I’ve now cracked at least three bottles of the holiday ale I brewed and passed on about four more to friends. I am very pleased with how it turned out. It has a nice mahogany color and gorgeous spicy, malty scent. And the taste? Mmmmm… warm and spicy. I think I went a little too heavy on the orange peel, but other than that I am thrilled.

As promised, here’s the recipe. It’s based on the guidelines out of Papazian’s “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” for an old ale:

Santa’s Sack Winter Warmer

1 lb. Crystal 40L Malt
.25 lb. Chocolate Malt
9 lbs Ultralight LME

2 oz Northern Brewer Hops (60 Min.)
.5 oz Cascade Hopes (5 Min.)

Spices
(Crushed, placed in grain bag and boiled in wort for 35 minutes):
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tbs whole allspice
15 cardamon pods
4 3″ cinnamon sticks
1/2 tbs anise
1/2 tbs dried orange peel

White Labs English Ale Yeast WLP002

Make sure you aerate this one very well, maybe even use a yeast starter. I let it ferment for about 13 days, until the activity stopped, then racked it to a secondary for two weeks before bottling. The high alcohol will let this baby mature and age a bit, so don’t forget to set a couple of bottles aside for next year. You may want to pull back a bit on the orange peel - maybe 1/4 tbs - but your mileage may vary.