2026 4th quarter

Craigerrr said:
I hate to disappoint those expecting a HOP MONSTER of a beer, but I am going to go with my Christmas Ale.
After having a Great Lakes (Ohio not Toronto) Christmas Ale in Cleveland several years ago I set out to create something as close to it as I could.
It was a smash hit with friends and family!
The season is approaching, so the timing just makes sense.
Some are saying "dang that's disappointing", but I am sure some are saying "phewf, there's a break"

Brewfather link
https://web.brewfather.app/tabs/recipes/recipe/YxkRSqBQ9BzizWzvJgnTr0N0tPKomS

Text and representative picture if you prefer:

Break up 2-3 cinnamon sticks, grate fresh ginger root, place in a hop bag and toss in the boil when adding whirlfloc.
I am actually thinking that I will add cinnamon and ginger for a 20 minute whirlpool at 80C / 176F this time.
Not sure if that will make any difference.

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Christmas Alev1​

Winter Seasonal Beer
6.7% / 16.4 °P
Inspired by "Christmas Ale" by Great Lakes Brewing Ohio. First brewed this in December of 2018, it was a smash hit!
Recipe by
Fat Bastard Brews
All Grain

Coleman Cooler Mash Tun 60​

65% efficiency
Batch Volume: 24 L
Fermenter Top-Up: 4 L
Boil Time: 60 min
Mash Water: 20 L
Sparge Water: 10.8 L @ 80 °C
Total Water: 30.8 L
Boil Volume: 23.38 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.067
Post-Boil Gravity: 1.081

Vitals​

Original Gravity: 1.067
Final Gravity: 1.016
IBU (Tinseth): 32
BU/GU: 0.48
Colour: 19 SRM


Mash​

Strike Temp — 81 °C
Temperature — 68.9 °C — 60 min
Mash in with 20 L @ 81 °C

Malts (7.36 kg)​

5.89 kg (74.2%) — Rahr Pale Ale Malt — Grain — 4 °L
670 g (8.4%) — Thomas Fawcett Crystal Malt 60L — Grain — 60 °L
600 g (7.6%) — BestMalz Wheat Malt — Grain — 2.3 °L
160 g (2%) — Castle Malting Chateau Special B — Grain — 113.1 °L
40 g (0.5%) — Simpsons Roasted Barley — Grain — 600.1 °L

Other (580 g)​

580 g (7.3%) — Honey — Sugar — 1.3 °L — Boil — 10 min

Hops (73.1 g)​

16 g (16 IBU) — Magnum 11.6% — Boil — 60 min
35.3 g (9 IBU) — Fuggles 4.5% — Boil — 20 min
21.8 g (7 IBU) — Cascade 8.6% — Boil — 10 min

Hopstand at 80 °C
Whirlpool/Hopstand Time: 20 min

Miscs​

2.182 g — Baking Soda (NaHCO3) — Mash
7.636 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash
2.182 g — Canning Salt (NaCl) — Mash
3.273 g — Epsom Salt (MgSO4) — Mash
3.273 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash
0.632 items — Whirlfloc — Boil — 15 min
2.527 items — Cinnamon Stick — Boil — 5 min
40.364 g — Ginger Root — Boil — 5 min

Yeast​

2 pkg — Fermentis S-04 SafAle English Ale 75%

Fermentation​

Primary — 19.4 °C — 14 days
Carbonation: 2.4 CO2-vol

Water Profile​

Ca2+
86Mg2+
10Na+
51Cl-
153SO42-
93HCO3-
62
Recipe Inspired by:Inspired by GLB OHIO's Christmas Ale


This one, which interestingly enough will be available from GLB late next week!
View attachment 35589
Click to expand...
Are you Fat Bastard Brews?
 
I have only ever kegged it
 
I read Christmas beer and assumed it was your bloody cranberry recipe :D you know what they say about assuming
 
I should point out that the beginning water is RO
 
You are indeed not fat. And I believe your mother was married at the time?

Surely a Mike Myers reference.
 
All righty. In that case, Tuesday will see a visit to the lhbs for ingredients.
 
@Sunfire96 If it helps, I was planning to do a 3-gal partial mash. Here's what I came up with for the malt side:
2.5 lb DME
2.0 lb pale malt
8 oz crystal 60L
6 oz wheat
2 oz special B
1 oz roasted barley
8 oz honey (late addition)

I'm hoping to brew it this weekend, but will likely use a little less DME... damn bag wasn't sealed correctly and some leaked out in the shipment (I love that all of the other bags are now sticky, too).
 
Zefram said:
@Sunfire96 If it helps, I was planning to do a 3-gal partial mash. Here's what I came up with for the malt side:
2.5 lb DME
2.0 lb pale malt
8 oz crystal 60L
6 oz wheat
2 oz special B
1 oz roasted barley
8 oz honey (late addition)

I'm hoping to brew it this weekend, but will likely use a little less DME... damn bag wasn't sealed correctly and some leaked out in the shipment (I love that all of the other bags are now sticky, too).
Click to expand...
Excellent, thank you!
 
I worked up a 5 gallon extract with steeping grains version if anyone finds it helpful. Gonna brew this with my brother in law in a couple of weeks. He's brewed a handful of times and we'll be at his house on his equipment
Screenshot_20261028-061722_Brewfather.jpg
Screenshot_20261028-061733_Brewfather.jpg
 
@Craigerrr, I assume the ginger root in your recipe is fresh ginger root. I have dried Chinese Ginger. Any guess on how much dried ginger? FWIW, Google's guess is 10 grams. Should the ginger be noticeable or subtle? That would help me know whether I should lean heavy or light.
 
BarbarianBrewer said:
@Craigerrr, I assume the ginger root in your recipe is fresh ginger root. I have dried Chinese Ginger. Any guess on how much dried ginger? FWIW, Google's guess is 10 grams. Should the ginger be noticeable or subtle? That would help me know whether I should lean heavy or light.
Click to expand...
It is subtle, I have only ever used fresh, shredded it in a fine cheese grater. Sorry I have no idea what the relative amount a dried product. I might be more inclined to add fresh to the fermenter than dried to the boil if it were me
 
After an unexpected trip to the LHBS, I brewed this yesterday. The unexpected trip to the LHBS was because, when I entered honey in the Brewer's Friend recipe builder I didn't notice that it defaulted to honey malt. So when I was grabbing the grain out of the bins I grabbed a pound of honey malt. It's not until Friday night when I was preparing for the brew day, I that noticed the error. Since all the grain was mixed together, I had to make a trip to the LHBS on brew day.

I put it on top of the yeast cake for the Brother Smithwicks batch. I know it's a massive overpitch, but I didn't want to risk an infection by reaching my arm into the fermenter to scoop out some of the yeast cake. Hopefully it's not too much of an over-pitch. As expected very active fermentation started very quickly. Even though I set my chest freezer to 55°F (13°C) the temp probe on the side of the fermenter was 70°F (21°C)!
 
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