Christmas in a Bottle
Christmas in a Bottle
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
On a cold winter’s night, build a fire and pour a glass of this beer to make a memorable beer moment.
OG = 1.090 (21.6 °P) FG = 1.022 (5.6 °P)
IBU = 43 SRM = 20 ABV = 9%
Ingredients
17.5 lb. (8 kg) Crisp Maris Otter or British-style pale ale malt (3 °L)
11 oz. (312 g) Briess crystal malt (80 °L)
3.5 oz. (99 g) Briess black patent malt (525 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) Lyle’s Black Treacle (100 °L) (optional)
10.4 AAU Horizon hops (60 min.) (0.8 oz/23 g of 13% alpha acids)
1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon (ground, dry) (1 min.)
1⁄4 tsp. ginger (ground, dry) (1 min.)
1⁄8 tsp. nutmeg (ground, dry) (1 min.)
1⁄8 tsp. allspice (ground, dry) (1 min.)
White Labs WLP013 (London Ale), Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or Danstar Nottingham yeast.
Step by Step
Mill the grains and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.5 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) and a temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold the mash at 152 °F (67 °C) until conversion is complete, which should be less than 60 minutes. Raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C).
Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 6.5 gallons (25 L) and the gravity is 1.070 (17 °P). Optionally, add treacle to the wort stirring thoroughly to avoid scorching.
The total wort boil time is 90 minutes. Add the bittering hops with 60 minutes left in the boil. Add Irish moss or other kettle finings with 15 minutes remaining and the spices with one minute left in the boil. Chill the wort rapidly to 67 °F (19 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter and aerate thoroughly.
Pitch 15 grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast or use three liquid yeast packages. Alternatively, make a 5-liter starter using one package of liquid yeast, letting the starter ferment out fully and pitching only the resulting yeast into the wort.
Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C), raising the temperature to 70 °F (21 °C) during the last 1⁄3 of fermentation to help reduce diacetyl and assure complete attenuation. Allow the lees to settle and the brew to mature without pressure for another two days after fermentation appears finished.
Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack it to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle. Target a carbonation level of 1.5 to 2 volumes.
Christmas in a Bottle
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.090 (21.6 °P) FG = 1.022 (5.6 °P)
IBU = 43 SRM = 21 ABV =9%
Ingredients
11.7 lb. (5.3 kg) Maris Otter or fresh equivalent English-type liquid malt extract (3.5 °L)
11 oz. (312 g) crystal malt (80 °L)
3.5 oz. (99 g) black patent malt (525 °L)
10.4 AAU Horizon hops (60 min.) (0.8 oz/23 g of 13% alpha acids)
1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon (ground, dry) (1 min.)
1⁄4 tsp. ginger (ground, dry) (1 min.)
1⁄8 tsp. gutmeg (ground, dry) (1 min.)
1⁄8 tsp allspice (ground, dry) (1 min.)
0.5 lb (227 g) Lyle’s Black Treacle (100 °L) (optional)
White Labs WLP013 (London Ale), Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or Danstar Nottingham yeast
Step by Step
Mill or coarsely crack the specialty malts. Mix them well and place loosely in a grain bag. Avoid packing the grains too tightly in the bag, using more bags if needed. Steep the grain bag in about 3 quarts (~3 liters) of water at roughly 170 °F (77 °C) for about 30 minutes.
Lift the grain bag out of the steeping liquid and rinse with warm water. Allow the bags to drip into the kettle for a few minutes while you add the malt extract and the optional treacle. Do not squeeze the bags. Add enough water to the steeping liquor and malt extract to make a pre-boil volume of 5.9 gallons (22 L) and a gravity of 1.077 (18.7 °P). Stir thoroughly to help dissolve the extract and bring to a boil.
Once the wort is boiling, add the bittering hops. The total wort boil time is one hour after adding the bittering hops. Add Irish moss or other kettle finings with 15 minutes remaining and the spices with one minute left in the boil.
Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C). Aerate thoroughly and pitch 15 grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast or use three liquid yeast packages. Alternatively, make a 5-liter starter using one package of liquid yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C), raising the temperature to 70 °F (21 °C) during the last 1⁄3 of fermentation to help reduce diacetyl and assure complete attenuation. Allow the lees to settle and the brew to mature without pressure for another two days after fermentation appears finished.
Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack it to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle. Target a carbonation level of 1.5 to 2 volumes.
