Irish Christmas Stout

Classification: stout, spiced ale, christmas beer, holiday beer, spiced stout, extract

Source: Johnny Yen (juanyen@tezcat.com), r.c.b., 11/3/95

Here's a holiday stout I did that turned out beautifully.

Make the appropriate substitutions with what you have. Note: The ginger will seem like too much at first-- there's a quarter pound of it in there! But it mellows a lot as it ages, and blends with the other spices. 8 weeks is recommended, but it is already quite good at 4 weeks. I added nutmeg to the mix, too. Also, be very careful with simmering the honey. It boils over very easily. Use a double boiler if you have one, or improvise; put one pan in another, bottom one filled with water. Or substitue the brown sugar you already have. Cheers!

Ingredients:

4 pounds, Mountmellick Irish Stout Extract
3 pounds, Munton and Fison Amber DME
1/2 pound (2 cups) Crystal Malt (60 Lovibond)
1/4 pound (1 cup) Black Patent Malt
1 ounce Bullion hops (bittering)
1/2 ounce Hallertau hops (finishing)
1 pound Clover honey
12 inches Cinnamon sticks or 6 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 ounces Ginger root, freshly peeled and grated
2 teaspoons of Allspice
1 teaspoon Cloves
4 grated rinds from medium size oranges
1 package WYeast #1084 Irish Stout Yeast

Procedure:

Simmer honey and spices in covered pot for 45 minutes. Add cracked grains to 2 gallons cold water and bring to a boil. As soon as boiling starts, remove grains with a strainer. Add malt extracts and bittering hops and boil for 55 minutes. Add finishing hops and boil for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in honey and spice mixture and cool. Strain into fermenter containing 3 gallons cold (previously boiled) water and pitch yeast (when cool). After vigorous primary fermentation subsides, rack into secondary. Bottle with 7 ounces corn sugar or 1-1/4 cups DME when fermentation completes.