Griswold's Yule Log Spiced Christmas Ale

The Label

This beer proved to be the most popular beer in my holiday packs. I based the recipe off my 2005 Christmas beer, but I changed the spices a bit and the hops due the shortage. I used a smaller quantity of nugget hops, since Cascade was not available. I only used the hop for bittering, allowing the spices to provide the flavor and aroma. I put a small quantity of all of my spices in at the end of the boil, which included ground allspice, dried sweet orange peel, ground ginger, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla. I allowed the beer to sit in the primary for one week and in the secondary for two weeks. I added more of the spices to the secondary. The beer was carbonated with corn sugar. The beer had nice combination of spices that were true to the holiday season, but it was not overpowering in taste. It was light brown color and the aroma was ginger, allspice, and orange. The ginger taste was much lower than the 2005 recipe.

The Name
I was inspired by one of my favorite holiday movies, although some people have not been comfortable with the reference.