Christmas Beer
Time: Modern but inspired by Medieval Style Spiced Beers
Author: Master Drake Morgan (Craig Jones) and Duke Alaric of Bangor (Stephen Parsons)
Author: Master Drake Morgan (Craig Jones) and Duke Alaric of Bangor (Stephen Parsons)
It's not Christmas for me without making a Christmas Beer. Make it at Christmas, nice and strong, and bottle it to open in June and July when it feels properly like Christmas weather in Australia.
We went for a nice simple Old Ale recipe and decided to add a heap of macerated fruit and spice to the secondary.
We went for a nice simple Old Ale recipe and decided to add a heap of macerated fruit and spice to the secondary.
Ingredients - Stage 1:
Ingredients - Stage 2:
- 5 Kilograms Maris Otter Ale Malt, Thomas Fawcett's Floor Malted,
- 1 Kilogram Brown Malt, Thomas Fawcett's Floor Malted,
- 280 grams Toffee Malt, Gladfields,
- 45 grams East Kent Goldings Hop Pellets, added at 60 minutes.
- 1 Whirlfloc Tablet at 15 minutes,
- 1 package S-04 SafAle English Ale, added after cooling and in fermenter.
- Mash Malts with a full-bodied English Ale Mash Schedule.
- After mashing, boil wort for 90 minutes.
- Add hops at 60 minutes.
- Add Whirlfloc at 15 minutes.
- On finishing 90 minute boil, cool and add wort to sanitised fermenter.
- Add Yeast.
- Start Stage 2 whilst Stage 1 is fermenting.
- When stage 1 has finished primary ferment, rack and add stage 2 to stage 1.
Ingredients - Stage 2:
- 500ml Aqua-Vitae (Vodka - 40% alc)
- 500ml Malaga Sack (any decent Sweet Sherry will do, Pedro Ximenez if your feeling flash as)
- 600g Raisins, sliced
- 200g Currants
- 200g Dates, sliced
- 200g Figs, sliced
- Zest of 4 Oranges
- 10g of Mace Blades, bruised
- 10g Dried Ginger
- 6 Cloves, Bruised
- 1 Large Stick of Cassia, Broken up and Bruised
- Add all ingredients together and macerate for 2 weeks in a wide-mouthed glass jar.
- Add to beer secondary.