X-Mas Ale 2016
Brewed: 10/02/2016 Kegged: 10/23/2016
 Ever since I started brewing (way back in 2009), I've always brewed a seasonal X-Mas Ale Winter warmer. It is always a pretty big beer with lots of caramel and usually has a little extra spice or other flavor to add to the festivity. In 2016, my wife mentioned that the 2012 peppermint beer was her favorite X-Mas Ale, and I decided to try that again. I modified the base beer a little bit from previous years. I dropped the ABV just a touch. I am continuing to use dark munich malt as I did in 2015 and am in fact increasing it this year. I also increased the caramel malt a little. The resulting color should be more in line with previous years than last year was.
I used Kolsch Yeast in the 2016 recipe simply because I had some harvested that I wanted to use up.
Despite being lower in alcohol, it is still be perfect for sipping by the fireplace on a cold winter evening with family and friends. In fact, perhaps less alcohol helps. It is like drinking a chocolate candy cane. Tastes a bit like a thin mint cookie.
2016 is the second year of kegging most of my X-Mas Ale, allowing us to pour from the tap as Jesus intended beer to be consumed. I even skipped the bottling this year ... putting an end to the tradition of having old X-Mas Ales for vertical tastings. Jesus wants us to drink fresh beer.
| Style |
|
Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer |
|
Batch Size |
|
5.50 gal |
| Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
7.77 gal |
| Brewhouse Efficiency |
|
75.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
90 minutes | Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.065 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.015 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
32.2 IBUs (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
6.6 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.492 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
|
22.7 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.062 |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.014 |
| ADF: |
|
77 |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
6.3 | Ingredients
Ingredients
| Amt |
Name |
Type |
# |
%/IBU |
| 3.00 g |
Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins) |
Water Agent |
1 |
- |
| 10 lbs |
Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) |
Grain |
2 |
74.1 % |
| 2 lbs |
Munich Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3 |
14.8 % |
| 1 lbs |
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) |
Grain |
4 |
7.4 % |
| 6.0 oz |
Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5 |
2.8 % |
| 2.0 oz |
Blackprinz (500.0 SRM) |
Grain |
6 |
0.9 % |
| 0.500 oz |
Columbus (Tomahawk) [15.20 %] - First Wort 90.0 min |
Hop |
7 |
32.2 IBUs |
| 1.00 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) |
Other |
8 |
- |
| 0.50 tsp |
Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) |
Fining |
9 |
- |
| 1.0 pkg |
Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565) [124.21 ml] |
Yeast |
10 |
- |
| 1.00 tbsp |
Peppermint Extract (Secondary 5.0 days) |
Flavor |
11 |
- |
Mash Profile
Mash Steps
| Name |
Description |
Step Temperature |
Step Time |
| Mash In |
Add 16.88 qt of water at 163.7 F |
152.0 F |
60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(1.28gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water
Recipe Notes
Make starter a
couple days in advance of brew day.
3g chalk in the mash water. This should
bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=67,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=50,Cl=23,HCO3=157
Mash as instructed.
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. Add half the
peppermint
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.
After the initial fermentation is done, rack to secondary fermentor along
with other half of peppermint.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: |
|
10/2 |
|
Strike Temp: |
|
170 |
| Mash Temps: |
|
152 overnight down to 145ish |
| Pre-boil OG |
|
(1.053 SG) |
|
Pre-boil Vol |
|
(7.77 gal) |
| Actual Mash Efficiency |
|
|
|
Pitch Temp |
|
62 |
| Fermentation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Day 1: Active before end of day 0. 64 |
| Day ... |
| Day ... |
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|