Christmas beer ideas

[MrJay83]

A Double IPA is another option, up to about 8%. I find IPAs over 8% cloyingly sweet, even from the big boys like Verdant.

That Saison was over 7% but still had a lot of body even though it finished up at 1.002. I'll bet that's why it wasn't sweet. Belle Saison is a beast!
I'm trying that David Heath Verdant recipe this weekend. He said all his friends love it and the comments on YouTube had nothing but praise for it. Worth a try.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

do you have the goblets to go with it? I remember trying to nick them from the bars when I was growing up (Belgium) but they were too well guarded by the bar staff!

No but good for dad’s Christmas presents

 

[Pennine]

Yes, they are actually better when bottle conditioned. Some are “aged” in oak for a few weeks/months first and then bottled but it’s not necessary.

Speaking of which how is yours coming along?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Speaking of which how is yours coming along?

I tasted it a couple of weeks ago and it was coming on nicely. I’ll give it another try at the end of the month.

I think I will get another batch on the go about the same time and just bottle it, this recipe seems to produce a beautiful beer and is very drinkable after just a month of conditioning.

 

[White Rose Al]

Stouts, Stouts and more Stouts

 

[sifty]

Ha.
Xmas is summer here so I'm looking at something tart and refreshing. Maybe a kettle soured Gose.

More as an exercise in the style than anything.

 

[Braumeister]

I've got the Wreck The Halls AG kit and Biscotti Breakfast Stout to do for Christmas.
Not just for me but as gifts too.

Is that an Imperial Biscotti Break clone? Do you have a recipe You can share please? Wreck the Halls looks interesting too, is that the BrewUK kit?

 

[Jordang]

I tend to do darker maltier beers for Winter. I'm doing Hazelwood's award winning beer for this Christmas (about to brew it in a week or two).
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/media/full-english.957/
I also tend to have a nice rich Belgian beer for the cold winter months as well. This is a fantastic recipe I got from another site. It's a clone of Leffe Radieuse which is one of our favourite Belgian ales.

https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/thehomebrewforum/data/attach/70/70740-Leffe-Radieuse-Clone.pdf

So glad you’ve posted that Leffe recipe!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Ha.
Xmas is summer here so I'm looking at something tart and refreshing. Maybe a kettle soured Gose.

More as an exercise in the style than anything.

I was thinking Brut IPA.

Great little brewery taproom to visit on your trip to Dunedin.

https://www.steamerbasin.co.nz/
Tried the elderflower saison, Farmhouse and strong golden with a pizza. Had a long chat to Paul very interesting.

 

[Jim Brewster]

I usually do a dry stout towards the end of the year. This year I am brewing a Porter with Brambling Cross, nothing massively adventurous but hopefully plenty of deep flavours. Although I do like spiced dark beers I'd rather have something drinkable than risk overdoing it.

 

[Wobbly13]

Got a Mangrove Jacks Orange & Cinnamon Wit yo make up. A bit lighter it terms of ABV than some of the other suggestions, but not a fan of high ABV beers. Just a nice hint of Christmas flavours.

 

[sifty]

I was thinking Brut IPA.

Great little brewery taproom to visit on your trip to Dunedin.

That the one down an alley, in a building made of bricks? Looks like an earthquake nightmare. Been there, quite enjoyed it...

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

Is that an Imperial Biscotti Break clone? Do you have a recipe You can share please? Wreck the Halls looks interesting too, is that the BrewUK kit?

Both are AG kits from BrewUK. The Biscotti Stout has Pale Malt, Flaked Oats, Chocolate malt, Crystal, Carafa 3 and roast barley. Magnum hops. Then 50g crushed coffee beans and 75g Almonds in the secondary. The late additions are a bit vague. I assume it means ground almonds though!

 

[Braumeister]

Both are AG kits from BrewUK. The Biscotti Stout has Pale Malt, Flaked Oats, Chocolate malt, Crystal, Carafa 3 and roast barley. Magnum hops. Then 50g crushed coffee beans and 75g Almonds in the secondary. The late additions are a bit vague. I assume it means ground almonds though!

Thanks for this, they sound excellent. Think I’m going to go this route. I was wondering, do you know if they include the Candi sugar in the Wreck the Halls kit?

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

Just checked and yes they do, also a bag of spices. Great value I think.

 

[Braumeister]

Just checked and yes they do, also a bag of spices. Great value I think.

Great thanks. I saw another stout recipe with almonds and it suggested to roast the flaked ones a bit until they’re just turning brown and then crushing them up. Sounded good!

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

Great thanks. I saw another stout recipe with almonds and it suggested to roast the flaked ones a bit until they’re just turning brown and then crushing them up. Sounded good!

Sounds like a plan! I might use cold brewed coffee too. I'll read a few stout and porter recipe equivalents to find something I like.
I thought the oil from the almonds might affect head retention though.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Sounds like a plan! I might use cold brewed coffee too. I'll read a few stout and porter recipe equivalents to find something I like.
I thought the oil from the almonds might affect head retention though.

It is true that anything oily will break up beer foam but I’m not sure that small quantities of oil introduced during the brewing process (perhaps at the end of the boil?) affects the beer foam too much, after all, hops contain oils.

Edit: I’ve just read a couple of articles from professional brewers brewing with nuts. Most of them add the nuts to the finished beer and either accept this has an affect on head retention (saying the flavours compensate) or the use de-oiled nut powder. Others use toasted nuts and add them before fermentation because the yeast somehow removes the oil but the downside here is that some of the flavour is also stripped. Others use flavourings but you have to find one that tastes good and not chemical.

Some useful info and advice here and here

Some other pro brewers on a discussion forum said the effect on head retention is not as serious as some suggest so maybe that’s good news. Finally a caution that you need to make clear the beer contains nuts if you give any away or send it in to competitions.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Won’t nuts give it a metallic taste and totally screw up the beer. I suppose you could bolt it down and then use a washer.

 

[Little Rock Brewing]

Great articles there Hazelwood.
Unfortunately with totally conflicting methods, or maybe there is no best way.
One advocated nuts in the mash, the other post fermentation.
But both mention the need to reduce the oil content.
I'm doing the Wreck The Halls this weekend, so I'll do some more research.
Maybe even try some Biscotti biscuits washed down with stout!
Cheers