The Mad Elf Holiday Ale

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yes, quite nice.

If you are round Norristown, Capones occasionally features some cellared examples from previous releases of the elf (and some other exceptional brews).
 
I think I'll go there for a tour some day (I think they have them every saturday) and see what info I can squeeze out of them about recipe's. I haven't had a Troegs I didn't like, but I haven't tried them all yet. emphasis on YET!
 
I'm a huge non-fan of cherry anything. To me, this was back in december, it tasted like it was cut with cherry cough syrup. My dad thought the same. We saved 2 out of a 6er to try this christmas, hoping that cherry note diminishes by then. There is an excellent beer store down in Frederick, MD at the intersection of Rt 15/7th Street that carries the big (they look bigger than a 750ml... no idea the real size) bottles. And yeah, I was surprised to learn they were 11%, they were very smooth.
 
Johnmike24 said:
would love to find a clone recipe for their nugget nector! Great hoppy beer!
Click to expand...

Troeg's website is wonderful in that it gives you everything you need to craft a clone...

Alcohol by Volume: 7.5%
Hop Bitterness (IBU's): 93ish
Color (SRM): Straw/ Orange
Malts: Pilsner, Vienna, Munich
Hops: Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade
HopBack Hops: Whole leaf Nugget
Dry Hops: Nugget, Warrior
Yeast: Ale

So there you go... I'd use BeerTools and plug in my malts until I get a close color match and ABV. I'd plug in the hops as well until I get my IBU. For this, I'd use something like S-04 because I love it... Troeg's is very homebrew friendly... I wouldn't even hesitate to email them questions... I've talked homebrewing with many of the employees.

MisterGreen said:
The Elf is one of my favorite beers. I would love to find a good recipe for it.
Click to expand...

EDIT: Here you go!

Troeg's Mad Elf Clone:

15 lbs. Belgian Pils
1 lbs. German Light Munich
.125 lbs. Belgian Chocolate Malt
3 lbs. Honey

.5 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 60 min.
.25 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 30 min.
.5 oz. Hallertau (Whole, 4.50 %AA) boiled 10 min.

White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale

Add 5 lbs of Bing cherries to 2ndary.

To convert to extract, I'd convert the 16 lbs of pils/munich to the equivalent of light dme, and steep the chocolate.
 
DubbelDach said:
Troeg's website is wonderful in that it gives you everything you need to craft a clone...

Alcohol by Volume: 7.5%
Hop Bitterness (IBU's): 93ish
Color (SRM): Straw/ Orange
Malts: Pilsner, Vienna, Munich
Hops: Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade
HopBack Hops: Whole leaf Nugget
Dry Hops: Nugget, Warrior
Yeast: Ale

So there you go... I'd use BeerTools and plug in my malts until I get a close color match and ABV. I'd plug in the hops as well until I get my IBU. For this, I'd use something like S-04 because I love it... Troeg's is very homebrew friendly... I wouldn't even hesitate to email them questions... I've talked homebrewing with many of the employees.



EDIT: Here you go!

Troeg's Mad Elf Clone:

15 lbs. Belgian Pils
1 lbs. German Light Munich
.125 lbs. Belgian Chocolate Malt
3 lbs. Honey

.5 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 60 min.
.25 oz. Saaz (Pellets, 5.00 %AA) boiled 30 min.
.5 oz. Hallertau (Whole, 4.50 %AA) boiled 10 min.

White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale

Add 5 lbs of Bing cherries to 2ndary.

To convert to extract, I'd convert the 16 lbs of pils/munich to the equivalent of light dme, and steep the chocolate.
Click to expand...


Nice! Have you made this? How did it turn out?
 
I did the Mad Elf and it was very good... Not exactly close to the original, but good in it's own right.

I sketched out the NN recipe in BeerTools once, but didn't save because I'll never have all of those hops at the same time, lol....
 
I spoke to Chris from Troegs at a tasting last year for mad elf. I thought he said there is clove in the brew also. I am going to try this and add a bit of clove to it also.

Edit: It was Clover Honey not clove. but i think i will add some clove to it
 
Ugh. The mad elf is baaaad. Dont know how you guys like it.

A few years ago a bar in PA gave us the "Mad Bull" - Mad Elf mixed with Red Bull.

Made the Mad Elf quite a bit better, but I still wouldn't drink it again.
 
DubbelDach said:
Troeg's website is wonderful in that it gives you everything you need to craft a clone...

Alcohol by Volume: 7.5%
Hop Bitterness (IBU's): 93ish
Color (SRM): Straw/ Orange
Malts: Pilsner, Vienna, Munich
Hops: Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade
HopBack Hops: Whole leaf Nugget
Dry Hops: Nugget, Warrior
Yeast: Ale
Click to expand...

were did you get this info from? the website has totally different info for the Tröegs Mad Elf Ale

Alcohol by Volume: 11%
Hop Bitterness (IBU's): 15
Color: Ruby Red
Availability: Seasonal
Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Chocolate
Hops: Saaz, Hallertau
Yeast: Belgian Spicy Yeast
JuJu: Pennsylvania Honey
JuJu : Sweet and Sour Cherries
 
I think Dubbel was posting the info for Nugget Nectar which had also previously been requested in the thread just based on the description
 
Just got my hands on a six of this bad boy.
2 down and I'm crooked. Definitely packs a punch, thought very subtle. Sort of like a jab that feels like an uppercut.
I want to brew this but is the 5lbs of cherries for a 5gal batch or 10 ? seems like alot of cherries for a 5 gal batch and can a cherry syrup be substituted for this amount ?
Anyone brew this beast ?
 
I have brewed a clone variant of this for 2 years now.
It is 5lbs cherries for a 5gal batch (i have used 4 lbs before, no huge difference)
i use 2.5 lbs dark sweet cherries (frozen bags are fine just thaw out first obviously) and 2.5 lbs tart Michigan cherries. this blend is key.
add the cherries to secondary. i let mine sit for about 3 weeks because the sugars wake the yeast back up and it re-ferments a bit. Mine ends up @ 11% just like mad elf. Its a fun beer to brew but due to the high gravity give it some time.
 
I brewed a Mad Elf clone in July - I'll post the recipe I used later tonight. As of now it has little similar characteristics to the original. Needs to cellar. When i drank the first one several weeks ago, I wrote this off for the year and decided to cellar it for Xmas 2011, no joke. It was in your face Malty and the Cherry was up front huge. I used like 5lbs fresh cherries from a local market and a Big can of Oregon cherry in the secondary.

Look at my recipe I post and tweak it the way you see fit. My #1 advice is to eliminate the chocolate grains completely. I used .25oz and the color is off it's too dark, woulda been perfect without the chocolate getting steeped..
 
1.5 lb light Munich, .35 lb Crystal 60L, .15 Lb Chocolate – steep at 155
6 lb Briess Gold unhopped Light LME
.85 lb light DME
Hallertau pellots – 60 mins
Czeck Saaz pellots – 8 mins
Cinnemon sticks – 2 sticks last 5 min of boil
Clove- 1 tsp last 3
2lbs clover honey – at flameout
4 lbs fresh cherries, cut in half – flameout for 15 mins
WLP 500 Trappist Ale for high gravity ale’s- starter with the DME

Secondary - 49 oz Oregon cherry puree, 2 more cinnamon sticks, 2 Tbsp bourbon Vanilla extract from fresh market

Judging by the color of the boil I may exclude the chocolate grains, munich and crystal only.
OG=1.066 ABV 6.5
 
funny thing is, after cellaring for over a year and a half this is the best brew i've made. Actually damn close to Mad Elf in flavor profile, was terrible at first, now it's a delicacy. Still have a case in the cellar...hopingi t continues to geat better as the yrs pass. The in your face cherry flavor has mellowed out to a dull plum like flavor thats just right.
 
Mad Elf is exponentially better with some age on it, even a year. The cherry takes a back seat to the warming alcohol. Mmmm.
Hopefully I'll get to their brewery for my birthday/Nugget Nectar release. They are one of the few reasons it's good to be in PA.
 
Wheatmeister said:
funny thing is, after cellaring for over a year and a half this is the best brew i've made. Actually damn close to Mad Elf in flavor profile, was terrible at first, now it's a delicacy. Still have a case in the cellar...hopingi t continues to geat better as the yrs pass. The in your face cherry flavor has mellowed out to a dull plum like flavor thats just right.
Click to expand...

which recipe did you use? I may just have to brew a batch soon for next christmas...
 
ardonthorn5 said:
Drink enough Mad Elf you become a "Bad Elf". It's one of my favorite seasonals.
Click to expand...
We say that you're "dancing with the Mad Elf". A friend of mine did a vertical going back to 2003, he said the older it is the better it gets.
 
JonnySax said:
which recipe did you use? I may just have to brew a batch soon for next christmas...
Click to expand...

1.5 lb light Munich, .35 lb Crystal 60L, .15 Lb Chocolate – steep at 155
6 lb Briess Gold unhopped Light LME
.85 lb light DME
Hallertau pellots – 60 mins
Czeck Saaz pellots – 8 mins
Cinnemon sticks – 2 sticks last 5 min of boil
Clove- 1 tsp last 3
2lbs clover honey – at flameout
4 lbs fresh cherries, cut in half – flameout for 15 mins
WLP 500 Trappist Ale for high gravity ale’s- starter with the DME

Secondary - 49 oz Oregon cherry puree, 2 more cinnamon sticks, 2 Tbsp bourbon Vanilla extract from fresh market

Judging by the color of the boil I may exclude the chocolate grains, munich and crystal only.
OG=1.066 ABV 6.5
 
Wheatmeister said:
1.5 lb light Munich, .35 lb Crystal 60L, .15 Lb Chocolate – steep at 155
6 lb Briess Gold unhopped Light LME
.85 lb light DME
Hallertau pellots – 60 mins
Czeck Saaz pellots – 8 mins
Cinnemon sticks – 2 sticks last 5 min of boil
Clove- 1 tsp last 3
2lbs clover honey – at flameout
4 lbs fresh cherries, cut in half – flameout for 15 mins
WLP 500 Trappist Ale for high gravity ale’s- starter with the DME

Secondary - 49 oz Oregon cherry puree, 2 more cinnamon sticks, 2 Tbsp bourbon Vanilla extract from fresh market

Judging by the color of the boil I may exclude the chocolate grains, munich and crystal only.
OG=1.066 ABV 6.5
Click to expand...

Perfect! thanks! So, did you exclude the chocolate grains?
 
JonnySax said:
Perfect! thanks! So, did you exclude the chocolate grains?
Click to expand...

No. I was just thinking out loud shortly after ferment because it was so dark, but it aged out perfectly, looks perfect. Looking at it now, I'd do the recipe the same, maybe shoot for a higher abv if anything.

Only major difference is, as the other poster pointed out, is the abv.
 
Thanks for resurecting this thread. I am brewing this in the spring for sure. Love me some Elf!
 
Wheatmeister said:
No. I was just thinking out loud shortly after ferment because it was so dark, but it aged out perfectly, looks perfect. Looking at it now, I'd do the recipe the same, maybe shoot for a higher abv if anything.

Only major difference is, as the other poster pointed out, is the abv.
Click to expand...

Great! Thanks a TON I'm adding it into Beersmith right now!

ya the ABV is a little low... there should be enough fermentable sugars in there... maybe a different yeast?
 
Probly 1oz Hallerto and 1oz to .5oz Czeck Saaz but I don't have it in front of me now, relatively minimal..
 

Similar threads

asg816
Any Experience Aging Holiday Ales?
Replies
6
Views
655
kevin58
kevin58
G
MIght have gone over my head for my first try... :D
Replies
11
Views
1K
Gitruih
G
S
New to brewing beer with adjuncts Christmas ale maybe off flavor? Save or dump?
Replies
5
Views
644
sampling6391
S
J
Supposedly 6% has no kick
Replies
6
Views
756
Grizwold1
Grizwold1
A
Wouldn't Know Him From Adam(bier)
Replies
0
Views
439
AlexKay
A
CornyKegs 300

Latest posts

Back
Top