Christmas brew...

[Budgie]

It's beginning to look a lot like, erm.. September. So time to get the Christmas brew on. I'm doing the Christmas ale from the Green Hughes book, (p151)

Yeast starter is going nicely, all the grain was delivered today, and I forgot to order Belgian clandi crystals.

I've just read this http://www.fermentarium.com/homebrewing/belgian-candi-vs-table-sugar-for-homebrew-beer/ about making your own.

I'm planning on making an early start tomorrow so I'd like to avoid a 40mile round trip to the LHBS. So my question is, it is really that simple to make my own? Is it worth it or should I just accept that I'm a ***** and make the trip?

Cheers.

 

[Ajhutch]

As long as you have a sugar thermometer (which you should be able to get at Wilko or a similar shop) it really is that easy.

 

[Budgie]

As long as you have a sugar thermometer (which you should be able to get at Wilko or a similar shop) it really is that easy.

I've got one of those Kilner jam thermometers somewhere. Will that do?

 

[Ajhutch]

Yep that'll be fine. Those instructions are exactly how I made it. As you boil the syrup, the water evaporates and then the temperature will rise, so every now and again you need to add a tablespoon of water to keep the temperature down around 275F, and then as they say you need to let it rise once you are happy with the colour. If you are dead set on making crystals, you need the ultimate rise to be higher than if you are happy with a syrup, but practically this doesn't make a lot of difference in the beer as the sugar has been inverted either way. I tried to make crystals when I did it but I didn't maintain the higher temperature for long enough and I ended up with a slab that bent but didn't break. Still fine though.

 

[Budgie]

Cheers. It was really easy. The only difficult thing was breaking it up. It set into a solid slab, so I ended up putting it in a bag and dropping it on the kitchen floor. Worked a treat!:lol:

 

[sven945]

I made some dark candi syrup and it took ages. i'm going to try this method next, which should be much quicker as the presence of nitrogen speeds up the cooking process (i think?). I'm planning my Christmas brew now; I'm going to do a dark saison.

 

[foxbat]

I agree, now's the time to get your Christmas brew on. Did mine today :)

 

[AlanManley]

Off topic of candy but on topic of Xmas beer...
Can you use Xmas pud in secondary, boil or mash? Anyone tried it? Got a test in one due to go off in Oct (oddly) so thought I may give it a go.

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[Ajhutch]

I wouldn't as I'd worry that the fat in a pudding wouldn't be good for beer. I'd be more tempted to try brandy soaked raisins and some appropriate spices to capture the flavour.


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[Zephyr259]

There is a "thing" called Christmas Pudding wine, sounds interesting and I was going to try it this year when the puddings get discounted. I agree with the others here though, there's way too much fat in it to put in secondary. Boozey fruit and spices is the way to go, along the lines of my Fruitcake Barleywine, there's also a recipe in Radical Brewing for a Christmas old ale where Randy advises racking the beer onto a huge amount of fruit in secondary and leaving it for quite a while (sorry for vagueness, don't have access to book atm).

My Belgian Brunette uses the #5 syrup from that list, the syrup tasted amazing after the first cook (apples?) then much more intense after the 2nd. Made the beer god from pale blonde to really dark brown using 500g sugar to start with. Thanks for the link, the author was on basic brewing radio a few years back and discussed all those recipes.

 

[AlanManley]

Cheers guys. Think ill go the boozy fruit idea. [emoji41][emoji106]

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[MickDundee]

Cheers guys. Think ill go the boozy fruit idea. [emoji41][emoji106]

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You could add some Christmas pud spices as well. The gingerbread brown I have planned has ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice added for the last 5 mins of the boil.

 

[geigercntr]

Just today I chucked some cinnamon, grated ginger and some dried mixed fruit into some vodka to extract some Xmas vibes. Planning on doing a slightly modified version of Greg Hughes' winter warmer. Will be adding some flaked oats to the grist for some extra muscle

 

[Dexter101]

Not related to beer, but couple of Christmases ago I did a Christmas flavoured vodka, I used dried cranberries, orange peel and cinnamon and that worked really well. bit more refreshing rather than heavy christmas flavours but still felt very festive when mixed with sparkling wine. just a thought...

 

[Budgie]

Mine has cinnamon sticks, ground nutmeg and star anise. I'm hoping it'll taste as good as it smells!