Noale - Winter Warmer

david_r · July 18, 2012, 1:18am

So I know it is only July but I am thinking ahead of the winter season and Christmas. I ordered all ingredients for this recipe and am planning to brew with enough time so that it really gets to condition for a couple months for things to mellow out and really blend together to make one tasty brew. So without further ado, here is what I came up with:

Malts & Fermentables:
3lbs - Extra Light DME
3lbs - Light DME
1lb - Briess Caramel 80L
1lb - Belgian CaraMunich
8oz - Briess Cherrywood Smoke Malt
8oz - Franco Belges Kiln Coffee
3oz - Molasses

Hops:
.5oz - Brewer’s Gold - 60min
.5oz - Brewer’s Gold - 30min
.5oz - Cascade - 30min
.5oz - Tettnang - 30min
.5oz - Tettnang - 14 Day Dry Hop

Yeast
Safale US-05 Dry Yeast

Miscellaneous:
1tsp - Cinnamon Powder - 15min boil
.5tsp - Ground Ginger - 15min boil
.25tsp - Ground Allspice - 15min boil
.25tsp - Ground Nutmeg - 15min boil
.5oz - Sweet Orange Peel - Flameout
5oz - Cocoa Powder - 15min boil (tiniest pinch of salt added)
1 liquid oz - Vanilla Extract
1tsp - Cinnamon Powder - Secondary for 14 days
.5tsp - Ground Ginger - Secondary for 14 days
.25tsp - Ground Allspice - Secondary for 14 days
.25tsp - Ground Nutmeg - Secondary for 14 days
.5oz - Sweet Orange Peel - Secondary for 14 days
2 Nips - Wild Turkey - Secondary for 14 days
1 Nip - Peppermint Schnapps - Secondary for 14 days
3.5oz - Brown Sugar - Bottling for 30 days to start

Total for the spices ends up being 2tsp each time of the addition so 4tsp total in the recipe.

Gravity:
OG ~ 1.069
FG ~ 1.019
ABV ~ 6.7%
SRM ~ 22
IBU ~ 30.1

Well folks, there it is. I wanted to make something that is sure to warm people as they drink it and remind them of sitting in front of the fireplace on the coldest of Winter Nights like we have here in the Northeast. All the ingredients came in yesterday so can not wait to brew this but realize I have to wait a bit until I do brew it.

dules · July 18, 2012, 4:52am

Wow there is a lot going on with this one. IMO Pep Schnapps would be an off flavor to me in a beer, but you are really only adding such a small quanity. I quess one peice of advice would be to make sure you use a really good quality vanilla extract, and you might want to replace that with a high quality vanilla bean or two. I would maybe consider cutting down on the Carmel Malt/Caramunich, a combination of two pounds, and using Extracts could result in a pretty cloying sweet beer. I have never had much luck bottling with brown sugar, but could also be an addition into the boil. I guess my only other advice is sometimes trying to do too much in one beer results in muddled results, on the other had it could turn out amazing as is with time!

david_r · July 18, 2012, 11:04am

Thanks for giving some advice. I have bottled twice now with brown sugar and it has worked amazingly. As far as the vanilla extract, I have an organic pure Madagascar variety. I used it in a previous brew and it worked fantastically. As far as the caramel malts, I did want this beer a bit on the sweet side while not being crazy bitter but also I know the cherrywood is pretty potent and it is also possible that the spices could end up evening that out. I plan on aging this one in the bottle for atleast two months or so.

hoppenheimer · July 18, 2012, 2:38pm

I’d cut the peppermint. Even in its smallest doses (IMO) it overwhelms like a juggernaut.

david_r · July 18, 2012, 6:26pm

You really think 1 nip bottle worth could have that much of an affect on a 5 gallon batch?

mainemike68 · July 19, 2012, 5:28am

Looks like a very intersting beer. A LOT going on in there.

The past 3 years I have made my own version of a “Christmas Ale” and in my experience cinnamon sticks seem to work better than powder. I use 15 grams, which turns out to be 2 or 3 sticks. I usually break them up and throw them in with 5 minutes left and then throw a full stick in the keg.

david_r · July 19, 2012, 3:31pm

I am now pretty set on getting rid of the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice) and leaving the chocolate and peppermint schnapps. Haven’t really seen items combining peppermint and cinnamon and I think that it may be a bit too much. That and I also have these additions in my pumpkin ale that is now in bottle and I want a different tasting beer, not one that tastes similar with a couple different things with it.