[jivetyrant]

I've been hunting for a solid looking holiday spiced ale recipe for a bit now and I haven't found one that really strikes my fancy yet.  My wife wants to make one for her first solo brew (!) so it's my job to find a reliable, easy extract/partial mash recipe for her to follow.  There's only 1 recipe on the recipe wiki and it looks a bit out of date, so here I am!

Thanks in advance!

[rjharper]

I really liked the Brewers Best Spiced Holiday Ale kit when I tried it a couple of years ago.  Just be sure to add 2x 12 fl oz bottles (2lbs by mass) of maple syrup at flame out.  That makes all the difference; flavor and strength.

[a10t2]

You need to decide on the base beer recipe first. Then the most fool-proof way to do it is to steep the spices in vodka for a few days, and when you pull a gravity sample post-fermentation, add the vodka a little at a time until the spice flavor is at the level you want. Then calculate the amount of vodka needed to dose the entire batch to that level, and just pour it in the fermenter, keg, or bottling bucket.

As far as spices, I use (by weight):
2 parts grated ginger
2 parts whole clove
1 part cinnamon stick
1 part grated nutmeg

A total of 30 g is about right for a 5.5 gal batch IMO.

[morticaixavier]

I will try to dig up my ginger Belgian Dark Strong recipe I made for xmas last year. It's just ginger, somke fresh and some candied but I really liked it. I will try to find it and post in wiki tonight.

[denny]

Many years ago when I wanted to make a spiced holiday beer, I made an extract stout kit.  In the last 10 min, of the boil, I added about 12-15 Celestial seasonings Roastaroma tea bags.  The base of the "tea" is roast barley and it has the perfect blend of spices for a holiday beer.  Makes a great spiced stout really easily.

[Joe Sr.]

Many years ago when I wanted to make a spiced holiday beer, I made an extract stout kit.  In the last 10 min, of the boil, I added about 12-15 Celestial seasonings Roastaroma tea bags.  The base of the "tea" is roast barley and it has the perfect blend of spices for a holiday beer.  Makes a great spiced stout really easily.

This is great advice.

Many years ago I made Papazian's Roastaroma beer recipe (I think it's in the NCJoHB).

I have nothing but fond memories of this beer, and bought a bunch of Roastaroma tea with the intent to make it again which, alas, I never did.

Honestly, this beer stands out in my memory from many many batches.

[jivetyrant]

Wow, even if the beer never gets off the ground that tea looks awesome!  I will have to pick up a box!

I'm not fond of too much ginger in a spiced ale.  An example of one that I feel is overwhelmed with ginger is Sam Adams's Old Fezziwig.  When I think spiced ale, I think clove, nutmeg, orange peel and cinnamon.  I really like the idea of making a tincture of the various spices.  Not only would it be easily controllable, but it would also be multi-purpose!

Definitely going to look at that brewer's best kit, too!

Man, that roastaroma thing....  fascinating.

[Joe Sr.]

I have to say that I've found I prefer the spices in the boil as opposed to the tincture.

I know it's harder to control, but I've found the tincture to be a harsher spice flavor than if you boil them.

YMMV, of course.

On another thread someone, I think maybe Gordon, pointed out that it's the difference between cooked and raw spices (which I guess should be obvious to me, but I'd never thought about it that way).

[tschmidlin]

On another thread someone, I think maybe Gordon, pointed out that it's the difference between cooked and raw spices (which I guess should be obvious to me, but I'd never thought about it that way).

I haven't tried it, but you could toast the spices and then make the tincture.  It probably won't taste the same as boiling, but could be good.

[The Professor]

Many years ago when I wanted to make a spiced holiday beer, I made an extract stout kit.  In the last 10 min, of the boil, I added about 12-15 Celestial seasonings Roastaroma tea bags.  The base of the "tea" is roast barley and it has the perfect blend of spices for a holiday beer.  Makes a great spiced stout really easily.

Wow Denny...that one sounds pretty nice.
I'm not a big one at all for spiced beers, but as a Roastaroma fan, I think I may just try that!

[denny]

Many years ago when I wanted to make a spiced holiday beer, I made an extract stout kit.  In the last 10 min, of the boil, I added about 12-15 Celestial seasonings Roastaroma tea bags.  The base of the "tea" is roast barley and it has the perfect blend of spices for a holiday beer.  Makes a great spiced stout really easily.

Wow Denny...that one sounds pretty nice.
I'm not a big one at all for spiced beers, but as a Roastaroma fan, I think I may just try that!

As mentioned above, credit should go to Charlie P.  It does make a damn nice spiced stout.

[jivetyrant]

After some looking around I came up with a recipe.  Here it is, critique it as you will!

Recipe: Jen's Holiday Ale
Brewer: Jenna
Asst Brewer:
Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
TYPE: Extract
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.95 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal   
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 27.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 0.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                                        #        %/IBU         
8.0 oz                Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (55.0 SRM)        1        5.3 %         
4.0 oz                Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)                             2        2.7 %         
4.0 oz                Fawcett Pale Chocolate (205.0 SRM)             3        2.7 %         
6 lbs 9.6 oz          Pilsner Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM)                  4        70.6 %       
1 lbs                 Candi Sugar, Dark (275.0 SRM)                      5        10.7 %       
0.50 oz               Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min                       6        13.4 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min                       7        8.1 IBUs     
0.50 tsp              Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)                           8        -             
0.50 tsp              Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)                      9        -             
4.00 tbsp             Vanilla (Boil 5.0 mins)                                10       -             
0.25 tsp              Allspice (Boil 5.0 mins)                               11       -             
0.25 tsp              Cinnamon (Boil 5.0 mins)                            12       -             
0.25 tsp              Clove (Boil 5.0 mins)                                   13       -             
1.0 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)    14       -             
12.0 oz               Maple Syrup (35.0 SRM)                             15       8.0 %         

Adding the maple syrup at flameout.

[ethalacker]

If that is 4 tablespoons of Vanilla extract, be careful.  Vanilla can really overpower a beer.