Happy Holidays From Brew or Die!

It's Christmas Eve and what better way to enjoy the holidays than sharing a few beers with close friends and family.  I'm heading home to spend time with my mother and grandfather.  With me, I'm bringing a 6-pack of my recently bottled Gingerbread Nut Brown Ale.  On Christmas day, we spend time with the entire family.  If the Christmas spirit fully sets in, I might even decide to share a bottle or two. 

When I bottled, I made a point of bottling a few 22oz bottles to give as gifts.  This will be a great for friends since most of them enjoy a quality beer (some are home brewers themselves).  Before actually giving the gift, I had to make sure it wasn't ruined. I opened a bottle to check for taste and that it was fully carbonated.  Please note that when I sampled a bottle, I did so without placing it in the refrigerator because my bottles sit in an environment that makes them slightly chilled (averaging about 60°F).  I know there is a controversy over what temperature you should drink a beer.  Depending on the style, I tend to like my beers chilled below room temperature but not quite at the temperature straight from the fridge. Its a matter of preference, but a Google search produced this information which I tend to agree with.

Upon the actual pour, the color is nice and dark and formed a nice colorful head. When taking my first taste, I could smell the spices and the taste, mixed with the darker malts and brown sugar, reminded me of a gingerbread cookie.  It came out just as I hoped; malty and less bitter with a mild hop taste.  I wont lie that after trying the first bottle, I had two more.  Final verdict? A great beer for a holiday gift or just to drink for the season.  I know my friends will enjoy it and it wont last long so I'm going to hide a six pack to save and see how it tastes in a couple months.

Since we're talking beer, I think it's safe to mention the necessity of responsibility and not overdoing it.  This is something that's to be enjoyed.  You can enjoy yourself with a few beers and not become belligerent.

That being said, may your holiday be safe.  Enjoy the time you've had as the year ends and head into the new year with high hopes and a full pint.  Happy Holidays from Brew or Die!

Gingerbread Nut Brown Ale

It has been decided. The next batch is brewed and fermenting. The final decision on style? A Gingerbread Cookie Nut Brown Ale. The plan is for a beer that is low in bitterness with a good malt flavor. This is going to turn out to be a great Christmas gift.

In researching for this recipe, I bought How to Brew by John Palmer. It's a very good book to have on hand. He explains everything very well and at the end of the book there is a breakdown of recipes. I used this as a basis for my recipe. One thing that he covers is how to use IBU's and gravity to describe and develop your beers. IBU stands for International Bitterness Unit and is a good indication of the bitterness level of a beer. Wanting the malts to come out more than that hops, I figured this to 22 IBU's, which is on the lower side. For the recipe, I wanted to use some darker malts and used some of the recommendations from the book.

Recipe is as follows:

Malts:
-6.6 lbs LME Amber extract
-8 oz Chocolate Malts
-8 oz Brown Malts
-8 oz Crystal malts 60 L

Hops:
-Bittering (60 min): 0.5 oz Nugget pellet hops
-Aroma (15 min): 0.75 oz Willamette hops

Spices: (added at the last 5 minutes of boil)
-1/4 cup brown sugar (added last 10 minutes of boil)
-2 tbsp ginger powder
-1 tbsp each cinnamon and nutmeg powder
-3/4 tbsp clove powder

Yeast:
-Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast

Procedure:
1 - Clean! Make sure all of your equipment has been cleaned and sterilized. Also, this is a good time to start the yeast. Since I used Wyeast this time, it come as a smack pack. Follow the instructions on how to get the yeast started and set aside till it's time to pitch.

2 - Bring 3 gallons of water up to 150-170 °F. Place the grains into a muslin bag and steep for 30 minutes. Remove and discard.

3 - Bring pot to a boil and stir in the malt extract. It would be a good idea to move the pot from the burner to prevent scorching. After the extracts are completely dissolved, return to a boil. Add the Nugget hops and start a timer for 60 minutes. Be sure to stir often to prevent a boil over (I set a timer for 5 minutes and stir at each interval). When there is 15 minutes remaining, add the Willamette hops. Add the brown sugar at 10 minute and then the spices at 5 minutes.

4 - Cool the wort using your preferred method. As seen in previous entries, I like to use ice straight into the wort. It will cool rapidly and add to the top water to bring the final volume to 5 gallons. Be sure the temperature drops below 80°F.

5 - Transfer the wort to the fermenter. I use the racking method which involves siphoning the boil from point A to point B. Once the transfer is complete, top of the fermenter to the 5 gallon mark. Aerate the wort by stirring vigorously or by shaking the bucket. Pitch the yeast and seal the fermenter. Attach the bubbler and set in a safe place to begin the fermentation process. Bottle after two weeks.