Christmas Brew Kits

[SE10PAT]

hi there

Can anyone recommend a nice Christmas brew that I can kick off now? I've been eyeing up the Munton's Santa and the Donner & Blitzed boxes and wondered if anyone had any other suggestions

Looking for something that doesn't come too high on the ABV ladder up to 5.5% would be handy :drunk:

cheers
Pat

 

[Kyral210]

Hmm, NOT Santa's Winter Warmer. I still have some in the cupboard, it really wasnt that good at all. Lots of people have had problems with it too. I want to try either the Beers of the world kit (http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/ ... stmas.html) or the Brewferm Kit (http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/ ... stmas.html).

I am tempted by Dasher the Flasher myself since hints of red berry sounds tempting. I look forward to hearing about everyone's Christmas brews over the next 7 months!

 

[doghouse gav]

+1 on the santas winter warmer slagging off! :clap:
An epic disappointment! :sick:
I'm also looking at the Donna and blitson kit. :

 

[Kyral210]

We could do an EPIC THBF Xmas brewing competition. You have to be bottled by August and then post one bottle to the judges.

Each entry can be either a kit or your own recipie. The top 3 winning beers (kit/ recipe) becomes a sticky in the recipe section. What do you think?

 

[SamWise72]

I'd be in, but really, why would you need to be bottled by August for a Christmas beer?

 

[abeyptfc]

go for milestones xmas kit dasher the flasher kit, it comes with 2 cans so u dont have to add anything else. i was impressed with the kit that i bought the raspberry beer, that was lovely so ive bought another one

 

[bomberns127]

you need to be bottled by august (me thinks sept will do) because normally xmas beers of any description are normally above 6% so long maturation is essential for a good brew, i am now drinking brewferm gold cru and christmas ale bottled last sept, and its spot on,they need at least 3 months in the bottle , the gold cru is the best kit i have ever done but patience is the key, a lot of patience!

 

[Kyral210]

you need to be bottled by august (me thinks sept will do) because normally xmas beers of any description are normally above 6% so long maturation is essential for a good brew, i am now drinking brewferm gold cru and christmas ale bottled last sept, and its spot on,they need at least 3 months in the bottle , the gold cru is the best kit i have ever done but patience is the key, a lot of patience!

Did you use sugar or malt extract for the kits?

 

[SE10PAT]

Nice one, looks liek the Donner & Blitz kit wins then.

Any tips on fermentation periods? I generally leave mine for 10-14 days in the bin and then move to a barrel for 2 weeks before moving outside to the shed. I would think I will store the Christmas brew in bottles though.

cheers

 

[SamWise72]

Ok, that makes sense. I thought we were talking about having it ready to judge in Aug! I'll go extract rather than kit, and I'm thinking of a ruby red, sweet malty ale with liquorice hints, with cinnamon and nutmeg steeped in secondary. Mmmmmm.

 

[46.philh]

Santa's Winter Warmer was the best kit I did. Better than woodford wherry and Fixby Gold.

 

[bomberns127]

with the brewferm christmas ale no sugar was added at ferment and bottling, the fg was 1020 so had enough still in it, the grand cru i used 500g brewing sugar for ferment and 90g at bottling stage, christmas ale gives you 7 litres and grand cru gives you 9 litres, basically i followed what it said on the tin, i did have a worry about no sugar with the christmas ale but long maturation is the key and it was well worth the wait.
christmas ale 7.5%
grand cru 8%

 

[luckyeddie]

Regarding the Brewferm Christmas Ale, it's correct that no additional sugar is required for priming - don't be tempted to try one after just a couple of months, thinking "I bet it will be flat" because it will be. When I was brewing kits I used to put the Brewferm Christmas Ale on in May and leave it in primary fermentation for something like 3 weeks before racking off the trub and bottling immediately. Like bomberns127 says, its SG upon bottling would be around 1020 - 1022. I would have my first bottle on Christmas Day when opening the prezzies and eating the requisite bacon sandwiches (the bacon off the turkey breast - yum).

It remains to be seen whether my AG Christmas Ale which I will be starting in a couple of weeks turns out as well as the Brewferm kit.

 

[Kyral210]

Santa's Winter Warmer was the best kit I did. Better than woodford wherry and Fixby Gold.

Really? was the second worst kit I ever did. The worst being beers of the world Berliner Weiss - sour beer!

 

[johnmcfarlane]

Muntons conkerwood. Lovely dark ale with chocolate undertones, superb xmas ale which makes 40 pints

 

[shearclass]

its SG upon bottling would be around 1020 - 1022. I would have my first bottle on Christmas Day when opening the prezzies and eating the requisite bacon sandwiches (the bacon off the turkey breast - yum).

Does bottling at such a high gravity mean there is a heck of a lot of sediment in the bottles?

Do you know if the brewferm kits come with genuine Belgian style yeast? Or is it just standard cheap kit yeast? I normally buy extra yeast but was just going to go with the kit yeast in this instance.

the instructions say to ferment at 25C. Is that what you do, as it's higher than i'd normally ferment beer?

 

[johnnyboy1965]

hi there

Can anyone recommend a nice Christmas brew that I can kick off now? I've been eyeing up the Munton's Santa and the Donner & Blitzed boxes and wondered if anyone had any other suggestions

Looking for something that doesn't come too high on the ABV ladder up to 5.5% would be handy :drunk:

cheers
Pat

Now is the ideal time to start your Xmas brew. Check out Brewferm Chistmas Ale. If you want a "Ultra/ Only drink in halves" brew to 75% of instructions.
Ive got a few bottles in the garage that are 3 years old