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X-Mas Ale 2010
Brewed: 09/12/2010 Kegged: 10/02/2010
My first brewing year, of course I
knew I wanted a special holiday ale. It would be a
high-alcohol, flavorful beer to help keep me warm on cold winter nights.
I came across
Ol' St. Nick's Midnight Ale
on the Mr. Beer website, and decided to use it as a base for my own
recipe. It turned out great. It was dark and malty with few hops but some spices and fruit to make it a more special (festive) beer.
And, it is now a tradition to brew an X-Mas beer every year. 2010 was an all-grain batch. The base beer was designed to come as close to the first year as possible. The recipe used medium to dark caramel malts and some chocolate malt on top of the pale 2-row. It was different in that its main spice was apple pie spice. But for the most part, it turned out very similar. I do believe it also used less hops which helped give it a sweeter flavor.
One thing I am going to try to do is to do vertical tastings on my X-Mas Ale every year to see how age affects the beers. It was a very interesting experience this year. Read about it on my blog here. At the time that I am writing this, I have 2 left from 2009 and 7 left from 2010. I don't know if 2009 will make it to 2012 or not, but I'll have 3 beers to compare in 2011.
Merry X-Mas everyone.
| X-Mas Ale 2010 (AG) --- cost 17.21 |
| Style |
|
Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer |
|
Batch Size |
|
2.40 gal |
| Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
3.01 gal |
| Mash Efficiency |
|
65.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
90 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.068 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.017 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
22.5 IBU (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
6.55 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.333 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
|
26.1 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.071 |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.010 |
| ADF: |
|
86% |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
7.97% |
Ingredients
| Amount |
Item |
Type |
% or IBU |
| 5 lbs |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) |
Grain |
69.54 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.48 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.48 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3.48 % |
| 0.25 oz |
Nugget [10.00 %] (60 min) |
Hops |
22.5 IBU |
| 0.05 oz |
Cinnamon Stick (Boil 5.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 0.25 tsp |
Apple Pie Spice (Boil 5.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 0.25 tsp |
Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 0.25 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) |
Misc |
|
| 15.0 oz |
Cherries (Can) (10.0 SRM) |
Sugar |
13.07 % |
| 8.0 oz |
Brown Sugar, Light (8.0 SRM) |
Sugar |
6.95 % |
| 1 Pkgs |
SafAle English Ale (Fermentis #S-04) |
Yeast-Ale |
|
Mash Profile
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
| Step Time |
Name |
Description |
Step Temp |
| 60 min |
Mash In |
Add 7.19 qt of water at 165.9 F |
154.0 F |
Batch Sparge Round 1: Sparge
with 0.52 gal of 168.0 F water
Batch Sparge Round 2: Sparge with 1.63 gal of
168.0 F water
Recipe Notes
Try to pitch around 60F and control
for first few days to around 65. After main fermentation, let temp
raise.
Ferment 2 weeks.
After fermenting 1 week, add Cherries & Beer
to secondary fermenter. Ferment another week.
Batch prime with 2.25 oz sugar.
Condition for 2 - 4 weeks.
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