X-Mas Ale 2024
Brewed: 11/2/2024 Kegged: 11/14/2024

The base beer was always a very similar "Winter Warmer", and I'd add various ingredients to make it more of a "Holiday" Beer.
Over the years, I added wood spirals, vanilla, cherry pomegranate, chocolate, peppermint, peanut butter, hazelnut, cherry, and many other flavorings.
When I started thinking about the 2024 X-Mas Ale, I had been doing the Roll-a-Style series of brews for over a year.
17A. British Strong Ale had been sitting on the list for quite some time, and at some point I wondered if I should just mark off that as a style that I had already brewed as one of my base-beer-only X-Mas Ales.
But ... I decided that this style wasn't exactly what I was brewing on the base beers.
I decided, though, that I would switch up the base a bit to make it match the "British Strong" a little closer, and make this new recipe the 2024 X-Mas ale.
This is the recipe I came up with.
It is lighter in color than most (maybe all) of my previous X-Mas Ales. It is maybe a little less malty and caramel. Less chocolate notes. Maybe a bit more dry.
It turned out significantly less in ABV than planned and most (maybe all) of the previous X-Mas Ales.
Still a nice little holiday beer to enjoy during the 2024 holidays.
I brewed it at the 2024 "Learn to Homebrew Day" party we had. Some mistakes were made, but I think I got everything mostly in place. The original gravity turned out real low, but sometimes that just happens. (especially when I'm drinking and brewing with friends)

On untappd: X-Mas Ale 2024
For more about X-Mas Ales, see Sheppy's Blog: X-Mas Ales.
To see all the X-Mas Ales I've made over the years, see X-Mas Ales 2009 - 2024.
X-Mas Ale 2024 --- Batch 1 (365) |
Style | British Strong Ale | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 7.33 gal | |||
Brewhouse Efficiency | 70.00 | Boil Time | 40 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity | 1.067 SG | Estimated FG | 1.017 SG | ||||
Recipe Bitterness | 39.8 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 6.7 % | ||||
BU : GU | 0.590 | ||||||
Recipe Color | 16.0 SRM |
|
|||||
Measured OG: | 1.060 | Measured FG: | 1.014 | ||||
ADF: | 76 | Measured ABV: | 6.1 |
Ingredients
Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9.02 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
4.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
2.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
1.00 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
13 lbs | Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 92.0 % | 1.02 gal |
8.0 oz | Crystal, Light (Simpsons) (40.0 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 3.5 % | 0.04 gal |
4.0 oz | Crystal, Extra Dark (Simpsons) (180.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 1.8 % | 0.02 gal |
4.0 oz | Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (70.0 SRM) | Grain | 8 | 1.8 % | 0.02 gal |
2.0 oz | Chocolate (Crisp) (630.0 SRM) | Grain | 9 | 0.9 % | 0.01 gal |
1.000 oz | Magnum [12.60 %] - Boil 40.0 min | Hop | 10 | 36.0 IBUs | - |
1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 11 | - | - |
1.000 oz | Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min | Hop | 12 | 3.8 IBUs | - |
1.00 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) | Other | 13 | - | - |
1.0 pkg | SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] | Yeast | 14 | - | - |
Mash Profile
Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
---|---|---|---|
Mash In | Add 17.66 qt of water at 163.7 F | 152.0 F | 60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(Drain mash tun , 4.61gal) of 168.0 F water
Prepare total volume of water with salts bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=82,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=87,Cl=86,HCO3=104
Acid addition to bring expected mash pH to 5.4
Mash as instructed. Batch sparge.
40 minute boil making additions as instructed in recipe.
Cool wort to as close to 60F as possible. Add to fermenter. Aerate wort and pitch yeast.
Ferment at 60F for 24 hours or so. Try to keep fermentation between 60 and 65 for a couple days, then let the temperature go where it want to.
Brewing Record
Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
Mash Temps: | ||||||
Pre-boil OG | (1.058 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (7.33 gal) | |||
Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
Fermentation | ||||||
Day 1: | ||||||
Day ... | ||||||
Day ... |
Brewing Notes
10/25/2024 Put an order in to the Brew Hut. Will pick up this weekend. I'm considering brewing this on Learn to Homebrew Day along with Hooligans.
11/2/2024 Learn to Homebrew Day was crazy. Two batches. Lots of BBQ. Hosting. Pouring and explaining beers. I did this one in the old gott cooler. Everything went well, but my efficiency was pretty low 1.060 OG.
11/3/2024 Fermentation took off sometime overnight. Going strong. Don't have tilt in this one.
11/4/2024 Still rocking hard.
11/5/2024 Really slowed down. Pretty much no bubbling. No krausen. Starting to look pretty clear. I'll reevaluate this weekend to see if I want to keg early.
11/11/2024 I was going to keg this past weekend, but never got around to it. I have an empty keg right now, and room in the beer fridge. I may still keg sometime soon, or I might not get around to it until later.
11/14/2024 Kegged. Didn't take a hydrometer sample, because my wife hid the hydrometer flask. So ... I didn't have a taste sample either. Just going to assume a 1.014 FG, which puts the beer at 6.1% ABV. Chilling in the beer fridge.
11/15/2024 Still not quite chilled, and certainly not carbed. Looks like it needs some settling too. But, since I didn't have a hydrometer sample to taste, I decided to pour some from the keg. Slightly lighter in color than the Will-o-Wisp. Similar flavor, but maybe a bit less caramel and chocolate. Also significantly lower in ABV, although certainly doesn't taste like it. It will make a good holiday ale.
11/19/2024 Chilled and carbed now. Nice pretty amber color. Could use some settling for more clarity, but looking pretty good. Going to wait until Thanksgiving to try again.
11/28/2024 Tasted while watching the Bears get killed and cooking turkey 🦃. Would prefer and was expecting more clarity, but it is very delicious. Certainly not as sweet as my usual X-mas Ale, and lighter in color. Nice balance and a touch of EKG hops in the finish.
12/8/2024 Comparing to Breck Christmas Ale. Not as dry, and not as sweet. Much more drinkable. The EKG hops come through nicely. Much prefer this beer.
12/13/2024 Yummy.
12/19/2024 Clarity finally looks where I want it. Much prettier beer. Tasting about the same. Love the combo of the malts with the EKG hops. Comes across as drier than all caramel malts would suggest.
12/26/2024 Guests seem to like this beer, although Decemberfest is the current favorite. I still this this is a more "drinkable" beer than my usual X-Mas Ale base. Yummy beer.
12/31/2024 Happy Brew Year. I think this is almost gone. Still a great drinkable beer. So yummy.
1/5/2025 The keg is getting low. Not sure I even have enough to bottle for future years. So yummy though. 😋
1/12/2025 Well ... I knew it was almost gone, but still was a little bummed when the keg blew. Great beer lasted almost a months.
10/25/2024 Put an order in to the Brew Hut. Will pick up this weekend. I'm considering brewing this on Learn to Homebrew Day along with Hooligans.
11/2/2024 Learn to Homebrew Day was crazy. Two batches. Lots of BBQ. Hosting. Pouring and explaining beers. I did this one in the old gott cooler. Everything went well, but my efficiency was pretty low 1.060 OG.
11/3/2024 Fermentation took off sometime overnight. Going strong. Don't have tilt in this one.
11/4/2024 Still rocking hard.
11/5/2024 Really slowed down. Pretty much no bubbling. No krausen. Starting to look pretty clear. I'll reevaluate this weekend to see if I want to keg early.
11/11/2024 I was going to keg this past weekend, but never got around to it. I have an empty keg right now, and room in the beer fridge. I may still keg sometime soon, or I might not get around to it until later.
11/14/2024 Kegged. Didn't take a hydrometer sample, because my wife hid the hydrometer flask. So ... I didn't have a taste sample either. Just going to assume a 1.014 FG, which puts the beer at 6.1% ABV. Chilling in the beer fridge.
11/15/2024 Still not quite chilled, and certainly not carbed. Looks like it needs some settling too. But, since I didn't have a hydrometer sample to taste, I decided to pour some from the keg. Slightly lighter in color than the Will-o-Wisp. Similar flavor, but maybe a bit less caramel and chocolate. Also significantly lower in ABV, although certainly doesn't taste like it. It will make a good holiday ale.
11/19/2024 Chilled and carbed now. Nice pretty amber color. Could use some settling for more clarity, but looking pretty good. Going to wait until Thanksgiving to try again.
11/28/2024 Tasted while watching the Bears get killed and cooking turkey 🦃. Would prefer and was expecting more clarity, but it is very delicious. Certainly not as sweet as my usual X-mas Ale, and lighter in color. Nice balance and a touch of EKG hops in the finish.
12/8/2024 Comparing to Breck Christmas Ale. Not as dry, and not as sweet. Much more drinkable. The EKG hops come through nicely. Much prefer this beer.
12/13/2024 Yummy.
12/19/2024 Clarity finally looks where I want it. Much prettier beer. Tasting about the same. Love the combo of the malts with the EKG hops. Comes across as drier than all caramel malts would suggest.
12/26/2024 Guests seem to like this beer, although Decemberfest is the current favorite. I still this this is a more "drinkable" beer than my usual X-Mas Ale base. Yummy beer.
12/31/2024 Happy Brew Year. I think this is almost gone. Still a great drinkable beer. So yummy.
1/5/2025 The keg is getting low. Not sure I even have enough to bottle for future years. So yummy though. 😋
1/12/2025 Well ... I knew it was almost gone, but still was a little bummed when the keg blew. Great beer lasted almost a months.