So I got this recipe off the BYO website. It’s by Gordon Strong
Holiday Prowler
5 gallon/19 L, all-grain; OG = 1.058 FG = 1.014; IBU = 19 ABV = 5.8%
Ingredients:
9.5 lbs. (4.3 kg) Crisp Maris Otter malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) Scotmalt crystal malt (40 °L)
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) Crisp chocolate malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) clover honey
½ can Lyle’s Golden Syrup
¼ cup blackstrap molasses
6.1 AAU Goldings hops (60 mins) (1 oz./28 g of 6.1% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Fuggles hops (5 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast
Spices: 4 cinnamon sticks, 1 nutmeg seed, 1 vanilla bean, 7 allspice berries, 1.5 tsp. whole cloves, 8 coriander seeds, 2 nectarine peels
Step by Step:
Old ale base. Mash grains at 158 °F (70 °C). 90 minute boil. Steep spices (chopped up) in tight mesh bag at knockout for 10 minutes, remove, then chill rapidly. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Prime with muscavado sugar and cask-condition.
So I have never attempted a beer this complex before nor have I done additions with syrup, honey or molasses. Are these three things added at the end of the boil? If someone could give me insight it would be appreciated.
You can pretty much add the honey and syrups at any point during the boil. You won’t get much flavor from the honey or Lyle’s, anyway. The molasses will come through no matter when you add it.
Are you really putting an entire nutmeg in there? I see that you are just steeping it in a bag for 10 minutes, so I am not sure how much that will add, but if I were to use nutmeg, I would scrape it across the microplaner a few times and call it good. There is enough nutmeg in one seed to do this more than 100 times. Then, you are adding all the other spices too. I would check out some other spiced christmas beer recipes to verify that you aren’t overdoing it.
Some good advice here. Never used any of the spices in a brew either. So you guys think that the nutmeg would be over powering even though it’s only in for 10 minutes?
In my Christmas ale, I “Dry Spice”…2 cinnamon sticks in my 5 gal batch was way strong early on. This beer will need to age for at least 3-4 months IMHO.
If it is nectarines two peels is not going to do anything against all that spice other than give the recipe a Martha Stewart feel. They are nothing but nude peaches. It takes about 5 pounds of whole peaches to be barely noticeable. I’m guessing they meant something else probably with a zest, so tangerines make sense
My thoughts too, Jim. I’m hoping someone who’s made it will chime in… Wondering if it’s necessary, or just one of those ingredients that are thrown in to track recipe origins…
I used to say this same thing based on experience but I have homebrewers bring me in beers made with honey that proves me wrong. I had a guy come in the other day who just used honey for priming and the flavor was unmistakably there. And he had only used a cup in 3 gallon batch IIRC.