12 Beers of Christmas 2019 Edition

CornyKegs 728
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dryboroughbrewing said:
just threw together a german pilsner to propogate yeast for my doppelbock, and figured I'd bump the thread to see if we can get the last few spots filled.
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Man, really getting a jump start on the brew! I have several ideas in mind for mine so I plan to brew quite a few batches this spring/summer to really get it how I want it.

If push comes to shove, I can likely brew another recipe to fill in one more spot. It would be cool to do an East and West but I've never even heard of a gruit and would have no idea where to even begin..lets just hope they get filled. Cheers!
 
1) Caramel Quadrupel @HopHeavy
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @fourfarthing
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock: @Hoppy2bmerry
4) Juniper Rye Bock @dryboroughbrewing
5) Fruitcake Old Ale: @BradleyBrew
6) Saffron Tripel @cegan09
7) Christmas Gruit @Stupidsexyflanders
8) Honey Ginger IPA @HopHeavy brother Pete
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale: @MapleGroveAleworks
10) Gingerbread Ale @Jtk78
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @TBC
12) Abbey Weizen @wstbrewing


GROUP 2 (West Coast)

1) Caramel Quadrupel @gromitdj
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @Yeroc
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock
4) Juniper Rye Bock @Jmarsh544
5) Fruitcake Old Ale @anotherbeerplease
6) Saffron Tripel @jerbrew
7) Christmas Gruit @Scturo
8) Honey Ginger IPA @dawn_kiebawls
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale @tochsner
10) Gingerbread Ale @chrisgood1
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @TwistedGray
12) Abbey Weizen @grampamark
 
Group 1 is full! Welcome @Stupidsexyflanders

All we need is someone to brew the Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock in group 2 and we're completely full!

As someone who brewed that beer in the 2018 exchange, I can say it was a blast brewing it, and I have gotten multiple requests from friends to re-brew it.
 
I'm starting to design my recipe so I can brew it many times before its time to ship out. I do have a few questions though, since there was discussion on the 12BoC 2018 thread about how much 'artistic measures' we could take on the recipes this year I wanted to ask well ahead of time and make sure I'm not in violation.

I'm doing the Honey Ginger IPA for the West. Since the book only says to 'start with an IPA' I was wondering if I could do a NEIPA since it is still an IPA.

Also, he says to use EKG exclusively (which sounds like a good choice to me) but if I were to make a more tropical/fruit bomb would that be OK, or am I taking things too far?

Let me know what the verdict is and I will brew accordingly. Thanks, cheers!
 
dawn_kiebawls said:
I'm starting to design my recipe so I can brew it many times before its time to ship out. I do have a few questions though, since there was discussion on the 12BoC 2018 thread about how much 'artistic measures' we could take on the recipes this year I wanted to ask well ahead of time and make sure I'm not in violation.

I'm doing the Honey Ginger IPA for the West. Since the book only says to 'start with an IPA' I was wondering if I could do a NEIPA since it is still an IPA.

Also, he says to use EKG exclusively (which sounds like a good choice to me) but if I were to make a more tropical/fruit bomb would that be OK, or am I taking things too far?

Let me know what the verdict is and I will brew accordingly. Thanks, cheers!
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Simple answer is to brew this for yourself and see how it comes out. If it hit the mark and you want to share it as your offer then go for it. Not sure how ginger and tropical fruit play together in an IPA setting but I'm willing to try almost anything once.
 
jerbrew said:
Simple answer is to brew this for yourself and see how it comes out. If it hit the mark and you want to share it as your offer then go for it. Not sure how ginger and tropical fruit play together in an IPA setting but I'm willing to try almost anything once.
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That settles it then! I'm not sure how the tropical hops will pair with ginger either, but I'll take one for the team and give it a go. I won't share anything I'm not proud of which is why I'm starting this experiment now. Cheers!


Also, @MapleGroveAleworks If need be I can double down and brew the Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock as well if that spot doesn't get filled.
 
dawn_kiebawls said:
That settles it then! I'm not sure how the tropical hops will pair with ginger either, but I'll take one for the team and give it a go. I won't share anything I'm not proud of which is why I'm starting this experiment now. Cheers!


Also, @MapleGroveAleworks If need be I can double down and brew the Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock as well if that spot doesn't get filled.
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Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'm hoping someone will jump in, especially with it being a fairly simple one to brew. We'll see!
 
Thinking through, I think it might make sense to skip this year. I plan on buying a house and moving this year, and I don't want to get halfway through the year only to realize I can't deliver. Better to offer the spot up now. I'll watch and jump in for 2020 since I enjoyed the 2018 version.
 
MapleGroveAleworks said:
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'm hoping someone will jump in, especially with it being a fairly simple one to brew. We'll see!
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I am to since it would double my shipping costs (not a big deal to me, honestly) but I would be happy to do it if it means keeping everyone involved and not collapsing a group.

What are you thoughts on a NEIPA style for my honey ginger? I'm not sure how exact we need to adhere to Moshers guidelines and I don't want to step on any toes or break any rules. Thanks again for putting this together this year. If I can do anything to help just let me know. Cheers!
 
I think you can have a range of experimentation with several of the recipes. I think the IPA, the Old Ale, and the stout especially have a lot of wiggle room.

Last year when I did the IPA, I did it as a double IPA using a dank/citrusy hop profile. When I did the gruit, I added some smoked malt. My Fruitcake Old Ale had a much different grain bill than the book recipe (but still based on the style) and dried fruits ranging from strawberries and blueberries to cherries and apricots. The caramel quad I played pretty much by the book.

Play around with it, but keep to the spirit of the recipe concept, is what I would say...just my $0.02, but I'm sitting this year out and just spectating, so I'll defer to the others.
 
dawn_kiebawls said:
I am to since it would double my shipping costs (not a big deal to me, honestly) but I would be happy to do it if it means keeping everyone involved and not collapsing a group.

What are you thoughts on a NEIPA style for my honey ginger? I'm not sure how exact we need to adhere to Moshers guidelines and I don't want to step on any toes or break any rules. Thanks again for putting this together this year. If I can do anything to help just let me know. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Go for it on the changes!
 
1) Caramel Quadrupel @HopHeavy
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @fourfarthing
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock: @Hoppy2bmerry
4) Juniper Rye Bock @dryboroughbrewing
5) Fruitcake Old Ale: @BradleyBrew
6) Saffron Tripel @satph
7) Christmas Gruit @Stupidsexyflanders
8) Honey Ginger IPA @HopHeavy brother Pete
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale: @MapleGroveAleworks
10) Gingerbread Ale @Jtk78
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @TBC
12) Abbey Weizen @wstbrewing


GROUP 2 (West Coast)

1) Caramel Quadrupel @gromitdj
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @Yeroc
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock
4) Juniper Rye Bock @Jmarsh544
5) Fruitcake Old Ale @anotherbeerplease
6) Saffron Tripel @jerbrew
7) Christmas Gruit @Scturo
8) Honey Ginger IPA @dawn_kiebawls
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale @tochsner
10) Gingerbread Ale @chrisgood1
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @TwistedGray
12) Abbey Weizen @grampamark
 
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I'd like to make Saffron Tripel for the East Coast. Is there a recipe beyond:

"Pick your favorite Belgian tripel recipe as a start. If there’s no sugar in it, substitute 20 percent of the base malt for some unrefined sugar, such as turbinado or piloncillo. Jaggery (Indian palm sugar) is lovely. Add the zest of one orange at the end of the boil, along with a pinch of crushed grains of paradise or black pepper. Ferment with Belgian ale yeast, and add 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads after transferring to the secondary.."?

I've become very fond of panela in barley wines, but I think it would over power a tripel.
 
@satph Welcome to the group! And as far as that recipe goes, I am not sure. Feel free to be as creative as you'd like, even brew a test batch if you want. You have plenty of time.
 
IMG_20190117_103929.jpg


Old Ale is fermenting now for group 2! I wanted to get an early start so I can start aging it ASAP.

Maris Otter base malt, with Munich and Victory for a malty kick. Then some Special B, brown sugar and a dash of molasses with RedX malt for color. Mashed at 156F to give it more body (some of that will age out anyways.)

I'm debating aging with a small amount of French Oak since historically Old Ales were barrel aged. Missed OG by a bit because my volume was too high. So right now we are looking at about 7.5% abv when my target was 8.5%; maybe I will put some sugar in depending on how it comes out.

For yeast I used Bell's yeast cultured from bottles which I had been stepping up. Curious to see how the Bells yeast esters play into the beer, especially with the spices and added fruit. I am guessing they will compliment each other nicely.
 
Unfortunately , I have to bow out of this year’s exchange. Hope to be back next year.
 
]1) Caramel Quadrupel @HopHeavy
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @fourfarthing
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock: @Hoppy2bmerry
4) Juniper Rye Bock @dryboroughbrewing
5) Fruitcake Old Ale: @BradleyBrew
6) Saffron Tripel @satph
7) Christmas Gruit @Stupidsexyflanders
8) Honey Ginger IPA @HopHeavy brother Pete
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale: @MapleGroveAleworks
10) Gingerbread Ale @Jtk78
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @TBC
12) Abbey Weizen @wstbrewing


GROUP 2 (West Coast)

1) Caramel Quadrupel @gromitdj
2) Spiced Cherry Dubbel @Yeroc
3) Spiced Dunkel Weizenbock
4) Juniper Rye Bock @Jmarsh544
5) Fruitcake Old Ale @anotherbeerplease
6) Saffron Tripel @jerbrew
7) Christmas Gruit
8) Honey Ginger IPA @jack13
9) Crabapple Lambicky Ale @tochsner
10) Gingerbread Ale @chrisgood1
11) Spiced Bourbon Stout @TwistedGray
12) Abbey Weizen @grampamark
 
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Isn't Christmas over??

So what do I need to join? Living in Texas Don't care which group and up to brewing anything.

How about the Gruit? Love to try...
 
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PianoMan said:
Isn't Christmas over??

So what do I need to join? Living in Texas Don't care which group and up to brewing anything.

How about the Gruit? Love to try...
Click to expand...

Take a look at my post #108 - Group 2 still has 3 beers available! You can pick any one that you'd like.
 
MapleGroveAleworks said:
Take a look at my post #108 - Group 2 still has 3 beers available! You can pick any one that you'd like.
Click to expand...

From browsing this thread, looks like Group 2 is west coast, but that's not a hard and fast rule--basically if I'm OK with the extra shipping, others don't mind. I'm east coast. If I'm eligible, I'll take Honey Ginger IPA.
 
jack13 said:
From browsing this thread, looks like Group 2 is west coast, but that's not a hard and fast rule--basically if I'm OK with the extra shipping, others don't mind. I'm east coast. If I'm eligible, I'll take Honey Ginger IPA.
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Oh yeah absolutely. Anyone can take group 2 regardless of where you live. You're in!
 
Brew day for my G2 West Coast Spiced Cherry Dubbel was on Feb. 10th. Notched fermentation up from 63 to 70 degrees over the first 7 days and now holding at 70. I have frozen sour cherries on standby from last summer. Still need to pick up some sweet cherries. I'm considering ordering some mahlab kernels to also add in secondary. I used about 1 tsp of mahlab along with sour cherries in a 5 gallon batch of sour scotch ale that turned out well.
 
Last week I thawed 6lbs 8oz sour cherries and 8 x 1lbs bags TJ dark of frozen cherries in the refrigerator. On March 2, I put the cherries into a 5 gallon strainer bag in a soup pot. Added 1.5 tps pectic enzyme & 1/8 tsp metabisulfite. Crushed & stirred in a pot. I then added three glass fermentation weights and tied up the bag.

The bag of cherries was transferred to a clean bucket with a towel on top. I let that rest in a room with an ambient temperature of 67F until the next afternoon when I racked approximately 3 gallons of the dubbel into the bucket with a lid and air-lock. The remaining 2 gallons was racked into two 1 gallon jugs. I added one sugar carbonation drop to each jug just to get a little fermentation action started to deal with any O2 I picked up during the racking.

The air-lock on the bucket is bubbling ever 6 seconds this morning. Ambient temperature 67F.

Has anyone else started their brews?
 

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