Skip to main content

Christmas Ale 2020

 A few months back, I saw one of David Heath's YouTube videos where he brewed a "Fast Christmas Beer" using a couple of methods to reduce brewing and fermentation time.  The recipe sounded interesting, so I decided to brew it for Christmas 2020.  Thanks to COVID-19, I won't have many opportunities to share it with others, but my wife and I will get to check it out.

I deviated from the recipe in the video in that I elected to go for a 60-minute boil rather than boil the hops, orange peel, and cinnamon separately on the kitchen stove.  I also deviated slightly in using a mix of base malts that I needed to use up, rather than the straight up pale malt he used.  Otherwise, this is basically David Heath's recipe.

I also decided to use Lutra Kveik yeast for half the wort and SafAle S-04 for the other half, just to see how the beer would differ with a different yeast.  Heath recommended Tormodgarden Kveik yeast, but also noted S-04 and US-05 as options if you didn't want to use Kveik or couldn't get it.

Ingredients

10 pounds Golden Promise malt
3 pounds and 4 ounces of a mix of 2-row and Belgian Pale Ale malts
13 ounces of a mix of Caramel 120L malt and Special B malt (mostly 120L)
4 ounces Carafa I Special Dehusked malt
0.5 ounces Bravo hops @ 17.5% AA (60 min.)
0.75 ounces Bitter Orange Peel (5 min.)
0.75 ounces Sweet Orange Peel (5 min.)
0.25 heaping tsp. Cinnamon Powder (5 min.)
0.25 tsp. Wyeast yeast nutrient
1 pkg. Omega Lutra Kveik (for the first 2 gallons)
1 pkg. Safale S-04 (for the other 2 gallons)
1/8 tsp. Brewtan B (mash)
1/4 tsp. Brewtan B (boil)

5.75 gallons RO mash water, treated with 0.4g Baking Soda, 2.5g Calcium Chloride, 0.3g table salt, 1.3g Epsom Salt, 2.5g Gypsum, 1.2g Magnesium Chloride
1.35 gallons RO sparge water, untreated

Per Brewfather, the recipe stats are:

  • Batch Size: 5.0 gallons (actual 3.9 gallons)
  • Pre-Boil Volume: 5.5 gallons (actual 5 gallons)
  • Boil Time: 60 minutes
  • Mash Efficiency: 59%
  • IBUs: 27
  • Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.060 SG (actual 1.056 SG)
  • Original Gravity: 1.066 SG (actual 1.059 SG)
  • Final Gravity: 1.015 SG estimated (Lutra), 1.017 SG estimated (S-04)
  • ABV: 7.0% estimated (Lutra), 5.7% estimated (S-04)
  • Fermenters Used:  Mandalorian, Nomad
  • Tilt Hydrometer Used:  Black for Mandalorian, Green for Nomad
Mash Schedule is simple.  I began adding the grain as The Grainfather reached 120F on its way to heating to 156F.  Once 156F was reached, I mashed the grain for 45 minutes.  An iodine test indicated conversion was complete by that time and I began sparging while heating to a boil.

Boil Schedule:
  • 60 minutes:  Add Bravo hops
  • 20 minutes:  Add Brewtan B
  • 15 minutes:  Add Whirlfloc tablet and Yeast Nutrient
  • 5 minutes:  Add Cinnamon, Sweet and Bitter Orange Peel
  • 0 minutes:  Chill
Fermentation Plan:
  • Split the wort into half-size batches in different fermenters
  • Pitch Lutra in one fermenter and heat to 90F (which Omega says is its optimal temperature), holding there until complete
  • Pitch S-04 in the other fermenter and hold at ambient 65-68F basement temp until complete
Post-Brew Notes and Observations

12/06/2020:  I had some trouble during the sparge. After adding the last of the water, it seemed like the sparge was going too slowly.  It wasn't stuck, just very slow.  I tilted the grain basket to have a look, which popped the ring (which holds the mash basket in place) out of the rim of The Grainfather.  I couldn't pop the ring back in place while also holding the mash basket, so I moved the mash basket to the sink.  This caused me to lose some amount of wort, however much was still in the grain and which had not yet drained out... I'd estimate maybe a quart or two.  This lost some volume. (The sink was dirty and I didn't feel right putting the grain basket back on the kettle.)

12/07/2020:  Both batches are showing signs of activity.  The S-04 batch dropped from 1.059 SG to 1.055 SG.  The Lutra Kveik batch dropped all the way to 1.045 SG.  

12/23/2020:  The S-04 batch is reading 1.007 SG.  The Lutra batch is reading 1,013 SG.

12/26/2020:  Both batches were bottled today with two small Brewer's Best carbonation tablets per bottle.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Note that comments to this blog are moderated in order to minimize spam comments and things that might be offensive to readers.

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Batch 16/17 - Horseman's Pumpkin Ale Kit from Great Fermentations

Although there are a few pumpkin spice ales on the market that I enjoy (Hoppin' Frog's Double Pumpkin, Samuel Adams Fat Jack, and Heavy Seas Great'r Pumpkin come to mind first), I've yet to brew a pumpkin spice ale that I have been happy with.  Either I didn't feel like the base beer was quite right, or the spice mix was too "something" (insert random pie spice there) forward, it was too hop-forward, or it was wrong in some other way.  This year, I decided to try the kit from Great Fermentations in Indiana to see if I liked that any better than previous brews. Ingredients 9 pounds 2-row Brewer's Malt 1 pound Munich Malt 8 ounces Crystal 40L Malt 15 ounces Canned Pumpkin (not included in kit) 1/4 tsp. Brewtan B (my addition to kit) 1 ounce Glacier Hops 1/2 tsp. Brewtan B (my addition to kit) 1 tsp. Irish Moss (15 min.) 0.5 tsp. Ground Cinnamon (not included in kit) 0.5 tsp. Vanilla extract (not included in kit) 0.5 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (not included i...
Post a Comment
Read more

2022 Batch 01 - St. Gambrinus Spiced Holiday Ale (Kit)

I purchased a St. Gambrinus Spiced Holiday Ale Kit from Great Fermentations in Indianapolis a few weeks ago and decided to get it made today... a tad late for the holidays, but it will give me a good idea if I like the recipe for next Christmas. The kit basically comes as a bag of crushed grain with a packet of Northern Brewer hops.  You supply your own spices and order yeast separately. Ingredients 8.5 pounds Two-Row Brewer's Malt 2 pounds Munich Dark Malt 1 pound Honey Malt 8 ounces Simpsons Dark Crystal Malt 0.5 ounces Northern Brewer hops (60 min.) 0.5 ounces Northern Brewer hops (30 min.) 1 package White Labs Edinburgh Scottish Ale yeast 1 tsp. Irish Moss (15 min.) 0.5 oz. Bitter Orange Peel (10 min.) 2 cinnamon sticks (I used 3) (10 min.) 0.5 tsp. Ground Ginger (10 min.) 0.25 tsp. Allspice (secondary) 0.25 oz. Ground Cardamom (secondary) 0.25 oz. Ground Cinnamon (secondary) 1 Tbsp. pH 5.2 Stabilizer added to mash after grain 6.8 gallons of RO water, treated with: 3 grams Gyps...
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Learned About Brewing in 2021

Last year, I brewed 20 batches of adult beverages (primarily beer and test mashes). In no particular order, here are things I learned during the year: The COVID-19 pandemic left me with more time at home to brew, but at the same time made doing so a bit less enjoyable.  Why?  Because I could not share my homebrew with family and friends as easily as I could pre-pandemic.  Without feedback from my friends about what they did (and didn't) like in my beer, I was less motivated to brew and less able to improve my beer than in prior years. The pump on The Grainfather has a life span (in my experience) of around 200 brews before it dies, and the "official" replacement is way too expensive to suit me (like $190).  I was able to replace it with a pump from Amazon for about $70 that seems to flow much better and stronger than the official pump.  It took some redneck-looking jerry-rigging to fix it, but the system flows better now and I can continue brewing. On a personal...
Post a Comment
Read more