X-Mas Ale 2017
Brewed: 11/19/2017 Kegged: 12/09/2017
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 2017, the recipe reduces the OG and therefore the ABV.
I reduced the crystal malts a bit as well.
For flavoring, I am adding Blueberry extract to use us the extract that I used for the last Boo Berry Wheat recipe that I made. The blueberry flavor really compliments the rich caramel backbone, and comes through with a subtle enough character that if I didn't know it had blueberry flavoring in it, I wouldn't identify it as a blueberry beer.
It is, however tangibly different than the base beer.
The color come across darker than I intended / expected. If I hold the beer up to the sun, it is a nice ruby red color. However, in any normal lighting, it show up as black in pictures.
I think next year, I'm going to shoot for 15 or 16 SRM.
I used American Ale II yeast in the 2017 recipe because I had some harvested that I wanted to use up.
Despite being lower in alcohol, the beer is still be perfect for sipping by the fireplace on a cold winter evening with family and friends. In fact, perhaps less alcohol makes it even better IMHO.
| X-Mas Ale 2017 --- Batch 1 |
| Style |
|
Winter Seasonal Beer |
|
Batch Size |
|
5.50 gal |
| Type |
|
All Grain |
|
Boil Size |
|
7.71 gal |
| Brewhouse Efficiency |
|
70.00 |
|
Boil Time |
|
60 minutes | Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity |
|
1.058 SG |
|
Estimated FG |
|
1.014 SG |
| Recipe Bitterness |
|
30.5 IBUs (Rager) |
|
Alcohol by Volume |
|
5.8 % |
| BU : GU |
|
0.525 |
|
|
|
|
| Recipe Color |
|
20.0 SRM |
|
|
|
|
| Measured OG: |
|
1.058 |
|
Measured FG: |
|
1.016 |
| ADF: |
|
72 |
|
Measured ABV: |
|
5.5 | 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 |
78.4 % |
| 2 lbs |
Munich Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM) |
Grain |
3 |
15.7 % |
| 8.0 oz |
Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) |
Grain |
4 |
3.9 % |
| 4.0 oz |
Midnight Wheat Malt (550.0 SRM) |
Grain |
5 |
2.0 % |
| 0.500 oz |
Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.20 %] - First Wort 60.0 min |
Hop |
6 |
30.5 IBUs |
| 1.00 Items |
Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) |
Fining |
7 |
- |
| 1.0 pkg |
American Ale II (Harvested) (Wyeast Labs #1272) [125.00 ml] |
Yeast |
8 |
- |
| 1.00 tsp |
Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) |
Other |
9 |
- |
| 3.00 oz |
Blueberry Extract (Bottling 5.0 mins) |
Flavor |
10 |
- |
Mash Profile
Mash Steps
| Name |
Description |
Step Temperature |
Step Time |
| Mash In |
Add 15.94 qt of water at 163.7 F |
152.0 F |
60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(1.40gal, 3.86gal) 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.
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 blueberry extract.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: |
|
|
|
Strike Temp: |
|
170 |
| Mash Temps: |
|
160ish down to 154 1 hour |
| Pre-boil OG |
|
1.050 (1.048 SG) |
|
Pre-boil Vol |
|
(7.71 gal) |
| Actual Mash Efficiency |
|
|
|
Pitch Temp |
|
64 |
| Fermentation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Day 1: |
| Day ... |
| Day ... |
Click here to see previous recipes
|