Christmas Crowbar

[kevthebootboy]

Alright lads,

just been working in this years xmas brew, going to use the same spices as festive fistfight but I'm changing the recipe,
let me know what you think of the grain And hops.

25 litres IBU 45, EBC 16, OG 1.053 ish

Pale malt. 5000 gms
caramalt. 200gms
munich malt. 300gms
imperial malt. 300gms

66' c mash 90 min

pacific gem. 14.3 AA 28 gms 90 mins
bramling cross 5.8 AA. 25 gms. 15 mins
all spices in at 15 mins
4 - 3" cinnomon sticks
1/2 tsp cloves
vest of 5 orenges
1tsp of nutmeg
not too sure how much fresh Ginger to use yet

Nottingham yeast

I'm hoping for a lighter ale this time with a gentle maltyness and a big hit of xmass at the end,

What do you think? TAa kev

[Deebee]

I'm not sure you'll get that much maltiness from such a little amount of munich.
i did a brew in the spring with a 100g munich in a 4.5 kilo grain bill and still think it needed more.

Yu could always add some aromatic malt though?

[trucker5774]

Looks about right. I over did something in the spices last time..........not sure which though Good to see you back Kev, haven't noticed you on for ages.

[kevthebootboy]

Looks about right. I over did something in the spices last time..........not sure which though Good to see you back Kev, haven't noticed you on for ages.

Cheers trucker mate, yeah I've not really been about latly, I've been lurking inthe shadow though, not really been brewing while the weathers been warm, got the bug again now so I'm back on it, I felt like jacking it in though after slinging the last couple of brews away, plus my only acess the the Internet is on my Iphone so posting is abt of a ball ache!

Looking forward to getting my Xmas brew on the go!

I'm not sure you'll get that much maltiness from such a little amount of munich.
i did a brew in the spring with a 100g munich in a 4.5 kilo grain bill and still think it needed more.

Yu could always add some aromatic malt though?

cheers DeeDee, yeah I see what mean, I didnt want it too malty though, but yeah I am being abit sheepish with the Munich and imperial malts because I've not had much experience with them,

cheers lads

[kevthebootboy]

Any more advice anyone?

i think im going to be brewing this up at the weekend...


taaa, Kev

[72mgb73gt]

Any more advice anyone?

I would take out the cloves, but that is because I just don't like the taste of them. How about a bit of Star Anise instead.

[kevthebootboy]

I quite like clothes, i think i small amout like that works well with the other spice's,

star anise you say? interesting, im not too fermilier with them (i mean i know what they looks like and that ) ill have to get my hands on a couple and see i what i think of them...cheers mate

[kevthebootboy]

Just read this of some random brewing forum,the US i think..

'I brewed a Christmas saison where star anise was one of the ingredients. The anise flavor complimented the clove and other holiday sipces I added. I highly recommend experimenting with it'

so the star anise sounds like a great idea

[Spud395]

Any more advice anyone?


taaa, Kev

You say you're not familiar with munich, you need to make a new friend
I tried it 2 brews ago and it's here to stay. Just love the taste, have used up to 20% and it's just deadly IMO.
Thnat star anaise is fairly strong (and not to my taste) so be careful with it.

Anyway have fun

[kevthebootboy]

Cheers mate, yeah I was thinking just 2 or 3 stars, don't want anything too over welming,

Thinking going to do a brew with a good percentidge of Munich malt in as get to know it abit better

[Barley Water]

Well first of all a word of caution: Star Anise is a very strong tasting spice and it can overwhelm your beer easily (as can vanilla, I have done it). We have a wierd little summer ritual here in Texas which is called the "Iron Mash". It is sort of a casual contest organized much like the "Iron Skillet" which you may have seen on television. Anyhow, there is always a surprise spice that the contestants need to incorporate into their beers and about three years ago that spice was star anise. Our club probably had at least 1/2 a dozen kegs of beer that had that stuff in it. That beer showed up to club parties for at least a couple of years as the brewers were trying their best to get rid of it. Basicly, most of the guys I know got so tired of that taste that they vowed to never brew with it again.

By the way, from a formulation point of view, how about using a bit of Melonodin malt? I think if I were making a holiday beer with the traditional spices, I would try for sort of a fruit cake type interpretation and get the beer pretty big and pretty malty. I see holiday beer as being sort of a sit by the fire on a cold night kind of brew, you know, almost chewy and pretty potent. I know the norm for you guys is lower than what we see over here but I see a 1.050 beer as being sort of a session brew, I would bump it up to around 1.065 or so. By the way, if you like the raisin effect, Special B will do that for you (although it will also make the beer darker) and in fact you can also add actual raisins if you are so inclined. Just a couple of thoughts, take it for what it's worth.

[Deebee]

Well first of all a word of caution: Star Anise is a very strong tasting spice and it can overwhelm your beer easily (as can vanilla, I have done it). We have a wierd little summer ritual here in Texas which is called the "Iron Mash". It is sort of a casual contest organized much like the "Iron Skillet" which you may have seen on television. Anyhow, there is always a surprise spice that the contestants need to incorporate into their beers and about three years ago that spice was star anise. Our club probably had at least 1/2 a dozen kegs of beer that had that stuff in it. That beer showed up to club parties for at least a couple of years as the brewers were trying their best to get rid of it. Basicly, most of the guys I know got so tired of that taste that they vowed to never brew with it again.

By the way, from a formulation point of view, how about using a bit of Melonodin malt? I think if I were making a holiday beer with the traditional spices, I would try for sort of a fruit cake type interpretation and get the beer pretty big and pretty malty. I see holiday beer as being sort of a sit by the fire on a cold night kind of brew, you know, almost chewy and pretty potent. I know the norm for you guys is lower than what we see over here but I see a 1.050 beer as being sort of a session brew, I would bump it up to around 1.065 or so. By the way, if you like the raisin effect, Special B will do that for you (although it will also make the beer darker) and in fact you can also add actual raisins if you are so inclined. Just a couple of thoughts, take it for what it's worth.

Sounds a lot like the holiday beers here ( well the christmas beers in any case)

Apart from the ones in the normal supermarket that are really not more than a darker coloured pils type beer , the state owned off licences are allowed to stock the beers that are over 4.7%

There is only really one that was half decent and that was at 5.1% ( although it tasted much like the others only stronger)

For me, if i am making a holiday beer then i agree with you. it needs to be somthing that you can't session. my first one this year had an OG of 1068 and came down to 1012.

the next should have somewhere around the 1070 mark. For me you should feel the alcohol warming from the inside too:)

A beer of 7+% is not a session beer a session beer for normal mortals.

[72mgb73gt]

I think a maximum of 1 whole star per 5 Gallon batch will be enough to give flavour but not be overwhelming.

[kevthebootboy]

Nice in put fellas, brill.

one star anise it is then,

thanks for the malt suggestions BW but i dont have any of those instock plus ive already weighed the grain out for tomorrow,

i totaly agree with you and the others about how a christmas beer should be, regarding body, alcohol and the warming and thats how i like it, my last xmas beer Festive Fist Fight, was just that,

but this year i want a xmas beer that i can quoff abit easyer and share out with friends and family, i think they will enjoy it abit more and thats good thing about home brew, you can bend the rules

thanks for the advice!

Kev

[Manx Guy]

Hi Kev,

Good to see you back mate! My Chrimbo brew is in the FV and almost ready for bottling... A sneaky taster of the SG sample revealed a pleasant surprise... Nice spicey but not overly so and quite malty... At OG 1050 its going to be around the 5% abv mark which I think is a good baalnce between strong enough to meet the 'seasonal requirements' and being sessionable (?)

Yours sounds good and you've had some good advice...

I'm surprised you dont brew another Festive Fistfight after the success of last years brew, but then again we all love a bit of tiunkering...

Let us know how the brew day goes...

Cheers!

Guy