Christmas Gift Beer…

I’m always proud when people ask me if I can brew some beer for them to give as a present. It has happened every year for about three years. I have brewed beer for a co-worker’s husband’s Christmas gift, and her brother’s birthday, and now I have been asked if I can brew up another Christmas gift beer for an Aunt.

Now I know I am short on time to brew a beer and have it bottle ready for Christmas, but I am up to the challenge. So I asked a few simple questions. First, light or dark? and second what style of beer? My answers were “light” and “we normally drink Coors Light”. I know, I know Coors, don’t judge there is routinely Old Milwaukee in my fridge for L Bird and I in a pinch.

So with those guidelines I set about looking for something that was light and fairly neutral and the final guideline was that the ingredients needed to be in supply at the local homebrew store. I finally settled on a nice “lawnmower beer” of Cream Ale. Now don’t panic, this is a homebrewed cream ale so it won’t taste anything like the delicious but always dangerous Genny Cream Ale.

Here is the simplified recipe, adapted from Northern Brewer’s Cream Ale Kit.:

3 lbs of Extra Pale Dry Malt Extract

3.3 lbs of Munton’s Extra Light Malt Syrup

3/4 lbs of Honey Malt (crushed)

1/4 lb of Belgian Biscuit Malt (crushed)

1 1/2 oz Colombus Hops (Pellets)

Safale US-05 Yeast

Steep the Honey and Biscuit malts at 170 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the grains, bring to a boil. Once the wort is rolling at the dry malt extract, malt syrup and 1 oz of hops. Boil for 50 minutes, then add 1/2 oz of Colombus hops. Boil wort for 10 more minutes, remove from heat and chill wort. Transfer the wort to the fermenter vessel, pitch yeast and top up with water to 5 1/2 gallons. Ferment to dryness.

So that’s what am I am doing while I am typing this, but I thought I would share this.

Yeah, do you see that? I see a smiling face on a misshapen head. I’m not sure if I’m creeped out or if it is that old Benjamin Franklin saying “Beer is proof God wants us to be happy.” and it’s a happy face. Or who knows as long as we are talking religion if I look again it could be a dove with the olive branch below it. Ah hell, maybe its just a sign this is going to be one great beer.

Yeah, that’s what I’m going with. Well I’m off for my final hops addition, so until then keep ‘em tippin’!