I'm brewing the Christmas Ale from last year, and once again, I'm tweaking the recipe a little. Last year, I used Dried Malt Extract (DME), this year, I'm using Liquid Malt Extract (LME). I also increased he cinnamon sticks to three, instead of two, hoping that a little more of the flavor stands out. Also, last year, I used a whole vanilla bean. I couldn't find one this year, so I opted for vanilla extract. I didn't look too hard for a recipe that used vanilla extract, so without knowing how much to use, I decided to add as much that a cake recipe called for. Maybe it'll be too much, maybe not, I'll just have to wait and see. And finally, 1 tsp. of whole cloves substituted for 1/2 tsp. of ground cloves, since I couldn't find that either.

So, here's the ingredient list:

1/2 lb.	Crystal 60
1/2 lb.	Chocolate Malt
7 lbs.	Amber LME
2 lbs.	Honey
2 oz.	Hallertauer Hops
1 oz.	Cascade
3	Cinnamon Sticks
1/2 oz.	Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp.	Whole Cloves
1 tbsp.	Vanilla Extract
1 tsp.	Ground Ginger
1 tsp.	Irish Moss
1 packet	Safale 05 Yeast

I started by putting the grain in a grain bag, placed it into the brew pot with 2 1/2 gallons of water, and brought the temperature to 156ºF. I let it steep for 30 minutes. I then removed the grains, added the LME and honey and brought to a boil. Once boiling, I added one ounce of the Hallertauer hops, one of the cinnamon sticks, and the cloves, and set the timer for 30 minutes. I decided to try adding the cinnamon stick for the full boil to see if I can tell the difference. In afterthought, however, I may not be able to differentiate between the full-boil stick and the two added later.

At the end of the first 30 minutes, I added the other ounce of Hallertauer hops and set the timer for 15 minutes. At that time, I added the Irish Moss, and set the timer again for 10 minutes. Then, for the remaining 5 minutes of the boil, I added the other two cinnamon sticks, the nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla extract.

I then cooled the wort in an ice bath, bringing it down to around 70ºF. The stick-on strip thermometers that I have on the carboy read at 68ºF, but the room where I ferment is around 62º-64ºF. I'll have to check on the temperature in a few days.

The SG was lower than last years at 1.066. I'll update this article with the readings at each step.

Update - 11.7.08: I checked the carboy today, it's been going for about four days now. The strip thermometer says 65º degrees. I'm not exactly sure how to read them, but the 64º mark is green, and the 66º mark is brown, so I'm saying it's 65º. And I have to apologize for forgetting that I left the draft flag on, and it didn't publish till today.

Update - 11.18.08: I racked to the secondary, and the gravity stands at 1.012.

Update - 12.1.08: I racked to the keg. The FG is 1.011 for an an ABV of 7.22%.