This recipe for a Belgian Abbey Style Christmas Ale comes to Chop & Brew by way of homebrewers Carl Allen (Nordeast Brewers Alliance) and Zachary Newman (St. Paul Homebrewers Club) as seen brewed in Episode 86. Every year, Carl and Zachary brew this beer right after Christmas in preparation for the next year’s holiday. The time its allowed to age helps the alcohol and spices come into balance. The beer and its spices are inspired by not only the many Belgian Christmas beers Carl and his wife enjoyed in Belgium, but also the popular spiced cookies called speculoos, which are made with nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and anise. See beer recipe below and this post for the Belgian speculoos cookie recipe.
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Belgian Abbey Style Christmas Beer
Five gallon all-grain
OG: 1.080
FG: 1.016
OG: 1.080
FG: 1.016
ABV: 8.4%
Ingredients
Malt
- 13.5 lb Pale Ale
- 0.5 lb Biscuit
- 0.5 lb Aromatic
- 0.5 lb Special B
- 0.5 lb Munich
- .5 lb Carapils
Other Fermentable
- 1lb Dark Candi Syrup
Mash at 154
Hops
- 0.5 oz Magnum (60min)
- 1.5 oz Styrian Goldings (60min)
Yeast
- Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity
Spices
- 1 tsp Cardamom
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 Nutmeg, split into at least 2 pieces
Directions
Mash grains at 154°F for 60 minutes and sparge. After collecting full amount of wort in kettle, add Dark Candi Syrup. Bring to a boil and add hops per schedule.
Chill to 65°F and pitch yeast. Hold at 65°F for 24 hours, then allow to free rise up to 75°F to ferment.
Add spices after fermentation is finished. Transfer to secondary after level of spice meets your taste; for Carl and Zachary’s versions, that has been between 7-14 days.
Package or age in bulk for 4-10 months. Keg or bottle to a carbonation level of 3.0 volumes; you want this beer to be effervescent to help accentuate the spice and bring some bubbles to your holiday party.