X-Mas Ale 2025
Every year since I started homebrewing (way back in 2009), I've brewed an X-Mas Ale to have around the holidays.
So, I pretended to roll a 20 on my 20-sided online die.
Then, I came up with a quick recipe for this beer.
It is lighter in color than most (maybe all) of my previous X-Mas Ales. It is almost certainly the biggest of the X-Mas Ales I've brewed.
On untappd: X-Mas Ale 2025
| X-Mas Ale 2025 --- Batch 1 (384) |
| Style | English Barleywine | Batch Size | 5.00 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.08 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 60.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.080 SG | Estimated FG | 1.018 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 36.0 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 8.3 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.449 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 14.5 SRM |
|
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| Measured OG: | 1.075 | Measured FG: | 1.015 | ||||
| ADF: | 79 | Measured ABV: | 8.0 % |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.87 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 3.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 2.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 5 | - | - |
| 17 lbs | Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 96.5 % | 1.33 gal |
| 10.0 oz | Crystal, Extra Dark (Simpsons) (160.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 3.5 % | 0.05 gal |
| 1.000 oz | Magnum [13.20 %] - Boil 30.0 min | Hop | 8 | 27.1 IBUs | - |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 9 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) | Other | 10 | - | - |
| 1.000 oz | Magnum [13.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 11 | 8.9 IBUs | - |
| 2.0 pkg | SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] | Yeast | 12 | - | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 31.48 qt of water at 159.2 F | 150.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 156.0 F over 10 min | 156.0 F | 20 min |
If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Recipe Notes
Brewing salts in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=75,Mg=22,Na=21,SO4=141,Cl=72,HCO3=104
18 lbs of malt is more than the Foundry can handle. Do a double mash: half the base grains at 152 for 45 minutes, and drain for the wort to be "strike water" for the second half of grains. Follow the recipe mash schedule for this second half.
After double mash is done, check pre-boil gravity.
If gravity is low, adjust with table sugar and/or DME and/or boil length to reach target OG. (if gravity is high, dilute as appropriate)
Cool wort to as close to 60 degrees as possible.
Ferment 2 weeks at ambient temperature.
Transfer to keg to be stored for another 4 weeks.
Chill and Keg carbonate.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.072 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.08 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
10/13/2025 Bought ingredient today at the Brew Hut. Not sure when I'll brew
11/1/2025 Kegged Gnomeberry Hollow today and I'm racking this beer on the whole yeast cake. The Beer Model is teaching me to brew today.
11/1/2025 Brew day went well, although I wasn't real efficient on extracting gravity points. 1.075 OG.
11/2/2025 Fermentation took off very quickly on the yeast cake. Tilt says 1.053 at 65 degrees.
11/3/2025 Bubbling has really slowed down and the krausen is pretty much gone. Still fairly cloudy and it does look like there is movement in there. Tilt says 1.014 at 68. Over the weekend, temp got as high as 71 for a bit, but for the most part the temperature has been nicely controlled. The brew calendar says I'm kegging on 11/16, and that still seems reasonable at this point.
11/4/2025 Looks about the same as yesterday. Still not much bubbling, but the beer is cloudy and moving some. Tilt says 1.012 at 67.
11/7/2025 Not much bubbling or movement. Still not very clear. Tilt says 1.010 at 67 degrees. It's been there for a couple of days, so I'm going to shut down the logging. If this FG is correct, we're talking an 8.7% ABV beer. I suspect it's closer to 8% at the moment, but we'll see when we keg.
11/18/2025 Kegged. Probably not quite 5 gallons on this one. Didn't really even have a proper taste sample. FG at 1.015. That makes an 8% beer. The taste i got was yeasty but I think this will be a nice beer out of the keg.
11/23/2025 Killed Voodu Magic so I was able to add this to the kegerator.
11/24/2025 After chilling for about a day, I connected the gas. It is set for 30psi right now to hopefully be well carbonated before Thanksgiving. Hopefully I'll remember to check so as to not over carb. 😎
11/25/2025 Reduced the pressure to about 20psi.
11/26/2025 Had a few poured from the tap over the past couple of days. The Beer Model doesn't seem to hate it as much as she thought she would. At 8% ABV, this is on the low end of Barleywine, but high for a SheppyBrew beer. A flavorful sipper. Dangerously smooth and not nearly as boozy as some barleywines.