12 Beers of Christmas 2018 Edition

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BradleyBrew said:
Christmas Gruit has been brewed... wort has a great aroma from the spices / juniper berries... nice warm swamp cooler for the French Saison yeast. Adding some buckwheat honey after primary fermentation has started.
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Did you follow the spice/herb stuff in mosher's recipe? I was debating a couple of tweaks, but I'm probably still a couple of weeks from brewing
 
Mash is going for the old ale. Smells great so far.
 

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Fruitcake Old Ale brew day on the calendar for 4/8. Much later than I wanted to, but we have a ton of crap going on around the house...and my wife is pregnant, due early May so I need to get it done before then.
 
The Juniper Rye bock tastes really nice, it is kinda light and the juniper is super subtle. I may kick it up a little just a bit so you get more of the juniper, but I'm thinking about keeping the ABV in the 6-7 range. I think we will have lots of big beers this xmas, so may as well throw in a lighter lager. :D :mug:
 
Just refreshing the list again (I really hate not being able to just edit the OP anymore)


1) Caramel Quadrupel (@Scturo ) (@BigCrazyAl )
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel (@HawleyFarms ) (@btbnl)
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock (@MapleGroveAleworks ) (@Blackdirt_cowboy )
4) Juniper Rye Bock (@HopHeavy's brother) (@cmac62)
5) Fruitcake Old Ale (@cegan09) (@Auger)
6) Saffron Tripel (@TBC ) (@Yeroc )
7) Christmas Gruit (@BradleyBrew ) (@November)
8) Honey Ginger IPA (@biochemedic )(@Brewfessor)
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale (@dryboroughbrewing )(@mirthfuldragon)
10) Gingerbread Ale (@jerbrew ) (@fourfarthing )
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout (@gromitdj ) (@anotherbeerplease )
12) Abbey Weizen (@HopHeavy ) (@Zimm9)

Last edited: Feb 14, 2018
 
Now that both lists are solid, are we going to adjust to have one list west coast heavy and the other east coast? That would sure save on shipping. :mug:
 
My juniper Rye bock was very tasty. It spit at me last night, so now I can get to brewing a second variant to get a little more juniper into the mix. :D :mug:
 
cmac62 said:
Now that both lists are solid, are we going to adjust to have one list west coast heavy and the other east coast? That would sure save on shipping. :mug:
Click to expand...

Consider a consolidator. Someone previously mentioned it and it's brilliant, and will save everyone a LOT of money. Consider this (and I'm not considering you've got two brewers for each style, so I'll use last year as an example):
  • With 12 brewers, there is a total of 11x11 = 121 shipments. Don't worry about the cost, just consider that.
  • Using a consolidator (which could be one of you), the total shipments would be 11 + 11 = 22 shipments.
OK, now consider the cost. That average cost of each shipment for me was $13. Do your own math there.

So what's a consolidator? Let's say Auger is the consolidator. Each brewer sends ALL of their beers (33) to Auger. That's 1 (big) shipment each. Auger gets them all, re-distributes them, then sends right back to each brewer 33 beers, but it's 3 from each of the other brewers.

Obviously, Auger would have much higher shipping costs, but that would have to be negotiated (include a check with your shipment to him).

Just a thought. It's a little kludgy, but it's mighty efficient and has the potential to save a lot of money for everyone.
 
Added the fruit to the old ale last night. Added just enough boiling water to cover them, brought it back up to about a boil hopefully ensure sanitation. then let it sit covered for about two hours to cool. Tested the liquid before I dumped it in and it was at just about 1.07 OG. Was happily bubbling away again this morning. I'll let it sit another week and a half or so, rack to secondary to let it clear, and then bottle. Once it's carbed up I'll try it. I might brew it again after that if I find something I don't like. Or I might just brew it again anyway with some tweaks and come the end of the year ship the one I like better.
 
passedpawn said:
Consider a consolidator. Someone previously mentioned it and it's brilliant, and will save everyone a LOT of money. Consider this (and I'm not considering you've got two brewers for each style, so I'll use last year as an example):
  • With 12 brewers, there is a total of 11x11 = 121 shipments. Don't worry about the cost, just consider that.
  • Using a consolidator (which could be one of you), the total shipments would be 11 + 11 = 22 shipments.
OK, now consider the cost. That average cost of each shipment for me was $13. Do your own math there.

So what's a consolidator? Let's say Auger is the consolidator. Each brewer sends ALL of their beers (33) to Auger. That's 1 (big) shipment each. Auger gets them all, re-distributes them, then sends right back to each brewer 33 beers, but it's 3 from each of the other brewers.

Obviously, Auger would have much higher shipping costs, but that would have to be negotiated (include a check with your shipment to him).

Just a thought. It's a little kludgy, but it's mighty efficient and has the potential to save a lot of money for everyone.
Click to expand...
I was just thinking about having one list be West Coast heavy and one East Coast heavy. The consolidator is a good Idea, but I know I don't want to be one :D
 
cmac62 said:
I was just thinking about having one list be West Coast heavy and one East Coast heavy. The consolidator is a good Idea, but I know I don't want to be one :D
Click to expand...

Yes, while consolidating shipments would be the most economical, it results in an inordinate amount of work for a single participant and additional logistical concerns about arranging fair shipping expenses. A lot of moving parts to work out, even if we find two volunteers to consolidate shipments for two separate groups.
 
From Chicago to NY, shipping a 35 pound package at 17x12x11 to NY runs $51.48 or $56.60 for priority 2 day; to CA, $73.67 or $75.80 for 2-day. That would be for a full case (24 bottles). Might be a little heavy, but close enough.

Assuming 4 pounds for 2 bottles (~1 pound per bottle), shipping is $10.29 for a 2-day priority box to California, or $8.15 to NY.

So me shipping 11 boxes at $10 each runs ~$100-$110, and shipping an entire case to person A and the person A shipping each case out individually runs $100 to $150.

Looks like six of one and half a dozen of the other. Fedex or UPS might beat USPS, but the math is probably similar.
 
cmac62 said:
Anyone else with feedback on the idea of consolidating the lists as best as possible to the left and east coasts?
Click to expand...

I’m all for saving money but I don’t think it will work to well. For example if there was a west coast heavy list the person brewing the fruitcake old ale (Auger and Cegan09) would possibly have to ship up to 11 packages to the west coast. I believe both of them are in the New England area. That wouldn’t be fair or save them any money.

I think the lists should stay as they are in fairness to everyone. Maybe next year there could possibly be 2 threads, one for each coast. This way if the east coast thread is full then I could signup for the west coast list knowing full well I’d be shipping everything across the country.

I’m not sure where everyone lives but last year I shipped double to hopheavy and Pete. Maybe there are some other members who are close enough to double up shipments to save some money.

This is just my opinion and if we do decide to have have heavy lists on each coast I’m fine with it.
 
I'm okay with doing either, I
TBC said:
I’m all for saving money but I don’t think it will work to well. For example if there was a west coast heavy list the person brewing the fruitcake old ale (Auger and Cegan09) would possibly have to ship up to 11 packages to the west coast. I believe both of them are in the New England area. That wouldn’t be fair or save them any money.

I think the lists should stay as they are in fairness to everyone. Maybe next year there could possibly be 2 threads, one for each coast. This way if the east coast thread is full then I could signup for the west coast list knowing full well I’d be shipping everything across the country.

I’m not sure where everyone lives but last year I shipped double to hopheavy and Pete. Maybe there are some other members who are close enough to double up shipments to save some money.

This is just my opinion and if we do decide to have have heavy lists on each coast I’m fine with it.
Click to expand...
I did not take this into account. I'm good with how it is. I was just thinking and I know that can be dangerous. :D
 
cegan09 said:
Mash is going for the old ale. Smells great so far.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, did you use the recipe straight out of the book, or make any tweaks? I scaled it up a little anticipating quite a bit of loss from the fruit...last year's beer (the gruit) I ended up slightly short and only had 4 or 5 bottles left for myself after shipping everything out...hoping to avoid that this year. Other than that I'm not changing much up I don't think.

Hitting up the LHBS at lunch today, starter will get going tonight, brew day on Sunday!
 
Oh also if anyone in the group is in CT/RI/southern MA, I'd be willing to drive a bit to meet up and consolidate shipments (in both directions, if possible) to save some money. I'm in central CT, and could drive 30-40 miles in any direction if there's anyone that nearby or anyone who wants to meet up partway.
 
Auger said:
Just out of curiosity, did you use the recipe straight out of the book, or make any tweaks? I scaled it up a little anticipating quite a bit of loss from the fruit...last year's beer (the gruit) I ended up slightly short and only had 4 or 5 bottles left for myself after shipping everything out...hoping to avoid that this year. Other than that I'm not changing much up I don't think.

Hitting up the LHBS at lunch today, starter will get going tonight, brew day on Sunday!
Click to expand...

I tweaked it just slightly. I needed a lot more grains to get the gravity called for. Either the author of the recipe has a way better system than I, or I just suck, who knows.
Ended up splitting the base between munich and 2 row, and backed off the special B, and added some sugar because my BIAB kettle isn't large enough, to get this grain bill
7 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 1 41.8 %
5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 29.9 %
3 lbs Amber Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 3 17.9 %
8.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.0 %
4.0 oz Carafa II (412.0 SRM) 1.5%
1 lbs Turbinado [Boil for 10 min](10.0 SRM) Sugar 9 6.0 %

kept the same hops, but upped the quantities a little to come more in line with what beer smith suggested for an old ale.
2.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 6 27.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Saaz [3.75 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 5.7 IBUs
0.50 oz Liberty [4.30 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 3.3 IBUs

Kept the spices the same, ended up with just over 3lbs of assorted dry fruit. It's the fruit that has me concerned. Not sure if it will be a muddled mess. So I'm going to get it in bottles, let it carb up, try it, and if it does seem like a mess I'll retry with a different more deliberate fruit selection.
 
Also realizing I don't have my location on my profile, makes it hard to break up if we do go for an East/West. I'm in Southern NH if that makes a difference.
 
cegan09 said:
I tweaked it just slightly. I needed a lot more grains to get the gravity called for. Either the author of the recipe has a way better system than I, or I just suck, who knows.
Ended up splitting the base between munich and 2 row, and backed off the special B, and added some sugar because my BIAB kettle isn't large enough, to get this grain bill
7 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 1 41.8 %
5 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 29.9 %
3 lbs Amber Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 3 17.9 %
8.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.0 %
4.0 oz Carafa II (412.0 SRM) 1.5%
1 lbs Turbinado [Boil for 10 min](10.0 SRM) Sugar 9 6.0 %

kept the same hops, but upped the quantities a little to come more in line with what beer smith suggested for an old ale.
2.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 6 27.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Saaz [3.75 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 5.7 IBUs
0.50 oz Liberty [4.30 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 3.3 IBUs

Kept the spices the same, ended up with just over 3lbs of assorted dry fruit. It's the fruit that has me concerned. Not sure if it will be a muddled mess. So I'm going to get it in bottles, let it carb up, try it, and if it does seem like a mess I'll retry with a different more deliberate fruit selection.
Click to expand...


Good to hear. I had the same discrepancies with the recipe as written when putting it into beersmith. I upped the grains to get to a 7gal recipe and also to bump the gravity...I think as written BS was telling me I was at a projected 1.055 SG vs. the book says 1.070 or something.
 
Yup, I saw the same thing. that's why I asked at some point if they were counting on the fruit to bump the OG. Based on what I saw, no. the water i hydrated the fruit with ended up around 1.07 when I dumped it in, so I just increased the volume, didn't change ABV really.
 
Shameless plug - I came across this thread and thought it'd be a blast; but, I was too late getting into it. I'm starting something relatively similar to this, except it won't be pre-made recipes. Just a standard iron brewer type competition and thought I'd share it with the folks who are involved in this one...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/hbt-iron-brewer-sign-up.648226/
 
cegan09 said:
Yup, I saw the same thing. that's why I asked at some point if they were counting on the fruit to bump the OG. Based on what I saw, no. the water i hydrated the fruit with ended up around 1.07 when I dumped it in, so I just increased the volume, didn't change ABV really.
Click to expand...


Good to know. What yeast did you go with?
 
Scturo said:
This seems like the best way to save money. Hopefully @gromitdj, and @jerbrew are still able to meet up with me to save our group money. [emoji106]
Click to expand...

Still the plan, Iwouldn't miss it. After my wedding, 35 days away, I will put the first attempt at this brew to the top of my list.
 
Fruitcake old ale is in primary and bubbling away. House still smells wonderful after brewing this morning.
 
A bit of limerick inspiration for @November

I walked into the ale house as the fellas cheered "brew it"!
Alas, I fear they can only mean my gruit.
A bit unnerving to me.
It's my first time you see.
But with mugwort in hand, I set off to do it.
 
Ha, I like that. Off to a rough start, one of my dog's tumors ruptured to I had to run to the vet after I mashed in, so it ended up mashing for 2 hours.

Sparge is done ramping up to boil and prepping my spice and herb blend.
 
Update of the Group 2 Caramel Quad:

IMG_20180412_210225.jpg


I popped open a test bottle today and am pleasantly surprised with the taste right now. Its a good quad. With that said, I don't think it met the recipe requirements.

I don't get a toffee flavor and the color is too light so I'll be taking another crack at this in the next couple weeks. The recipe calculated 22 SRM aside from the toffee addition and it looks right at 22 still so I don't think I cooked the toffee enough.

Anybody in Ohio want to help me drink all this? :D
 

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