I sort of thought that adding the holiday spices to a x-mas beer wasn't really mandatory but sure helped to get that holiday ale flavor that you're looking for in a beer like this. In fact, I think just about all the recipe's in A year of Beer (compiled by Amahl Turczyn) does use some form of spicing. However, I found it interesting that almost none of the beers in BYO's 250 clones book, minus one or two exceptions, used spices in their commercial holiday beers.
Does anybody have any thoughts on spicing this kind of beer? I'd like to make something holidayish that taste like a winter beer but I'm hoping it's moderate in strength that also isn't overwhelming so I can put it on the keg and not mind drinking more than a pint or two at a time, instead of the much smaller volume I drink when I bottle my bigger, though much more flavorful, beers.
thanks
WR
Does anybody have any thoughts on spicing this kind of beer? I'd like to make something holidayish that taste like a winter beer but I'm hoping it's moderate in strength that also isn't overwhelming so I can put it on the keg and not mind drinking more than a pint or two at a time, instead of the much smaller volume I drink when I bottle my bigger, though much more flavorful, beers.
thanks
WR