Planning my Winter Warmer, feedback?

[crisis]

I'm planning on brewing my Winter Warner this weekend, and would like some advice.

Here's what I'm thinking:

I'm giving it 6 months, so I should have time for a big beer with spice to develop nicely.

I'd like to age it with oak chips.

I'll probably be using Amber Malt Extract, and steeped grains that haven't been decided.

I'll be adding honey, and as i want a nice high OG, I was thinking 3+ lbs. Is that overboard?

Spices will likely be something along the lines of Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Allspice etc perhaps, haven't decided yet.

What's a good yeast that can work at a high OG, but give a flavor that would be great for a winter warmer? Anything more exciting then something like a California Ale yeast?

Any other tips/comments? Thanks!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Allspice is ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...

 

[Beerrific]

Allspice is ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc...

i don't think so.

Wikipedia
Picture

 

[crisis]

It's a bit different. That being said, the two things I'm mainly interested in feedback on are the amounts of honey, and a good yeast that can handle high ABV but also leave a suitable taste (i.e. no belgians etc)

I was thinking of maybe a scottish ale yeast actually.. Any comments?

 

[Proboskus]

It's kind of hard to tell you if 3#s of honey is too much without seeing the rest of the grainbill. If you think that cal ale yeast is too neutral you might try the dry english yeast or maybe even scottish ale. I also hear that German ale is a good attenuator. But I've heard good and bad about dry english. Lastly, why not use an english malt like marris otter for your base? That could add a little something different to your beer. And whatever spices you use, go easy on them. You can always add more. Last but not least don't forget to mash low if you're going for a really high OG.

 

[FlyingHorse]

Sounds like he's doing an extract brew, so this is probably irrelevant anyway, but:

Last but not least don't forget to mash low if you're going for a really high OG.

Depends what you want your FG to be. Extract (and thus OG) will be fairly constant with mash temps anywhere from 149-154F (all other conditions being equal). Fermentability of this extract (lowest FG / highest ABV) will be highest at the low end of that range.

Honey is highly fermentable, and will go along way lowering the FG and drying the beer out. With 3 lbs honey (no matter the rest of the grain bill) I'd mash at 152-154, to keep some non-fermentables around. Otherwise you could end up with a pretty hot thin beer.

 

[Proboskus]

Good call bike n brew. For some reason I guess I forgot that the honey was going to dry out the beer.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

If you are going for a "really high" OG, there will be PLENTY of sweetness regardless of what you do. It will be virtually impossible to "dry out". Go ahead, try and find me a beer with an OG above 1.090 that finishes below 1.015. Bottom line, while three pounds of honey is a lot, you are still probably better off mashing at a lower temp in order to get a more fermentable wort. Don't worry, there will still be PLENTY of residual sweetness.

But this is an extract batch, so I will give other advice:

Pitch that beer on a yeast cake and aerate the hell out of it!!!!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I think you're off to a solid start, and there's some good advice here.

My advice is to use light extract and add some specialty grains to give it some character and color. Crystal grains are quite simple to steep, come in a variety of colors, and help with head retention and mouth feel.

Oh, and allspice is from a single source, not a mixture. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allspice.

 

[crisis]

I am doing extract. I was figuring that the gravity would be high enough that the alcohol level would eventually kill the yeast before all sugars were consumed.

here's what I am working with so far:

Ingredients
Quantity Grain Use
7.00 lb Amber malt extract extract
5.00 lb Honey extract
0.25 lb Roasted barley steeped
0.50 lb German vienna steeped
0.50 lb German Melanoidin steeped
2.00 lb German CaraMunich II steeped

Quantity Hop Form Time
1.00 oz Northern Brewer whole 30 minutes
1.00 oz Sterling whole 2 minutes
1.00 oz Northern Brewer whole 15 minutes
0.50 oz Chinook whole 45 minutes
0.50 oz Chinook whole 60 minutes

I'm thinking a Scottish ale yeast... I put 5lbs of honey in that recipe and it put me at:

Recipe Gravity 1.093 OG Estimated FG 1.023 FG
Recipe Bitterness 59 IBU Alcohol by Volume 9.4%
Recipe Color 19° SRM Alcohol by Weight 7.3%

What do you think?

 

[crisis]

One other thing, since I am going to age it in the secondary with oak chips for 6 months, should I then add some more yeast and sugar/DME before bottling? From the recent findings I've had, it seems the yeast will be long dead by then? Thanks!

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Have you had a Bragot before? I haven't. But if you're making something that's almost 50% honey, it's more of a bragot than a beer. There's nothing wrong with that, of course... I'd just suggest you make sure that you like it before you brew it and let it sit for 6 months.

As for the yeast, you can probably get a very good fermentation down to 1.02 or a little lower, but I would strongly urge you to pitch it on a yeast cake.. or at least use a LARGE starter. Or pitch 3 vials of yeast. You can agree or disagree with me regarding adding 5 pounds of honey, but I am very adamant on the point of using a large starter or a yeast cake.

 

[crisis]

Good point re: the amount of honey, I was mainly thinking about getting the gravity up but then forgot about what it might do to the flavor of the beer...

I'll have to do some research on the yeast cake,s never done it that way. Normally I make a starter with a pint of water and some DME the night before.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Simple as can be. Make a nice beer with whatever yeast you want to use for your Winter Warmer. Shoot for an OG of around 1.040 to 1.060. Brew it, let it ferment in primary just like normal. Then, when it's done fermenting, wait until your next brew day before racking it off to secondary.

Rack off the beer either before you start your next batch, or while it's cooling, or while it's boiling, or whatever's comfortable for you. As soon as you are done racking, put the cover/lid/carboy cap/stopper back in your primary fermenter and let it sit there until your winter warmer is cooled down and ready to be added to the fermenter. Pour it in. Affix an airlock. Done.


Seriously, it's as simple as can be.