![]() A mash temperature around 152 ☏ (67 ☌) creates wort with the proper balance between long chain, non-fermentable sugars and simpler fermentable sugars for this beer. British pale ale malt is also highly modified and well suited to single infusion mashes, typical for all British beers. This higher level of kilning brings out the malt’s rich flavors. The proper base malt for this beer is British pale ale malt, which is kilned a bit darker (2.5 to 3.5 °L) than the average American 2-row or pale malt (1.5 to 2.5 °L). ![]() You don’t want hops competing with or masking the spices. Hop bittering should be firm enough to balance the beer, but hop aroma and flavor should be background notes at best. As in most spiced beers, hops do not play a big role in this style. The rich bready, fruity and caramel notes of the old ale and the holiday spicing are reminiscent of an English Christmas pudding or good, old fashioned molasses cookies. Holiday spiced beers are usually rich, slightly sweet beers with gentle warming alcohol and spices, which seems like a requirement for a beer to be enjoyed in the late fall or winter. ![]() Not the hoppy, blonde, high alcohol beers sometimes sold as old or stock ale in the US. I’m referring to rich, dark, figgy, fruity old ale. English old ale, or any similar style, is a good base for making holiday spiced ale. The best base beer for this style is one that has a full, rich malty sweetness with hints of caramel and chocolate, very similar to a dessert. However, nine times out of ten it probably won’t be a very good one. In theory, you could take almost any base beer, add some “holiday” spices, and call it a holiday spiced beer. I quickly grabbed one of each year, with the intention of doing a little vertical tasting. Every year since 1975 Anchor brews what they call a “Christmas Ale.” Each year the recipe is different so they label them with the year brewed. One group in particular caught my eye: Anchor Brewing Company’s Our Special Ale from the past ten years. ![]() I’m sure my mouth was hanging open as I stood in front of the wall of unusual and rare beers at Reno Homebrewer in Reno, Nevada. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |