Christmas Ale

[bishop916]

A bit late to the party, had some delays with the previous batches, hope to get this one in the tank by next week sometime... Any thoughts?



Ol' Bishop's Jolly Holiday Grog
Added By: bishop916
Method: All Grain
Style: American Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6.5 gallons
Efficiency: 66% (brew house)
Original Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 5.39%
IBU (tinseth): 37.02
SRM (morey): 36.32

Fermentables
Amount Fermentable
9 lb Pale 2-Row
12 oz Caramel / Crystal 60L
8 oz Roasted Barley
14 oz Chocolate
12 oz Molasses
11.88 lb Total

Hops
Amount Variety Time
1.5 oz Kent Goldings 60 min
1 oz Fuggles 20 min


Other Ingredients
Amount Name Time
4 oz Cinnamon sticks 20 min
4 oz Ginger root 20 min
0.5 tsp Nutmeg 10 min
1 lb Lactose 10 min
0.5 tsp Irish Moss 10 min

Yeast
White Labs - Nottingham Ale Yeast WLP039

Priming
Method: Cane Sugar Amount: 3.25 oz

 

[Altbier bitte]

Is that chocolate, or chocolate malt? If it's chocolate malt, that's an awful lot. I've never done anything with chocolate (cocoa), so if that's the case, I'm not sure. I also think 1/2 lb of roasted barley in a 5 gallon batch, particularly since it isn't a huge beer, is going to make it pretty charcoally. I'd limit it to 2-4 oz. Anything else would be a matter of taste: I can't stand nutmeg so I would never brew with it. I like my beer a little fizzy, so .65 oz/gallon (assuming you get 5 gallons in the bottle) is a little low for me, even for a stout. With all that lactose and molasses and caramel, I'd lean on the bittering hops a little harder, but if you like a more British level of carbonation and bitterness, that's probably on the money. Xmas might be pushing it, but given that it's not a huge beer, and your excellent yeast choice, New Years might be possible. It'll be fully mature for St. Paddy's.

 

[LarryBrewer]

Yeah you don't want the harsh notes to override the spices.

 

[Nosybear]

I just opened my first of nine bottles of Pfeffernuesse Doppelbock - doppelbock spiced with the spices my wife uses in her Pfeffernuesse. It makes a great Christmas beer - not exactly an ale. Needs to condition a while longer, though. I'll share "Discombobulator Doppelbock" - it has the spice mix.

 

[bishop916]

Its in the tank right now blubbling away. I increased the amount and switched to a crystal 80L ... the Roasted barley and Chocolate % of bill was right inline with recommended portions, ...

The spices and molasses gave the wort a real nice nose while boiling (especially the ginger, which I'd never used before). I'm using a starter for the first time too, and boy what a difference! I found a pretty good blog on starter usage that really helped out.

Thanks for all the advice and well wishes.
Merry Xmas!~