christmas ale?

[McFrankel]

I was wondering if any one has had an attempt of making a beer for the christmas season. I was looking at the old spice beer the other day and was thinking if it would worth experimenting with putting drid fruit in (like fruit cake stuff).

[PB2]

Dried fruits, peel and spices (like what might be in a Christmas Pudding) steeped for a while may impart some interesting characters.

[AdamH1525226084]

Hi all, i'm investigating making a Julebryg recipe for a "Christmas in July" party (cos it's cold in Australia then) and wondering if anybody has made something like that, and which beer kit was used?

I'm thinking a dark beer would be better, but SWMBO doesn't like dark beers. So, would this sort of beer work well with the Real Ale or Sparkling Ale kit?

BJCP guidelines for this type of beer suggest it can be anything from dark amber to brown.

I've come up with this as a starting point (but nowhere near finished).

1 x Coopers Sparkling Ale 1.7 kg

1 x Cooper Liquid Amber Malt 1.5 kg

250g Brown Sugar

1 star anise

1 vanilla bean pod

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tbsp nutmeg

3 cloves

2 tsp orange rind

20g Saaz Hop Pellets

 

Items in bold have been added to the recipe supplied by Coopers. I've replaced the coriander seeds with nutmeg as I thought that would be more Christmas like.

I've also thought about adding a little bit of chocolate malt to add a little bit more colour and flavour.

 

Not sure which yeast to use for this. Perhaps a French Saison?

[AdamH1525226084]

I will get this going as my next brew I think, starting next week by the looks of it - hopefully be ready for drinking in July, but might be cutting it close by the sounds of it.

[BrendanS8]

G'day Adam, that's an adventurous brew you've got there, considering you haven't tried it before and the fact that if it turns out below ordinary, you (and your guests if they try it) will be very disappointed.

Why not just stick to the original recipe for now.

You can't go too wrong.

If that works, go nuts.

I wouldn't be that adventerous to make a brew that i wouldn't be sure of the end result. Especially if it was for a special occasion.

Good luck with it [biggrin]

[HenrikF]

Looking very much forward to hearing how this one turns out, as julebryg[love] is from Denmark, and I absolutly will be needing some come december[roll]

Be sure to let us know Adam[happy]

[AdamH1525226084]

Hi Brendan - I think the Christmas ale in itself is an adventurous brew. I've gone through a few other recipes which are all really different in the quantities of the spices (but similar types to what I've put down above), it's more the beer base that is the unknown here - the original recipe says

1.7kg Coopers beer kit of your choice Note: Choose a beer kit with the colour, flavour and bitterness in mind.

 

[EDIT] Also the recipe says:

Don\u2019t be afraid to personalise the recipe by tweaking the spices as you desire.

 

Here are a few...

1

2

3

 

I will keep you posted Henrik [w00t]

[AdamH1525226084]

I am still trying to work out which beer kit to use as the base. Maybe the Real Ale would be better than the sparkling...

[AdamH1525226084]

OK, here's the recipe I think I will put down next weekend (perhaps [lol] )

1 x Coopers Real Ale 1.7 kg

1 x can Liquid Amber Malt 1.5 kg

250g Medium Crystal (my first grains [w00t] )

1 star anise

1 vanilla bean pod

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tbsp nutmeg

3 cloves

2 tsp orange rind

30g Cascade Hop Pellets (5 mins)

Wyeast 3711 - French Saison

20L water

 

I will aim to brew @ 21 C

 

The reason for the yeast is:

This strain enhances the use of spices and aroma hops, and is extremely attenuative but leaves an unexpected silky and rich mouthfeel in a very dry finished

beer.

 

If anyone thinks there is something terribly wrong please let me know [bandit]

[AdamH1525226084]

Bottled my Christmas Ale above yesterday.

OG was 1.050 (I think that was cos I overfilled the FV, and maybe didn't rinse the grains enough) and FG was 1.007 (hmmmm). The fermentation was hardly visible at the start, so I was a bit worried as I'd read people saying the 3711 cause volcanic krausen. The krausen in my beer was just a disgusting looking brown layer on top from day 3 onwards.

I checked the SG and it was coming down so figured the ferment was on, and did some more reading on the yeast. Seems there are many experiences with both large and small krausen.

I dry hopped 15 g cascade pellets after day 3.

Throughout the ferment the smell and taste was a bit weird. A bit like off juice/fruit. But when I bottled yesterday the smell was there, but taste was much better. No real impact from the spices there. Was thinking they might be better being "dry spiced"?

I wil try a bottle after 1 month, but the rest will be used for Christmas in July [happy]

[Hairy]

I love beer & pizza [love]

 

That photo looks like you have brought both together.

[BrockOhopter]

Mmmm, pizza & beer...

 

Hope you haven't grown any cheese in there Adam [sick].

 

I'm following this thread with interest, as I'm planning a Christmas ale as well, I'd like to get it on the go shortly as I want it ready by Christmas time.

 

Good luck with it mate !

[AdamH1525226084]

Hmmm, yeah I thought it looked a bit like this sort of cheese [lol]

 

But it didn't taste like arse, which seems to be what infected beer tastes like. Also, the SG kept dropping.

 

Will updated with the taste test in a month.

[BrockOhopter]

Hey Adam,

 

Tell us, how did your Julebryg go?

Also, what happened to the Saaz hops?

Noticed them in your 1st recepie, then Cascade in your 2nd.

[AdamH1525226084]

Hey Brock

Will be having an initial taste in 2 weeks to see whether we need to plan something else to drink for our Christmas in July party [biggrin]

I tried the Little Creatures Quiet American (a single batch limited release, which just came out and now maybe all gone?) and I was delighted that it tasted very similar to the hydrometer samples I tried of the Julebryg (it's essentially a Belgian Saison with cascade and chinook hops). I'm hoping the spices come through though in the bottle conditioning.

I'll post an update once I've test tasted.

 

My mate is American so I decided to do an "American" Julebryg rather than a European. I also have heaps of cascade hops anyway.

[BrockOhopter]

Now theres an idea Adam- I might make my Julebryg an Aussie/Kiwi Chistmas Brew- "Trans-Tasman Julebryg" (may need to work on a catchier name [lol] )

 

I could hop with Galaxy/ Topaz and Motueka.

 

What do you reckon?

[Smithy]

I tried the Little Creatures Quiet American

 

Thread Hijacking:

I asked SWMBO if I could buy one of these the other day, but she said no. I was quite upset about this. Then we went out to our local craft beer pub and it was on tap! She could not say no to this.

 

I tried it, and wasn't impressed.

 

I think she knew something I did not here.... [ninja]

[AdamH1525226084]

Brock, the recipe says to experiment, so why the feck not [biggrin]

 

Smithy, it got better as the glass went down - maybe the serving temp plays a big part?

[Smithy]

Yeah I dunno. It just had a real burnt taste to it. I may have fried my taste buds from the extremely salty chips beforehand though!

 

[AdamH1525226084]

I have tried my Christmas Ale - and am changing the name to "Christmas Saison".

It's got a very tart taste. IT's actually quite nice, but needs to be matched with food to get the most out of it I think - duck or goose would be great me and my mate think [lol] It's definitely NOT a session beer.

I can't really detect the spices or hops though. I love what the yeast has imparted but don't think I would use it for Christmas again - other drinking beer definitely [happy]