In the Fermentor: Winter in the Rockies

Back in the olden days of my brewing life, circa 1994, my brother and I brewed a great Winter Warmer for the holidays. That recipe is sadly lost to history, but I have a pretty good memory of what went into it.

The base of this beer is malt forward, with a low hop profile and a focus on caramelized sugars. Toasty carmelized malts, plus earthy and floral Willamette hops serve as a backdrop for mulling spice, ginger and molasses. My beer's grain-bill is inspired by the Scottish Ale I brewed back in the spring and utilizes the yeast from it. I used a commercially available mulling spice mix that's made up of cinnamon, allspice, sweet orange peel and clove. The finished beer will have a modest strength of around 6% and should be good served warm with a cinnamon stick, just like we did it back then.

For five gallons:

Grains:
10 lbs Maris Otter
8 oz English Medium Crystal
4 oz English Extra Dark Crystal
4 oz English Chocolate Malt

Hops:
1 oz Willamette (5.6% a.a.): 60 min
1 oz Willamette (5.6% a.a.): 7 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1728 - Scottish Ale

Extras:
1 cup Dark Unsulphured Molasses: 15 min
2 oz Mulling Spice: 10 min
1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Ginger: 10 min

Mash Schedule:
Saccharification Rest: 154F for 75 min
Mashout: 168F for 15 min

Original Gravity:
1.060
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.012

IBU: 26
SRM Color: 19

Fermentation Schedule:
2 Weeks Primary
4 Weeks Secondary
2 Weeks Bottle Conditioning

Cost: $18 per case
Commercial Equivalent: Samuel Adams Winter Lager: $32
Savings: $14

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