Hop-cember Pale Ale
All of 2025 was mostly dedicated to brewing Roll-a-Style Beers, and by the end of the year I thought it would be cool to brew a hoppy beer ... sort of inspired by Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale.
I thought the malt bill of Decemberfest would be a good base, and then decided to take out the cara-vienna.
Then, I added classic American hops in the whirlpool and dry hop.
This is that beer.
My intention was to be this in December, but for various reasons, it never happen until January.
This year, the SheppyBrew Gnomes waited all December for the first true winter frost — the moment when the wandering hop spirit appears with its bright, citrusy cones. But the mountains ran on their own schedule, and the frost didn’t arrive until a crisp January morning.
When it finally came, the hop spirit brought hops that had survived deeper into winter, sharper and brighter than usual. The gnomes gathered them joyfully and brewed this year’s January Hop-cember, a beer shaped by winter’s patience and the fresh start of a new year.
Hop-cember isn’t a date. It’s a moment.
For more about this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Hop-cember
| Hop-cember Pale Ale --- Batch 1 (387) |
| Style | American Pale Ale | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.60 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 65.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.052 SG | Estimated FG | 1.012 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 34.6 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 5.2 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.670 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 5.0 SRM |
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| Measured OG: | 1.052 | Measured FG: | |||||
| ADF: | Measured ABV: |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.98 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 10.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 2.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 7 lbs | Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) | Grain | 4 | 58.3 % | 0.55 gal |
| 5 lbs | Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 41.7 % | 0.39 gal |
| 1.000 oz | CTZ [14.90 %] - Boil 20.0 min | Hop | 6 | 20.6 IBUs | - |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 7 | - | - |
| 1.000 oz | Cascade [8.90 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 180.0 F | Hop | 8 | 3.9 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 180.0 F | Hop | 9 | 4.4 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Citra [13.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 180.0 F | Hop | 10 | 5.8 IBUs | - |
| 1.0 pkg | Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) [50.28 ml] | Yeast | 11 | - | - |
| 0.50 tsp | Gelatin (Bottling 1.0 days) | Fining | 12 | - | - |
| 1.000 oz | Cascade [7.00 %] - 0.0 Days Before Bottling for 3.0 Days | Hop | 13 | 0.0 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Centennial [9.80 %] - 0.0 Days Before Bottling for 3.0 Days | Hop | 14 | 0.0 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Citra [13.20 %] - 0.0 Days Before Bottling for 3.0 Days | Hop | 15 | 0.0 IBUs | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 31.92 qt of water at 158.8 F | 152.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min | 158.0 F | 15 min |
| Mash Out | Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min | 170.0 F | 10 min |
If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Recipe Notes
Water salts bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=126,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=236,Cl=55,HCO3=104
Acid to bring water pH to around 5.3
Mash as directed.
Boil as directed.
Cool wort to as close to 60F as possible.
Ferment at 60 3 days and then let fermentation rise to ambient temp.
If desired, add half the dry hops to fermenter 3 days into fermentation.
Keg after one to two weeks in fermenter.
Add hops in hop sock in the keg.
Force carbonate to taste.
Enjoy!
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.047 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.60 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
12/12/2025 Ordered grains from Brew Hut to pick up with my Skadoosh Blond grains sometime this weekend. Will likely brew in two weekends.
1/10/2026 Made starter. Guess I'm brewing tomorrow finally. Wondering if I should rename this beer.
1/11/2026 Brew day today. Mash timer started just after 6:30.
1/11/2026 Got finished right around noon. Everything got added at correct times. Pitched yeast at around 58 degrees. Once it starts bubbling, I'll set it at 60. OG right at plan 1.052. Pre-boil was a little low, so I boiled 15 or 20 minutes before actually starting boil timer. About half (maybe a little more than half) dry hops in bags attached with magnet. Not sure if they are actually hanging into the wort. Oh well.
1/12/2026 Fermentation took off sometime yesterday late afternoon or early evening. Had some trouble with the pump coming off the tube, but I think I got that fixed this morning. Tilt says 1.039 at 61F. Set the controller at 61.
1/13/2026 This morning I turned up the temp controller to 62. Tilt now says 1.020 at 62. I think I'll probably release the dry-hop magnet tomorrow.
1/14/2026 Still some bubbling this morning. Tilt says 1.009 at 63 degrees. I'm unplugging the pump. Will probably release dry hops tomorrow.
1/15/2026 Bubbling seems to have basically stopped. Tilt says 1.005 at 66. Released the magnet to put dry hops into the beer.