Brew Day – Gingerbread Brown Christmas Spice Ale

Saturday, December 15, 2018

There was going to be a big snow storm coming last weekend, so I was planning on being trapped in the house. I prepared five gallons of filtered water and added a campden tablet, but then never got around to brewing. The power flickered a few times every few hours, so I didn’t want to risk it. I was lucky, some people were without power for days.

In any case, that water waited for a full week for me to get around to brewing.

The tiny, little bag of gingerbread spice that came in the recipe kit smells fabulous. From a long way away. That’s some pretty potent stuff.

Dan has already brewed this beer and sampled it and said the spice is strong at first, but settled down over time. The spice is only added in the last five minutes of the boil, which may be why it tasted so “raw”.

You may have noticed in this and previous pictures the plastic tubs laying around the brew pot. Those are liquid malt extract (LME) and they are full of thick, caramelized malt extract. “Liquid” in the name is a bit of a stretch. The cook-top gets very hot, like ouchy hot, during this process, and the heat makes them pour more cleanly.

Original Gravity: 1.050 (Recipe calls for 1.045)