🎄 Hearthside Holiday Ale

Tinsel & Tinctures — Small-Batch Holiday Ales Made Simple

Batch Size

1 Gallon

Est. ABV

~6.5%

Est. IBU

18-22

Color

Amber

Method

BIAB

🌾 Grain Bill

Amount	Ingredient	Notes
1.75 lbs	Pale Malt (2-Row)	Base malt
4 oz	Crystal 60L	Caramel sweetness, amber color
4 oz	Munich Malt	Bready depth
2 oz	Biscuit Malt	Toasty, cookie-like

🌿 Hops

Amount	Variety	Time
0.3 oz	East Kent Goldings	60 minutes (bittering)

🧫 Yeast

Safale US-05 — Clean American ale yeast (~2g for 1 gallon)
Ferment at 64-68°F for cleanest results

🎄 Classic Spice Blend (Tincture)

Spice	Amount
Cinnamon stick	1 stick, broken
Whole nutmeg	1/4 nutmeg, grated
Allspice berries	3-4 berries, crushed

Steep in 2-3 oz vodka for 3-7 days. Add to taste at bottling.

🌡️ Key Temperatures

152°F Mash temperature (hold 60 minutes)
212°F Boil for 60 minutes
<75°F Cool wort before pitching yeast
64-68°F Fermentation temperature

📊 Target Numbers

Original Gravity (OG): 1.062 - 1.068
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 - 1.016
Water needed: ~1.5 gallons (accounts for boil-off)
Priming sugar: 0.5-0.6 oz corn sugar for 1 gallon

📝 Quick Notes

Heat strike water to ~162°F to hit 152°F mash temp after adding grain
Squeeze the grain bag gently when removing to get extra wort
Start your spice tincture 3-7 days before bottling day
Taste-test tincture additions in a small sample before adding to whole batch
Bottle condition 2+ weeks before serving

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