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X-Mas Ale 2011
Brewed: 10/16/2011 Kegged: 11/06/2011
Continuing in the SheppyBrew annual tradition of special ales for the holiday, this year's X-Mas Ale is dark and malty with high alcohol. It is a classic winter warmer with festive flavorings.
The BU:GU ratio is a bit higher this year than past years and I am only using bittering hops, relying on spices for flavor contributions. The color of this beer will be a bit lighter than in years past, but still in a range that most people would call dark.
I considered matching Jamil's recipe in Brewing Classic Styles (allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg), but ended up using the hazelnut flavoring left over from the Bluefield experiment. I also added 1 tsp of cinnamon at bottling time.
This beer turned out absolutely perfect. It has a nice chocolate malt aroma and a smooth sweet malty chocolate flavor with just the right amount of hazelnut. There is just a bit of late bitterness that might be from the cinnamon. The cinnamon flavor certainly is subtle if it is there at all.
Anyway, I am looking forward to my annual vertical tasting. This might be the last year for 2009, although I might get one more year out of that batch.
| Style |
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Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer |
|
Batch Size |
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5.50 gal |
| Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
7.00 gal |
| Mash Efficiency |
|
70.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
90 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.078 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.018 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
36.9 IBUs (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
7.9 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.475 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
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22.2 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.075 |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.020 |
| ADF: |
|
73.3% |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
7.3% |
Ingredients
Ingredients
| Amt |
Name |
Type |
# |
%/IBU |
| 14 lbs 12.0 oz |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) |
Grain |
1 |
86.7 % |
| 1 lbs 12.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
2 |
10.3 % |
| 6.1 oz |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3 |
2.2 % |
| 1.0 pkg |
American Ale II (Harvested) (Wyeast Labs #1272) [125.00 ml] |
Yeast |
8 |
- |
| 0.75 oz |
Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min |
Hop |
5 |
36.9 IBUs |
| 0.50 tsp |
Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) |
Fining |
7 |
- |
| 1.00 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) |
Other |
6 |
- |
| 2.1 oz |
Blackprinz (500.0 SRM) |
Grain |
4 |
0.8 % |
| 1 oz |
Hazelnut Extract (Bottling) |
Flavor |
9 |
- |
Mash Profile
Mash Steps
| Name |
Description |
Step Temperature |
Step Time |
| Mash In |
Add 21.26 qt of water at 163.7 F |
152.0 F |
60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(0.23gal, 3.50gal) of 168.0 F water
Recipe Notes
Make starter a couple days in advance of brew
day.
Mash as instructed in 10 gallon cooler with mesh bag to keep grains
separated.
90 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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10/16/2011 |
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Strike Temp: |
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166
|
| Mash Temps: |
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Very consistent 156 all the way through
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| Pre-boil OG |
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1.070 (1.072 SG) |
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Pre-boil Vol |
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7.25 (7.00 gal) |
| Actual Mash Efficiency |
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83.3 |
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Pitch Temp |
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65 |
| Fermentation |
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| Day 1: |
| Day ... |
| Day ... |
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