too late to add it. You can add just enough water to the honey so it will "run" and add it to the fermenter. Some may suggest pasteurizing it first, but Honey doesn't spoil, and you should be actively fermenting right now, so I wouldn't stress it. However, if you do want to play it safe, I would place it in the oven at like 175 for 5 minutes; the oven is a much more even/slow heating process than the stove and you'll retain more aromatics this way.

Well, I brewed this up yesterday, but forgot to add the honey at FO. Oops, hydro sample still tasted good though.

 

[fimpster]

Yeah thanks, I was thinking of adding it once the krausen starts falling. Right now its already blown through the airlock, so I had to run out and pick up a blowoff hose. When I replace the airlock in a few days I'll probably add the honey with a pint of boiled water

 

[fimpster]

Last night I added the honey that I missed on brew day. After some reading about using honey in various recipes, it sounds like adding to the fermenter rather than at FO may actually be preferred for preserving some of the delicate flavors and aromas. Anyone else use this method of adding honey to the fermenter?

 

[MMJfan]

Last night I added the honey that I missed on brew day. After some reading about using honey in various recipes, it sounds like adding to the fermenter rather than at FO may actually be preferred for preserving some of the delicate flavors and aromas. Anyone else use this method of adding honey to the fermenter?

I've never tried it. I will be interested to see how your's turns out though.

I made a hopslam clone that calls for adding honey at the flameout and I too forgot to add it. I just did without it in that batch and it was still a very good beer.

 

[MMJfan]

has anyone used ground ginger and know the amount to use, my scale is broken

Personally, I'd be afraid of using ground ginger because it probably wouldn't take a whole lot to get a strong ginger taste. I've even scaled back on the cubed ginger that the original recipe recipe calls for because I feel that is too strong...

 

[fimpster]

I've never tried it. I will be interested to see how your's turns out though.

I'll report back when it's ready and let everyone know how it went.

As far as ground ginger, I'm with MMJfan. After this brew I think it would be too difficult to know how much to use and you could easily overdo it.

Reading through this thread I've read about folks cutting back on the ginger, but I wanted to try with one ounce before making changes. I knew that grating a full ounce of ginger would probably be way too strong, so I only cut it into 4 chunks. The hydro sample definitely had the ginger taste and aroma, but it wasn't too strong. Tasted awesome, actually (even without the honey at that time). I'm glad I didn't use more ginger, and i'm glad I didn't grate it. Time will tell if it needs to be tweaked with the next batch.

 

[MMJfan]

I'll report back when it's ready and let everyone know how it went.

As far as ground ginger, I'm with MMJfan. After this brew I think it would be too difficult to know how much to use and you could easily overdo it.

Reading through this thread I've read about folks cutting back on the ginger, but I wanted to try with one ounce before making changes. I knew that grating a full ounce of ginger would probably be way too strong, so I only cut it into 4 chunks. The hydro sample definitely had the ginger taste and aroma, but it wasn't too strong. Tasted awesome, actually (even without the honey at that time). I'm glad I didn't use more ginger, and i'm glad I didn't grate it. Time will tell if it needs to be tweaked with the next batch.

It all comes down to personal preference in the end. There's really no right or wrong answer here which is why I love homebrewing. Personally, I prefer a hint of ginger which is why I have chosen to scale back the ginger.

One thing is for certain though... I can't wait to brew this again because this brew is BY FAR the best smelling beer during the boil that I brew! I'm planning on brewing up my first batch of the season next weekend!

Btw, for any Christmas Ale fans, it was released yesterday on tap and will be available in stores Monday!

 

[fimpster]

It all comes down to personal preference in the end. There's really no right or wrong answer here which is why I love homebrewing. Personally, I prefer a hint of ginger which is why I have chosen to scale back the ginger.

@MMJfan So how much ginger do you use in the recipe now? And how do you prepare it, and when do you add it?

 

[MMJfan]

@MMJfan So how much ginger do you use in the recipe now? And how do you prepare it, and when do you add it?

I scaled back the ginger by .25 oz. from the original recipe. I use .75 oz. of ginger peeled and cubed. And I add it at 60 minutes and let it ride for the entire boil. I emailed Great Lakes and they pointed me towards adding both the ginger and cinnamon at the start of the boil. I just put the ginger and cinnamon in a hop sack prior to adding it to the boil.

 

[tnorman93638]

Thinking about brewing this but not sure what it taste like. I live in central California. What can I find out here that would be similar to taste?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Thinking about brewing this but not sure what it taste like. I live in central California. What can I find out here that would be similar to taste?

Last year, I sampled 14 different Christmas Ales, and Great Lakes' version was hands down, the ABSOLUTE best! This recipe seems to be the closest of what I've seen. If you like, I'll send you a bottle. I should have a case soon. Otherwise, brew this. I'm sure it'll be good!


"Sometimes Im right half of the time..."

 

[tnorman93638]

TrustyOlJohnson, Thanks for the offer to send me one. I just bought an Anchor Steam Christmas ale today that I'll give a try once it's chilled to see if I like this style. If I do like it then I'll take your advise that this is the Absolute best of them and brew it up.

 

[MMJfan]

TrustyOlJohnson, Thanks for the offer to send me one. I just bought an Anchor Steam Christmas ale today that I'll give a try once it's chilled to see if I like this style. If I do like it then I'll take your advise that this is the Absolute best of them and brew it up.

I've had Anchor Steam's Christmas Ale and trust me, Great Lakes blows it out of the water...

 

[tnorman93638]

MMJfan Thanks that's good to hear. I didn't get a chance to try one today. But, I just bought it to see what a Christmas Ale taste like. Will probably brew this version this weekend

 

[sejasba]

I brewed this 2 weekends ago and just kegged it yesterday. Took my first partially carbonated taste just now, and wanted to report back on it.

My big question when I first was getting ready to brew it was on the amount of cinnamon. I bought a bag of cinnamon sticks from my LHBS from Brewers Best, and also went ahead and got the same Brewers Best 1 oz bag of ginger root. I wasn't sure how much of a difference using that vs. fresh ginger root from the grocery store would be, but got it anyway.

I got myself a 6 pack of GL Xmas Ale on Friday and had 2 since then so that I could be ready to compare them. After my first small taste of this brew, it seems quite close. It might not be as dark as the original, but i'm just going off memory. Haven't done a side by side yet.

There is definitely a ginger taste, more so than the cinnamon I think, but it seems right to me. Smelling it is very reminiscent of the original. To be clear, I used 3 sticks of cinnamon, and the entire bag of 1 oz ginger root, and they remained in there for the full 60 minute boil. I removed them after going to primary. Didn't do any secondary. I wouldn't want any more cinnamon or ginger to this beer, but that's me. Any more and I think it would be overpowering. If I brewed this again, I would stick with the amounts I used.

 

[fimpster]

Thanks for the report. Mines getting bottled whenever I find the time this week!

 

[tnorman93638]

I just Brewed this today. Everything went great but was a little off on my OG. I got 1.070 instead of 1.075 but my boil off rate was a little lower than expected. Put almost 6 gal. in the fermentor instead of the 5.5 gal I should have had left. Oh well I guess I can deal with a few extra oz. Sample was a little strong and I'm not sure if it was the ginger or the hops. It should mellow over the next few weeks after fermentation and conditioning. The smell was great as I added both the cinnamon and ginger for the full 60 minutes. I'll report back in a few weeks.

 

[mcartt11]

I brewed some Christmas Ale from one of the recipes here a couple weeks ago and will bottling it tomorrow. The ginger and cinnamon flavor are there based on what I have tasted so far. It is the balance of the 2 along with the overall flavors from the honey and the rest of the grain bill that makes this one of my favorite beers.

Interestingly, I picked up some 2014 Christmas Ale over the weekend. In my opinion, this year's version has a stronger ginger flavor than in past years and seems to have lost some of the balance. I could taste almost no cinnamon at all this year. I don't have any 2013 to compare it to, my comparison is just based on memory. My buddy however said the same thing. We both commented to each other that we thought they had changed the recipe and that we liked previous years a bit better. Still a really good beer.

 

[atarihero]

I was at the brewery a year or so ago and the head brewer and I talked about this beer specifically. I don't remember him mentioning any ginger in it. I do remember something to the tune of 600 lbs of cinnamon and 400 lbs of honey for an 80 bbl batch.

There is no way they're using 600 lbs of cinnamon. That doesn't make sense. You don't do more cinnamon than honey by weight. The recipes we're talking about have like 1 ounce of cinnamon for 24 ounces of honey.

 

[sejasba]

I brewed some Christmas Ale from one of the recipes here a couple weeks ago and will bottling it tomorrow. The ginger and cinnamon flavor are there based on what I have tasted so far. It is the balance of the 2 along with the overall flavors from the honey and the rest of the grain bill that makes this one of my favorite beers.

Interestingly, I picked up some 2014 Christmas Ale over the weekend. In my opinion, this year's version has a stronger ginger flavor than in past years and seems to have lost some of the balance. I could taste almost no cinnamon at all this year. I don't have any 2013 to compare it to, my comparison is just based on memory. My buddy however said the same thing. We both commented to each other that we thought they had changed the recipe and that we liked previous years a bit better. Still a really good beer.

I have to agree with you on your observations. I don't recall if I had much last year, but the couple I had so far this year definitely seemed more heavy on the ginger than I thought they used to be.

 

[m_sell31]

For those who do not have access to Wyeast, what is the preferred White Labs Yeast? IS the WL London Ale yeast the exact same thing? Or do most just go with a dry yeast?

 

[fimpster]

I used Wlp013. Should be the same.

 

[MMJfan]

For those who do not have access to Wyeast, what is the preferred White Labs Yeast? IS the WL London Ale yeast the exact same thing? Or do most just go with a dry yeast?

Yes, it's WLP013 London Ale Yeast.

Here is a good reference for Wyeast and White Labs substitutions:

http://brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44592

 

[sejasba]

Yes, it's WLP013 London Ale Yeast.

Here is a good reference for Wyeast and White Labs substitutions:

http://brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=44592

I used this as well for my batch that I just kegged over the weekend. Turned out fine.

 

[tnorman93638]

I used the WLP013 and it is going crazy. I'm glad I put a blow off tube on it. My bucket top was bulging even with the tube.