Thundercookie Gingerbread Stout

[dreaded_rust]

Cracked my first one. Very tasty, smells like chocolate with a light taste of the spice potion. I'm really pleased how this one turned out. It's actually better when it's not ice cold, and it wasn't over carbonated. My brew yet!

Looks delicious
How long since you bottled?

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

I bottled 2.5 weeks ago...each one I've had tastes better. Cracked one today and it's the best by far

 

[dreaded_rust]

Cool.
My son and I bottled ours today. We're having a bunch of family here for Christmas and we want it drinkable by then

 

[CBecksOSU1]

I couldn't wait. Took my first gravity reading 9 days into fermentation. The beer was more brown than black but it was delicious! Taking my next gravity reading Sunday.

 

[Requiemm]

Just ordered my kit. Can't wait to start this one!

 

[CBecksOSU1]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1446260193.840296.jpg the fruits of my labor!

 

[CBecksOSU1]

I bottled 2.5 weeks ago...each one I've had tastes better. Cracked one today and it's the best by far

Did you taste during bottling? The spice potion was very overwhelming. Hope it mellows with age. It was still pretty good though.

 

[Requiemm]

Holy crap these guys ship fast!! Ordered it on Wednesday and it was on my doorstep yesterday. I know what in brewing tomorrow!

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

Just wanted to say, this beer has been chilling in the closet for a couple months now in the bottle and it has really hit its peak. Everyone that has had it really enjoys it, if you drink it cold the gingerbread sweetness isn't as strong, but if you let it warm up a bit in the glass it really has some sweetness.

I'm a huge fan of this beer, but I really can only drink 1 or 2 at a sitting..not a bad thing though. I've gotta make a huge shout out to Jasper's Homebrew...they make some real quality stuff, shipping is super fast and ingredients are the freshest ive seen. I live in Texas and my order got here faster than Amazon prime shipments usually get here.

I even emailed them a few times and got direct responses from the owner. Great place, tons of beer recipes. Try them out!

 

[Likefully]

I had a gingerbread milkshake the other day. It rocked my world so much I decided I have to make a gingebread beer.

What is the best beer to make as a gingerbread beer? A stout or a plainer ale?

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

If you look at the start of this thread you can see what I used. It was a stout, with a bunch of added spices and grain alcohol. Got it from Jaspers Homebrew

 

[Likefully]

If you look at the start of this thread you can see what I used. It was a stout, with a bunch of added spices and grain alcohol. Got it from Jaspers Homebrew

Thanks, I have followed this thread with interested the day you started it.

My question is: is a stout (with a strong roast flavour) the best beer to use for a gingerbread beer?

I really want that gingerbread flavour to come through and am wondering whether it may be better to cut out the roasted barley, chocolate and carifa - perhaps replace those with Special B?

...or maybe not...maybe the roasted flavour is a good balance?

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

@likefully that's the beauty of homebrew! I'd say give it a shot! Maybe you'll create something out of this world that no one has had before. If not, I doubt you'll have a hard time drinking it down and making a different batch. If you do move forward post in this thread or make a new one so we can all see what your creation ends up like.

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

That's the beauty of homebrew! I'd say go for it and maybe you'll create something new and awesome. If you do, create a thread so we can all see this creation.

 

[Likefully]

That's the beauty of homebrew! I'd say go for it and maybe you'll create something new and awesome. If you do, create a thread so we can all see this creation.

Will do. I need to make a batch of easy drinking beer first and then will make the gingerbread beer.

My plan is to make something 9%+ (so it ages well), lots of crystal malt - some light and some dark and 500g special B. I may increase the ginger and cinnamon quantities too....I want it to be like crunching down on a fresh stiffly baked gingerbread cookie!

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

Good plan. The one I made had a good gingerbread note, but wasn't overpowering. You could probably look at thay recipe and maybe double/triple the spice amounts. Another great part of this recipe was 1 lb of brown sugar as well as dark molasses. The spices are kept in 1 cup of vodka which is added at bottling to also help give it a kick.

 

[Likefully]

Ok, I have done the research and think i will do something with a very similar grain bill to your original recipe except I will replace the roasted barely with special B. I will use Carifa (I think that's in your recipe too).

One question I have is - is it best to use crushed cinnamon or cinnamon sticks and break them?

I will let this beer sit for at least 3 weeks before I bottle it and I will make the potion on brew day, which gives plenty of time for the flavours from the cinnamon to draw.

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

I'm not sure on that I used ground cinnamon. I also made the potion on brew day and it provided a lot of great flavor in the end.

 

[Likefully]

Ok, I have started my yeast starter (WLP 001) for this brew an hour agoe and its already bubbling!

I need to complete the shopping list still - the recipe says a Vanilla Bean - i presume you take one bean and scrape out all the seeds in it into the potion (and put the skin of the bean in too)

A bean being of these sticks

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

Yeah when I brewed mine I just chopped up the bean into smaller pieces. Can definitely scrape out, you might get more intense vanilla but more sediment as well

 

[Likefully]

Monday was brew day. I hit an OG of 1.075, which is a bit disappointing, but I also know I still have to add the vodka which I am sure will take the alcohol up a notch.

I made the potion on Monday and opened it to smell it just now - the all spice dominates but I can smell the other spices too except for the ginger.

I grated fresh ginger and put in at least 3 tsp. Does the ginger flavour take a bit of time to come through or should I have added more?

 

[Likefully]

I bottled last night. The base (before potion) beer tasted awesome and the final beer tasted very good too - but i couldn't pick up any ginger. This is despite adding about 60g to the potion after a few days. Perhaps the other spices overpowered it?

I used a coffee plunger to squeeze all the juices out of the potion before mixing it with the priming solution. I will report back in 6 weeks.