Category Archives: experimental recipe

Catharina Sour

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Image by Bigul Malayi, licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

The Southern California Homebrewing Festival is coming up! As usual, I can’t make it due to a work event, but I am sending a keg with the Horse Thieves. The “bragging rights” competition this year is tiki-/island-themed beer, so anything that it is tropical/tiki is fair game. Charles, one of our club members and owner of Pacific Brewing Supplies, used an open source machine learning build (“AI”) to analyze a whole ton of recipes and come up with some ideas for our club. One of them was a Catharina Sour, which intrigued me enough to brew it!

Part of the appeal for me was that this is a style I’ve never made previously. Originating in Brazil, the BJCP describes it as “a refreshing fruited sour wheat beer with a vibrant fruit character and a clean lactic acidity.” It is essentially a bright, highly fruited Berliner weisse.

The recipe from Charles was pretty straight-forward, and I made only the most minimal modifications for my equipment and ingredient availability. I kettle soured with Lallemand’s Wildbrew Sour Pitch, and used US-05 (with its famous peachy notes) to provide a subtle fruitiness to enhance the tropical fruit. I chose Amoretti Craft Puree for the base fruit additions, having had good success with it in some batches a few years back. At the suggestion of the recipe, I also used the TrueFruit product (essentially granulated fruit concentrate) to brighten things up in the keg.

Catharina Sour

  • 5 lb. Synergy Select Pilsen Malt (Briess)
  • 4 lb. white wheat malt
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 pkg. Wildbrew Sour Pitch (Lallemand), for kettle souring
  • 1.1 oz. Hallertauer whole hops (3.0% estimated alpha), from South Dakota
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. WLN1000 yeast nutrient (White Labs)
  • 1 pkg. US-05 Safale American ale yeast (Fermentis)
  • 8 oz. (by weight) mango Amoretti Craft Puree, added to primary
  • 8 oz. (by weight) passionfruit Amoretti Craft Puree, added to primary
  • 1 oz. (by weight) TrueFruit passionfruit, added to keg
  • 0.67 oz. (by weight) TrueFruit mango, added to keg
  • 0.67 oz. (by weight) TrueLime, added to keg

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.044 o.g., 1.009 f.g., 4.5% abv, 4 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Blend of neutralized tap water and RO water to hit 86 ppm Ca, 5 ppm Mg, 64 pm Na, 36 ppn SO4, 86 ppm Cl, 7 ppm bicarbonate, RA=-58.
  • 5.25 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I added 3.9 mL of 88% lactic acid to 5.5 gallons of tap water to remove the bicarbonates, and then added 2.5 gallons of RO water to further reduce the mineral content.
  • I heated the strike water to 157°, added the BrewTanB and grains, and then recirculated at 152° for 60 minutes. Next, I raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mashout.
  • After pulling the grains at the end of the mash, I had 7.1 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.035, for 74% mash efficiency. I boiled the wort (without hops) for 5 minutes and then chilled it to 95° before adding 25 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH of the wort to ~4.2.
  • Before pitching the sour culture, I rehydrated it with 5 g of DME in 100 g of water. My previous experience with dry lacto cultures is that they can clump up, so rehydration seemed wise. Once this was done, I pitched the culture.
  • I did the inital brew on 8 March 2026.
  • Within my Foundry, I held the temperature at 100° for 48 hours, until it hit what tasted like a reasonable level of acidity.
  • I boiled the wort for 60 minutes, adding hops and BrewTanB per the recipe. Then, I chilled the wort down to 70° before pitching the yeast.
  • I pitched the US-05 on 10 March 2026. Around 6 gallons went into the fermenter, with a starting gravity of 1.040.
  • The beer was fermented at 68°. I added the craft puree on 15 March, and also moved the fermenter to ambient at that time.
  • I kegged the beer on 21 March 2026, using 3.15 oz. of corn sugar in the keg. I added the fruit powders directly at this time.
  • Because it was such a large batch, I had some beer left over and bottled it with two carbonation drops in a 22-oz. bottle. The bottle did not get the TrueFruit/TrueLime additions, so is just the “base” fruit style.
  • On 7 April 2026, I measured 16 psi in the keg at 68°, which is around 1.8 volumes of CO2. At this point, I moved the keg to the conditioning chamber, chilled to 34°, and used force carbonation to finish out the beer preparation.
Bottled version
Kegged version

Because I had both a bottled version (with no TrueFruit/TrueLime) and a kegged version (with the additions at kegging), I decided to write up my tasting notes separately.

Tasting – Bottled Version

  • Appearance
    • Light yellow, fairly hazy beer; it pours with a rich white head that subsides fairly quickly and leaves lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Lightly tart, lightly doughy, moderate tropical fruit aroma that accentuates mango.
  • Flavor
    • Moderately high level of clean lactic acidity; light doughy malt character; medium level of tropical fruit flavor, especially mango, with the passionfruit behind that.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-high carbonation, light body, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This is an awesome sour, one that is complex with the fruit, but not in-your-face. The mango is a little more obvious than the passionfruit; a touch more of the latter would be nice. The fruit quality definitely gets more noticeable as the beer warms.
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Tasting – Kegged Version

  • Appearance
    • Modestly hazy, shimmery, pale yellow beer that pours with a surprisingly persistent white head, which leaves some lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Bright tropical fruit bouquet at a medium-high level; mango and passionfruit, absolutely! The aroma balance is slightly tilted towards passionfruit. Some lactic sourness comes through, too; light bread dough.
  • Flavor
    • As with the aroma, a bright and fresh tropical fruit flavor is prominent; lime is immediately recognizable, alongside passionfruit. The mango character is a little more subdued. The beer has a clean lactic acid sourness, and a slightly doughy malt character at a low level.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Light body, medium-high carbonation, slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • WOW! The keg version is simply amazing, and the blend of fruit is close to perfection. I might notch back the lime just a touch (perhaps half the amount I used) so that it’s not quite as noticeable and more in a supporting role. The TrueFruit was an excellent addition, in particular helping the passionfruit to shine. This might be one of the most fun (and most enjoyable) brewing projects I’ve had in awhile.
    • Compared to the bottled version, the fruit quality is “better” on this one. Everything else is (as expected) fairly similar.
  • Overall
    • 9.5/10

Gondwana IPA

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Chasing the perfect IPA is a perpetual task. As my brewing technique has advanced, I’ve transitioned into all-grain and adjusted grain bills, adjusted water chemistry, played with different hopping regimes, and implemented closed transfer into a keg. The results have, in the best batches, been quite satisfying–especially for “traditonal” C-hop IPAs and classic North American IPAs. I’ve also improved overall beer quality. Yet, I’m always looking to try something just a little different.

Hop derivative products are nothing new, including CO2 extracts, various bittering products, flavorings, and concentrated pellets (e.g., Cryo) released over the years. I keep an eye on what’s out there for homebrewers, and although I’ve dabbled with some concentrated hop pellets like Cryo, they’ve never been so knock-my-socks-off that I’ve gone exclusively to them. More recent products like Abstrax are intriguing, but just odd enough (and expensive enough) that I haven’t jumped at them. But, I’ve been reading more about all of these lately, so I thought I would give them a try. I’m also wanting to get the super crisp, super fruity profile that the best beers with Southern hemisphere hops can have. Time to experiment!

I built my current recipe exclusively around Southern hops, from Australia and New Zealand. I wanted something with big tropical fruit notes and a bit of citrus (but not straight citrus, like some North American IPAs). I chose a combo of Galaxy and Moutere to hit that for the boil and whirlpool. To amp things up, but avoid the astringency of too many hops, I implemented Cryo Riwaka, for the passionfruit and citrus notes in the dry hop. Finally, I rounded things out with a dose of Abstrax Omni Hop Profile, targeting a Galaxy-type expression. In order to let the hops shine through, I followed my all-grain, low mash temperature malt bill from recent “modern” IPA attempts. I also turned down the bitterness, from around 67 IBU in my most recent IPA to 50 IBU here. Although I don’t with US-05 as much as I used to, the peachy quality that it provides seemed like a nice way to augment the overall fruity qualities I wanted in this beer. I had a lot of fun conceptualizing the recipe in this batch, and choosing the ingredients to hit my overall concept.

Note that this is my second recipe with the name of “Gondwana IPA.” My first was over a decade ago, during only my second all-grain brew session. The name is too good to leave to an early effort, so I’m going to repurpose it for a new generation of brewing.

Gondwana IPA

  • 9.5 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 3 lb. Synergy Select pilsen malt (Briess)
  • 1 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Moutere hop pellets (15.7% alpha), 20 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick Carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Galaxy hop pellets (16.9% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool at 185°
  • 1 oz. Moutere hop pellets (15.7% alpha), 15 minute whirlpool at 185°
  • 1 pkg. Safale American ale yeast (US-05)
  • 1 oz. Cryo Riwaka hops (12.4% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 2.5 mL Southern Hemisphere (AU) Tropical Omni Hop Profile, Abstrax, added to keg
  • 1 oz. Biofine Clear, added to keg

Target Parameters

  • 75 minute infusion mash, 148°, full volume mash
  • 1.062 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 6.8% abv, 50 IBU, 4 SRM
  • Water built from RO, to hit 94 ppm Ca, 156 ppm SO4, and 51 ppm Cl.
  • 5.25 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I built the water up from scratch, with 7.5 gallons of RO water, 8 g gypsum, and 3 g calcium chloride, to hit my brewing water profile.
  • After heating the water to 154°, I added the grains as well as 18.6 mL of 10% phosphoric acid to adjust mash chemistry.
  • I held the mash at `148° for 75 minutes, with recirculation, before pulling the grains and heating to a boil.
  • In total, I collected 6.6 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.053, for 68% mash efficiency.
  • Once the kettle was at a boil, I added the hops and finings per the recipe. I boiled for 60 minutes.
  • After the full 60 minute boil, I chilled the wort to 185° and added the whirlpool hops, and recirculated. I had a realization, that I could use my Anvil heating element to keep the whirlpool at the temperature! It’s somewhat silly that it took me so long to realize this (temperature drops due to the recirculation, so start whirlpool temp is higher than end whirlpool temp otherwise)…but now I can incorporate that into my process for more consistent results!
  • After the 15 minute whirlpool, I continued chilling down to 72°, transferred to the fermenter, pitched the yeast, and continued chilling in the fermentation chamber down to 66°.
  • I brewed this beer on 15 March 2026. Starting gravity was 1.060.
  • Fermentation temperature was held at 66°.
  • A very light krausen was visible on the surface of the beer by 16 March 2026, and a solid krausen was visible by 17 March 2026. I noted there wasn’t a lot of bubbling in the airlock, so I wonder if there’s not a small leak somewhere in the way the lid gasket is seated.
  • I started the cold crash for the beer on 15 March 2026, and kegged the beer on 1 April 2026, using a closed transfer.
  • I added the Cryo hops in a large bag after the transfer was completed, doing as quick of an addition as I could. I ran the CO2 into the keg at very low pressure while doing so, to keep a blanket of CO2 in place and hopefully minimize oxygen ingress.
  • Final gravity was 1.007; down from 1.060, this works out to 7.0% abv.
  • I dry hopped at ~34°, while carbonating.
  • I tried to remove the dry hops on 4 April 2026, but they had sunk in the keg, so I couldn’t retrieve them. Ah well!
  • On 4 April 2026, I added 2.5 mL (0.5 tsp.) of the Abstrax product.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light gold in color, with a light shimmery haze–it’s not a “hazy” in the sense of being opaque or murky, just a beer with a hop/chill haze. The beer has a nice white head with good retention and a bit of lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • A nice bouquet of tropical fruit, at a moderately high intensity. I perceive it as sweet orange, passionfruit, and mango.
  • Flavor
    • Medium high bitterness, with a flavorful hop quality–sweet pineapple, orange, a fair bit of white peach; overall, a sweet and fruity flavor from the hops. Clean fermentation, with a slight peach ring candy flavor at times. The maltiness is light and has a slightly grainy quality.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium light body, moderate carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a good IPA–I think I threaded the flavor/bitterness needle pretty well. It avoids astringency, and has a perfect level of bitterness and hop flavor for what the beer is. The sweet hop sensation is a new one for my home brews, and very cool to experience. The haze marks the beer down slightly, but that’s more cosmetic than anything. I think the Abstrax adds something, but it’s nice and subtle, without being in your face. I get the sense that in my use case it’s a support alongside the other hops rather than a “whammo” in your face experience. I like that my hopping regimen avoids the diesel flavor I got in a commercial IPA with Riwaka that I recently sampled. The “lower” bitterness (50 IBU calculated, versus 60 or 70 as in my typical batches) lets the hop flavors shine over the bitterness. In all, I think this is a successful experiment and use of a variety of non-convention (i.e., non-T90) hop products!
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Rated “PG” (for Pineapple Guava) 2026

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Our feijoa (pineapple guava) tree had a slack year in 2024-2025 (probably due to dry conditions), so I wasn’t able to gather any fruit. But, the tree produced fairly well towards the end of 2025, so it was the perfect time for a rebrew of my old favorite sour beer. The feijoa fruits weren’t quite as large this year, and were perhaps a bit riper when I picked them, so the overall quality is different from the first batch. That said, it still turned out as a great beer (even if a bit of extra work)!

Everything is pretty much the same this year as the previous version; there is a mix of pilsner malts, because I was getting to the end of my Pilsner Zero supply. With a smaller harvest of fruit, I opted for a 2.5 gallon instead of a 3 gallon recipe.

Rated “PG” (for Pineapple Guava) 2026

  • 1 lb. 12 oz red wheat malt (Briess)
  • 14 oz. Pilsner Zero malt (Viking)
  • 8 oz. Synergy Select Pilsen Malt (Briess)
  • 2 oz. rice hulls (added to mash)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Saaz whole hops (South Dakota; est. 3.5% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. yeast nutrient (WLN1000), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Wildbrew Philly Sour (Lallemand)
  • 2 lb. feijoa (pineapple guava) puree, added at end of fermentation

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.031 o.g., 1.006 f.g., 3.2% abv, 5 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, neutralized, to hit 120 ppm Ca, 7 ppm Mg, 89 ppm Na, 50 ppm SO4, 120 ppm Cl, 10 ppm bicarbonate, -81 RA
  • 2.5 gallon batch

Procedure

  • Starting with 3.75 gallons of tap water, I added a quarter of a Campden tablet to drop the chloramines, and then 2.65 mL of 88% lactic acid, to neutralize the bicarbonates.
  • I heated the water to 155°, before adding the grains, and holding at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation.
  • After the main mash, I raised the mash temperature to 168° and held it there for 10 minutes.
  • Once the mash was done, I pulled the grains. I had 3.4 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.025, for 72% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, and boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and other ingredients per the recipe.
  • After the 60 minute boil, I chilled to 84°, transferred to the fermenter, pitched the yeast, and fermented at ambient. I wrapped a towel around the temperature to maintain temperature.
  • I brewed the beer on 18 February 2026; starting gravity was 1.033.
  • The beer was down to 70° by the morning of 19 February 2026, with active bubbling in the airlock. I put my fermentation heater next to the fermenter and wrapped the fermenter in a towel in order to keep the temperature up.
  • The fermenter was around 76° when I checked it on 22 February 2026.
  • I added the fruit puree on 22 February 2026. I had picked the feijoa at the end of December, skinned it, and then froze the pulp. After thawing, I pureed the pulp with an immersion blender, heated the puree it to between 160° and 165°, and then let it sit for 30 seconds. I added the pasteurized puree to the fermenter at this point, which raised the temperature to 86°. There was a gentle krausen on top when I opened the fermenter.
  • The fermenter sat at ambient, until I kegged the beer on 7 March 2026. I used 1.5 oz of corn sugar dissolved in water to start carbonation (and reduce oxygen).
  • Final gravity was 1.009, down from 1.033; this works out to 3.1% abv, pretty close to my initially estimated target.
  • After a few weeks, I moved the keg to the fermentation chamber and topped up the CO2 with forced carbonation.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Very hazy and straw-colored beer, with a surprisingly persistent white head (likely helped by the high level of carbonation).
  • Aroma
    • Highly tart, acidic aroma, with a medium level of tropical fruit; very ripe, almost like papaya, especially on the initial pour; as the beer warms, I pick up more guava, and a bit of apricot and pineapple.
  • Flavor
    • Very clean sour profile, with a lactic acid character; a light bread dough malt flavor. As the beer warms, a medium-low level of tropical fruit comes through, with well ripened pineapple as the dominant flavor. Minimal bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Highly carbonated, crisp, light-bodied beer; a wonderful effervescent character.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a super amazing beer, made even more special by the fact that I picked the fruit in my yard. It is just about the perfect fruited sour; the aroma is a little more “ripe” than the previous version. The flavor is not as fruit-forward (hence the 9/10), but still nice. The Philly Sour strain works well for these kinds of beers; I’m definitely sold on it! Comparing with the previous version, the color is a little lighter; maybe that’s something about the fruit?
  • Overall
    • 9/10

The Martian Amber Ale

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Homebrewing is at its most fun for me in exploration. I’ll admit that with nearly 20 years of experience, I’m now pretty familiar with many ingredients and styles, so truly novel brews aren’t as common as they used to be. So, I was pretty excited when I read about a new malt from Gambrinus, called “Mars Malt,” which is marketed as a base malt that produces a red wort. The flavor description made it sound like a turbo-charged Munich, with all of the flavor characteristics one would expect there.

After seeing Denny Conn post on the AHA Forum about his plans to make a SMaSH altbier using Mars malt, I was inspired to make my own SMaSH recipe, aiming for an American amber ale. American ambers and altbiers are quite similar in strength, color, and bitterness, and so I think the recipes can be swapped around in creative ways. For an American amber ale SMaSH, I decided to focus on Centennial hops, because the pine and citrus work perfectly for that West Coast flavor. Yeast needed to be something clean and fast; although I often lean on WLP001 and BRY-97, I usually forget about Nottingham as another option. Although a British yeast, it’s another classic of American brewing, and does a good job of staying out of the way of the malt and hop flavors. Plus, Nottingham ferments fast and drops clear, both positive qualities for this project.

Because this was an experimental batch, I aimed for 2.75 gallons rather than my usual ~5 gallons. Gravity targeted Gambrinus’s recommended strength of 1.048 to maximize red color, and it also would keep the alcohol level in check. The hopping level was pretty standard for an American amber ale, and I kicked in some dry hops to maximize flavor and aroma. To avoid too minerally of water, I cut my tap water with some RO water, and built in epsom salt to boost the sulfates and enhance the hops.

I had fun putting together a logo/label for this recipe–it’s fairly simple, with a NASA-sourced artist’s image of Mars viewed from orbit, with a NASA-inspired font. All were freely available, and none were AI.

The Martian Amber Ale

  • 6 lb. Mars malt (Gambrinus)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Nottingham ale dry yeast (Lallemand)
  • 1.5 oz. Centennial hop pellets (8.1% alpha), dry hop in primary

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.048 o.g., 1.008 f.g., 5.3% abv, 33 IBU, 14 SRM
  • Water built from Claremont tap water and RO water to hit target parameters of 78 ppm Ca, 23 ppm Mg, 58 ppm Na, 107 ppm SO4, 78 ppm Cl, 85 ppm bicarbonate
  • 2.75 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I built the water up with 2.75 gallons of tap water (with a Campden tablet), 1.5 gallons of RO water, and 3 g of epsom salt.
  • I heated the water to 158°, before adding the grains and holding at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation.
  • After 60 minutes, I heated the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, and then pulled the grains.
  • In total, I collected 3.9 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.041, for 73% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe, maintaining a 60 minute boil.
  • After 60 minutes, I chilled the beer to 68° and let it settle for a bit before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 17 January 2026. It had a starting gravity of 1.049, a pretty good match for my target gravity.
  • Because ambient temperatures were pretty cool, I let the beer sit out. It was at 66° by the next morning, with regular bubbling through the airlock.
  • The beer was up to 70° by the morning of 19 January, so I moved the fermenter to a cooler room. This is still well within the optimal range for Nottingham, so I’m not too worried.
  • The fermenter was down to 66° by the evening of 19 January, and I moved it to a warmer room overnight.
  • The fermenter was down to 62° by noon on 20 January 2026. I added the dry hops at this point; when I opened the fermenter, the krausen had fallen pretty much entirely.
  • I cold crashed the beer on 24 January 2026, and kegged using a closed transfer on 1 February 2026.
  • Final gravity was 1.011, for 5.0% abv.
A glass of reddish amber beer with a foamy ivory-colored head, sitting on a stone surface surrounded by leaves.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Clear, reddish amber beer, with a tall and persistent ivory head–it’s fluffy and gorgeous!
  • Aroma
    • Prominent bready aroma, slightly toasty; more dark bread than light. Very malt forward. Resiny hops at a moderate level.
  • Flavor
    • Medium-high maltiness, with dark bread character. Bitter, with a citrus and pine hop character. Clean yeast quality.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, medium carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a pretty good SMaSH. The body is a touch thin, and I might recommend a mash at 156° or 158° in a future version. Alternatively, I might add a bit of crystal 20 or crystal 40. Overall, this is an interesting beer and a worthy experiment.
  • Overall
    • 7/10

St. Arnold Christmas Ale (Homage)

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Early in November, I visited the St. Arnold Brewing Company taproom, where I sampled their newly tapped Christmas Ale. True to its reputation, this was a phenomenal beer, and I enjoyed sitting down with the BYO Big Book of Clone Recipes to compare with my perceptions from the actual beer. That evening, I decided my next batch would be a Christmas Ale clone, and I planned out the brew session while sipping the real thing.

The batch brewed here hews pretty closely to the published clone in the malt bill and bittering hops. However, I subbed in Hallertauer for Liberty hops at flameout and used WLP066 (London Fog) instead of Wyeast 1968 or WLP002. WLP066 and WLP002 are very different, but the purported citrus and tropical fruit characters for WLP066 seemed like a good match for a holiday ale. From perspective of convenience, WLP066 is available in dry form and I already had some on-hand, too.

Saint Arnold Christmas Ale (Homage)

  • 6.25 lb. 2-row pale malt (Rahr)
  • 11 oz. Caravienne malt
  • 8 oz. Munich malt (BESTMALZ)
  • 4 oz. Caramunich II malt (Weyermann)
  • 4 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.75 oz. Perle hop pellets (6.3% alpha), 30 minute boil
  • 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. yeast nutrient (White Labes WLN1000)
  • 1.1 oz. Hallertauer hop pellets (3.0% alpha), 5 minute whirlpool
  • 1 pkg. London Fog ale dry yeast (WLP066)
  • 0.5 oz. BioFine Clear, added to keg

Target Parameters

  • 75 minute infusion mash, 150°, full volume mash
  • 1.066 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 7.3% abv, 24 IBU, 14 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, neutralized with 88% lactic acid to remove bicarbonates.
  • 2.75 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I collected 4.3 gallons of tap water and added 4.4 mL of 88% lactic acid to knock out the carbonates. I heated this water to 156°, added the grains, and then held the mash at 150°, with recirculation, for 75 minutes. I added 2.7 mL of 88% lactic acid, to further adjust mash pH.
  • After 75 minutes, I raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash out. Finally, I removed the grains and brought the runnings up to a boil.
  • I collected 3.75 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.051, for 65% mash efficiency. I boiled the beer for 90 minutes, adding the hops and finings following the recipe. After the full boil, I added the whirlpool hops and recirculated for 5 minutes before chilling the rest of the way.
  • I chilled the beer to 71°, pitched the yeast, and let it ferment at 72°.
  • Starting gravity was 1.072; I brewed this beer on 9 November 2025.
  • Vigorous fermentation had kicked off within 24 hours. I pulled the beer to ambient on 22 November 2025 and kegged it on 23 November 2025.
  • Final gravity was 1.015, for 7.6% abv.
  • As expected, the beer was pretty hazy — WLP066 is used for hazy IPA’s, after all! I added Biofine Clear on 30 November 2025, to fix this. I was rewarded with a wonderfully clear beer, as shown in the picture.

Left: the original St. Arnold’s Christmas Ale, at the brewery; right: my homebrew version

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • This beer pours with a persistent ivory head, and displays a beautifully clear amber orange color in the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Slightly herbal and spicy hop aroma, with a caramel malty aroma at a moderate level.
  • Flavor
    • Medium herbal bitterness in the hopping. Caramel and bready quality to the malt, at a medium-high level. Rich flavor!
  • Mouthfeel
    • This is a full-bodied beer, with a moderate level of carbonation. The finish is relatively smooth.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a very drinkable and enjoyable holiday beer–pretty much exactly what I wanted. I don’t know how it stacks up as a clone (given I can’t do a side-by-side-tasting), but in any case the beer itself is super good. The flavors and body add up to a rich and flavorful beer. I also really like the concept of leaning on the base hops and malts to get the suggestion of holiday spices, versus actual spice additives. I’m a fan of this beer!
  • Overall
    • 10/10