do i have time?

[beertron]

i would like to make a "big ass" holiday beer. it would have to be brewed next friday at the earliest. is this to late to start a big winter warmer? also, i have zero experience with spices or alternate ingredients. (im not a purist or anything, its just worked out that way so far.) any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[speed]

i dunno, if you want to make a BIG beer you should have started last year

[Billy Klubb]

what holiday is it for? hahahaha!!

for 5 gal
9 # pale malt
1/2 # Vienna malt
1/2 # Victory malt
1/2 # 15L crystal malt
1oz Halletauer (60 min)
1oz Saaz (60 min)
1/2oz Halletauer (15 min)
1/2oz Saaz (15 min)
1oz Golding (last 5 min)
1/2oz ginger root (grated)
3/4oz star anise
1/2oz orange zest
1/2oz coriander
1/2 # dark brown sugar (add at boil)
1 # clear candi sugar (add at boil)
Wyeast 1388 (healthy starter)

brew as normal. steep spices in fine mesh bag separately in 32oz water. add the spiced water and spice bag to primary. condition for 6-8 weeks.


bear in mind I am no AG brewer. I don't know mash temps and all that silliness. just came up with it over the last 30-45 minutes. just an idea. if any of you real AG brewers have any ideas to improve, please speak now or forever hold your pants.

[Billy Klubb]

really now. no one has any input? beertron, what did you come up with?

[beertron]

what did you come up with?

sorry, i forgot to check this post for a while.

the recipe looks great. i didnt come up with anything. i just needed somewhere to start because i have never made a spiced beer like this. i think im gonna follow your recipe as close as possible. if there is anything about it that i dont like i will change it for next year.

thanks alot

[thetooth]

I make a few "big-ass" holiday beers every year, and I make them between March and June to be ready to drink by the holidays. I just tapped a few of them and they are awesome (in my opinion, which is all that matters LOL) this year.

[hwasone]

what holiday is it for? hahahaha!!

for 5 gal
9 # pale malt
1/2 # Vienna malt
1/2 # Victory malt
1/2 # 15L crystal malt
1oz Halletauer (60 min)
1oz Saaz (60 min)
1/2oz Halletauer (15 min)
1/2oz Saaz (15 min)
1oz Golding (last 5 min)
1/2oz ginger root (grated)
3/4oz star anise
1/2oz orange zest
1/2oz coriander
1/2 # dark brown sugar (add at boil)
1 # clear candi sugar (add at boil)
Wyeast 1388 (healthy starter)

brew as normal. steep spices in fine mesh bag separately in 32oz water. add the spiced water and spice bag to primary. condition for 6-8 weeks.


bear in mind I am no AG brewer. I don't know mash temps and all that silliness. just came up with it over the last 30-45 minutes. just an idea. if any of you real AG brewers have any ideas to improve, please speak now or forever hold your pants.

sounds tasty. i like my holiday beers a little darker, though, to balance some of the spices.

[beertron]

I make a few "big-ass" holiday beers every year, and I make them between March and June to be ready to drink by the holidays. I just tapped a few of them and they are awesome (in my opinion, which is all that matters LOL) this year.

so should i wait for next year to make a holiday beer. it seems like i dont have enough time for the beer to condition. im worried about the spices being to crazy.

[Billy Klubb]

I make a few "big-ass" holiday beers every year, and I make them between March and June to be ready to drink by the holidays. I just tapped a few of them and they are awesome (in my opinion, which is all that matters LOL) this year.

so should i wait for next year to make a holiday beer. it seems like i dont have enough time for the beer to condition. im worried about the spices being to crazy.

I say brew it now and again in April.

sounds tasty. i like my holiday beers a little darker, though, to balance some of the spices.

that's something I didn't think of. I was mainly concerned about the hops balancing with the spices and malt, but not the malt balancing with the spices. thanks for the insight!

[thetooth]

I make a few "big-ass" holiday beers every year, and I make them between March and June to be ready to drink by the holidays. I just tapped a few of them and they are awesome (in my opinion, which is all that matters LOL) this year.

so should i wait for next year to make a holiday beer. it seems like i dont have enough time for the beer to condition. im worried about the spices being to crazy.

You can make something now. It won't really be as good as it could be until early next year, but it will be drinkable.

Here's my experience from last year: For the past few years, I have made a few big-ass beers to bottle up and give away as holiday gifts to friends and co-workers. Every year, I seem to have more people hinting that they'd like a gift, so I keep making more. Last year, I found I was a bit short because of the people my wife work with that were hoping for a few bottles. To make up for the shortfall, I made a lower-alcohol spiced beer in early December. I figured that the lower alcohol content would help it be ready in time. The beer came out ok, was bottled, and given away. It got good reviews from some people, but I wasn't thrilled. As usual, I kept a few bottles aside for me. I popped a couple open with a friend in February or March this year and they were awesome! The spices mellowed out and integrated to create a nicely rounded flavor. This year I made the same beer, but it was in the keg a few weeks ago so that it should have a couple months of aging and be good to go by XMas when I'm giving them out.

If you really want to make a holiday beer this year, I suggest something with lower alcohol than a big-ass beer with some spicing. If you want to make a big-ass (I'm assuming you mean 8 - 15% abv) beer, I'd make it for next year. You can make it now or early next year. Put it away and let it do it's thing until the holidays in '10 and you'll be a happy dude.

Below is my recipe from this year if you're interested. The only reason I had 2 different saaz entries at 5 minutes is because I had to use two different packages of hops I had with radically different AA levels.

Spiced Holiday Ale
A ProMash Brewing Session - Recipe Details Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 9.63
Anticipated OG: 1.048 Plato: 11.99
Anticipated SRM: 12.7
Anticipated IBU: 26.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
93.5 9.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
5.2 0.50 lbs. Crystal 75L Great Britian 1.034 75
1.3 0.13 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475


Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
28.35 g. Mt. Hood Pellet 4.25 20.9 60 min.
12.00 g. Czech Saaz Pellet 5.80 3.2 15 min.
4.00 g. Czech Saaz Pellet 5.80 0.7 5 min.
16.00 g. Czech Saaz Pellet 2.70 1.3 5 min.


Extras
Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Unit(s)Whirlfloc Fining 15 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tsp Cloves Spice 5 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tsp Cinnamon Spice 5 Min.(boil)
0.25 Tsp Nutmeg Spice 5 Min.(boil)
3.00 Tsp Ginger Spice 5 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----
White Labs WLP001 California Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------
Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 9.63
Water Qts: 12.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 3.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.25 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 150 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 175 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 175 Time: 30


Total Mash Volume Gal: 3.77 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.