Brewing

[Spanish_Lass]

Brewed a spiced strong winter / Christmas beer yesterday

I have always been curious about trying one of them, my Norwegian former flatmate went on and on about that Christmas ale. What spices do you use for flavouring?

Can you get them abroad or they are not for export? I know some German brands do "winterbrau" but I reckon it is not exactly the same thing.

 

[gnoff]

I have always been curious about trying one of them, my Norwegian former flatmate went on and on about that Christmas ale. What spices do you use for flavouring?

Can you get them abroad or they are not for export? I know some German brands do "winterbrau" but I reckon it is not exactly the same thing.

For Sweden I don't think there are any classic spices, but I use -

For sweetness other than malt:
light bread sirup, raissins, dates

For taste and scent, other than hops:
cloves, dried ground peels of Seville orange, nutmeg, coriander (cilantro?), saffron



What is normally sold in Sweden as Christmas bers are generally a bit darker and a bit stronger than the usual pale lager.

I like a strong ale, above 7% ABV.
Also I like it rather dark reddish brown in color.
And I love a lot of spices and sweetness as well.



Edit:
About getting them abroad, I first thought of the spices, but I guess you meant the beers?
Mine are home brewed of course, so only available in my house
I might be able to bring one to Bochum though

About the Swedish commercial ones, not really, only available on the Government owned store Systembolaget.
My guess is it's the same in Norway, since they have pretty much the same system as us and also don't export much.

 

[Spanish_Lass]

For Sweden I don't think there are any classic spices, but I use -

For sweetness other than malt:
light bread sirup, raissins, dates

For taste and scent, other than hops:
cloves, dried ground peels of Seville orange, nutmeg, coriander (cilantro?), saffron



What is normally sold in Sweden as Christmas bers are generally a bit darker and a bit stronger than the usual pale lager.

I like a strong ale, above 7% ABV.
Also I like it rather dark reddish brown in color.
And I love a lot of spices and sweetness as well.



Edit:
About getting them abroad, I first thought of the spices, but I guess you meant the beers?
Mine are home brewed of course, so only available in my house
I might be able to bring one to Bochum though

About the Swedish commercial ones, not really, only available on the Government owned store Systembolaget.
My guess is it's the same in Norway, since they have pretty much the same system as us and also don't export much.

Veritable fountain of knowledge, this thread Flavours sound nice.

Looked on the internet since my last post. Plenty of smaller UK breweries have started to brew Christmas ales, but nothing imported. So I will just have to live with the curiosity of how the real deal tastes like.

Thanks for the suggestion, but it is extremely unlikely i will get to go to Bochum unless a Christmas miracle happens. I will be lost in the Spanish mountains come Xmas day, and will have to entertain the in-laws on New Year's day in Edinburgh, plus give or take a day for dealing with the red tape (got to renew ID) so there is no much time in between to do a stopover in Germany.

 

[GardinenVonAsgaard]

I have a question.. i like to brew in my room, as i don´t want to brew in the stinky room we´re my father is having his wine balloons and other things not smelling well....

Does it stink horrible.. or is it okay.. as my brother doesn´t like it in "his..our" whatever room with the PC .. and in the bathroom my mother will be offended..

So.. tell me about your experiences.. ^^

My brother is a non-beer-drinker *teases*

 

[gnoff]

When brewing beer:
The day you brew it smells like you're making bread or maybe some oatmeal porridge.
When fermenting you get a fruity, floral, sweet and yeasty note, though not very much.

When brewing mead:
The day you brew it smells like honey.
When fermenting you get a sweet note in the air, though less than for beer.

You must keep fermenting vessels out of sunlight, preferably also away from flourecent lighting.
It's also good to have a stable temperature in the surroundings.
It's also good if you don't disturb them, i.e. let them rest in a dark space until fermentation has settled.


So back to your q, no, it doesn't stink.

 

[gnoff]

So, put beer one on 70 bottles tonight.

Then put beer 2 on another 70 bottles.

Then started putting beer 3 into secondary.

Thinking to myself, it's about 11 pm (23 for us in Europe) and I'm only gonna put beer 4 in secondary as well, then I can relax with a few beers.

Then it hits me like a fucking sledge hammer: I forgot the fucking priming solution in beer 2

Well, just open the 70 bottles, pour it back into the bucket with the priming solution and then put it back in the 70 bottles once more.

Spent an extra 90 minutes or so, and exposed the beer to much more oxygen than normal, also a bigger risk of infection.

No time for beer either.
I'm actually having one now, though I should be in bed, in 8 hours I'll help a friend move his stuff, before I go to the UH3 show with Amon.

Damn I'm tired.

 

[Spanish_Lass]

So, put beer one on 70 bottles tonight.

Then put beer 2 on another 70 bottles.

Then started putting beer 3 into secondary.

Thinking to myself, it's about 11 pm (23 for us in Europe) and I'm only gonna put beer 4 in secondary as well, then I can relax with a few beers.

Then it hits me like a fucking sledge hammer: I forgot the fucking priming solution in beer 2

Well, just open the 70 bottles, pour it back into the bucket with the priming solution and then put it back in the 70 bottles once more.

Spent an extra 90 minutes or so, and exposed the beer to much more oxygen than normal, also a bigger risk of infection.

No time for beer either.
I'm actually having one now, though I should be in bed, in 8 hours I'll help a friend move his stuff, before I go to the UH3 show with Amon.

Damn I'm tired.

Doesn't the wife/neighbours complain of the scale of your home brewing? 70 bottles is a shitload of beer!

You either have a big house, a very tolerant family or homebrewing is not that disruptive or smelly.

Still, scared to take the plunge... but I have added a fruit press and a cider starter kit to my Xmas gift list, if my near and dear ones think they can live with it!

 

[GardinenVonAsgaard]

Thanks for the advice.. so the stinky place is the best .. i should have become a room for a sauna.. but we never installed one it it.. so my father kept cancer producing? things in it to treat wood

But .. when .. ever .. i´ll have a drumkit, it has to be there, no light, stinky.. small .. but then i have something nice to smell at least in there

 

[Gazza]

drinking is my forte.

 

[gnoff]

Doesn't the wife/neighbours complain of the scale of your home brewing? 70 bottles is a shitload of beer!

You either have a big house, a very tolerant family or homebrewing is not that disruptive or smelly.

Still, scared to take the plunge... but I have added a fruit press and a cider starter kit to my Xmas gift list, if my near and dear ones think they can live with it!

Wife = admires what I do.
Neighbours = don't now it

we live in a "terrace house" type of thing.
Smell won't ransfer, sounds very little.

70 bottles isn't much


And:
Homebrewing isn't smelly

 

[Spanish_Lass]

Still not brewed, but supporting the brewing trade all the way.

I tried mulled mead on the Xmas market the other day. It kind of made me rethink the whole mead thing- Because it was much nicer than other stuff I tried. I think I will go back for a bottle. I just wonder if the mulling spices for wine would be suitable for mead too? Maybe the ready made sachets will be a bit overpowering, being made for wine? It is worth a try, I don't really like mulled wine that much but I feel out of place at Xmas.

Tried a single hop variety ale the other day -something called Blathan which wasn't bad at all.

 

[GardinenVonAsgaard]

Okay.. so i´ll try it out when i´m really ready for it..

I have to think more before posting
Search for a recipe
and..

plan it all well ..

before it stinks because of my own impatience, or, falling over the glass balloon with all the things in it because of being to happy that i finally have all things i need in it ^^

 

[truemmer]

Unne obbe, unne obbe... PROST!

Fetched my stuff from the basement yesterday. Will start brewing mead this week. Hope I'm patient enough this time.

 

[xtyrantx]

http://www.metalkult.com/videos/brewing-mead-with-amon-amarth/

 

[GardinenVonAsgaard]

I´m impatient as hell.. so.. i have to start early enough.. this will be the easy part.. but when it cames to waiting.. erm.. i´ll see when i´ll try it out ^^

 

[Spanish_Lass]

Ok, one of my new year's resolutions is going to be to try my hand at brewing.
And may be the easiest one to keep

 

[pwd]

I just made made first batch of beer using a kit with malt extract/hops. I just add water and sugar(should use dextrose or corn sugar). I'm exicited to see how it turns out. That Amon Amarth video is cool too! I'll have to try making some mead. They really use easy to find materials too.

 

[gnoff]

Well at least a few ppl had the chance of trying some of my home brewed beer and mead in the bus to and line of the first show.

Hope you liked it

 

[DamageInc.]

oooh, damn. I would have loved to try that. sorry again that i forgot your beers. I think you had a great time anyway. ^^

 

[gnoff]

oooh, damn. I would have loved to try that. sorry again that i forgot your beers. I think you had a great time anyway. ^^

I did for sure, no worries