X-Mas Ale 2024
Every year since I started homebrewing (way back in 2009), I've brewed an X-Mas Ale to have around the holidays.
The base beer was always a very similar "Winter Warmer", and I'd add various ingredients to make it more of a "Holiday" Beer.
Over the years, I added wood spirals, vanilla, cherry pomegranate, chocolate, peppermint, peanut butter, hazelnut, cherry, and many other flavorings.
When I started thinking about the 2024, I had been doing the Roll-a-Style series of brews for over a year.
17A. British Strong Ale had been sitting on the list for quite some time, and at some point I wondered if I should just mark off that as a style that I had already brewed as one of my base-beer-only X-Mas Ales.
But ... I decided that this style wasn't exactly what I was brewing on the base beers.
I decided, though, that I would switch up the base a bit to make it match the "British Strong" a little closer, and make this new recipe the 2024 X-Mas ale.
This is the recipe I came up with.
X-Mas Ale 2024 --- Batch 1 (364) |
Style |
|
British Strong Ale |
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Batch Size |
|
5.50 gal |
Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
6.60 gal |
Brewhouse Efficiency |
|
65.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
60 minutes | Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity |
|
1.063 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.016 SG |
Recipe Bitterness |
|
42.0 IBUs (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
6.2 % |
BU : GU |
|
0.671 |
|
|
|
|
Recipe Color |
|
16.5 SRM |
|
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Measured OG: |
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Measured FG: |
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ADF: |
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Measured ABV: |
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| Ingredients
Ingredients
Amt |
Name |
Type |
# |
%/IBU |
Volume |
8.13 gal |
Denver, Colorado |
Water |
1 |
- |
- |
4.00 g |
Calcium Chloride (Mash) |
Water Agent |
2 |
- |
- |
2.00 g |
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) |
Water Agent |
3 |
- |
- |
13 lbs |
Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) |
Grain |
4 |
92.0 % |
1.02 gal |
8.0 oz |
Crystal, Light (Simpsons) (40.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5 |
3.5 % |
0.04 gal |
4.0 oz |
Crystal, Extra Dark (Simpsons) (180.0 SRM) |
Grain |
6 |
1.8 % |
0.02 gal |
4.0 oz |
Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (70.0 SRM) |
Grain |
7 |
1.8 % |
0.02 gal |
2.0 oz |
Chocolate (Crisp) (630.0 SRM) |
Grain |
8 |
0.9 % |
0.01 gal |
1.000 oz |
Magnum [12.60 %] - Boil 40.0 min |
Hop |
9 |
38.0 IBUs |
- |
1.00 Items |
Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) |
Fining |
10 |
- |
- |
1.000 oz |
Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min |
Hop |
11 |
4.0 IBUs |
- |
1.00 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) |
Other |
12 |
- |
- |
1.0 pkg |
SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] |
Yeast |
13 |
- |
- |
Mash Profile
Mash Steps
Name |
Description |
Step Temperature |
Step Time |
Saccharification |
Add 32.54 qt of water at 159.6 F |
152.0 F |
45 min |
Heat |
Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min |
158.0 F |
15 min |
Mash Out |
Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min |
170.0 F |
10 min | If steeping, remove grains,
and prepare to boil wort Recipe Notes Water salts bring Denver
water profile (as defined by BeerSmith)
to Ca=82,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=87,Cl=86,HCO3=104 Acid addition to bring expected
mash pH to 5.4 Mash as instructed. 60 minute boil making additions as
instructed in recipe. Cool wort to as close to 60F as possible. Add to
fermenter. Aerate wort and pitch yeast. Ferment at 60F for 24 hours or so.
Try to keep fermentation between 60 and 65 for a couple days, then let the
temperature go where it want to.
Brewing Record
Brew Date: |
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Strike Temp: |
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Mash Temps: |
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Pre-boil OG |
|
(1.057 SG) |
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Pre-boil Vol |
|
(6.60 gal) |
Actual Mash Efficiency |
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Pitch Temp |
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Fermentation |
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Day 1: |
Day ... |
Day ... |
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