I finally decided to try my hand at a Christmas Spice Ale. These can be very tricky because of the addition of spices which is too much is added it will overwhelm the beer or if too little is added not be discernible.
I researched the best amounts and pitching times but found too much conflicting information so I just took the median from everyone. The recipe is as follows:
Bradinator’s Holiday Spice Ale (2.5 Gallon Batch)
The Wort:
- 3.75 lbs of Pre-Hopped Pilsner LME (Kit)
- 250 g of Honey
- 6 L of water
- 1 oz Cascade Hops @ 15 minutes (flavouring)
The Spices (Steeped tea for 20 minutes in separate pot):
- 1 L of water
- 1/2 tsp of powdered ginger @ 5 minutes
- 1/2 tsp of allspice @ 5 minutes
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg @ 5 minutes
- 1 whole clove
- 1 cinnamon stick @ 10 minutes (in the tea and wort for 10 minutes each)
The spices were steeped in a separate pot for about 20 minutes, then at the 5 minute mark added to the wort. The cinnamon stick was steeped in the spice tea, but removed after 10 minutes and added directly to the wort at the 10 minute mark.
The OG for this Christmas Mirale (or disaster?) was 1.060, very close to the calculated gravity I got using Beersmith.
I also did one thing differently for this beer: I rehydrated the yeast. All the times before I pitched dry, but considering the amazing fermentation I got in the cider I brewed a few weeks ago I decided it was worth trying. The entire cost of this patch was around $22.00.
