What's a wine and beer vacation? Well for me, it is taking the next 3 weeks off from blogging to slow down, drink some wine and beer and enjoy the Holiday season. After 14 months of writing articles, I'm pretty well spent. It also doesn't help that I'm working 60 -70 hours a week and my wife is going through chemotherapy.

I do plan on working on some new articles and such, but won't post them until the new year. So, I'll see you next year.

Enjoy your holidays.

Give generously to those less fortunate.

P.S. - Here are some links to some interesting articles.

Is your holiday cheer hot mulled wine or cold, strong beer?

American Homebrewers Association Sees Surge in Homebrewing

Students get credit for learning the fine art of brewing

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Technorati Tags : Wine, Beer, Homebrewing, Winemaking, Vacation, Christmas

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With Christmas just around the corner, many breweries bring out their seasonal beer. One of the tastiest that I have consumed is Troeg's Mad Elf. With an alcohol content around 11% it is not a beer that you pound down, but is more of a sipping beer. I came up with a recipe that I think would make a Mad Elf Clone but I haven't tried it. Just one for everyone to experiment with and should make a 5 gallon batch.

Ingredients:

4 pounds Pilsner Malt
4 pounds Munich Malt
1/2 pound Chocolate Malt
1 pound Honey
3.5 pounds Amber Liquid Malt Extract
2 pounds Amber Dry Malt Extract
4 ounces Cherry Juice concentrate
3/4 ounce Hallertau Hops for 50 minutes
1/4 ounce Saaz Hops for 20 minutes

Procedure:

Do a partial mash with the grains. Add the honey and malt extracts and bring to a boil. Add the hops and continue boiling. Chill and transfer to primary fermenter. Add the yeast. I'm not sure what type Troeg's uses, but a Belgian style triple yeast would be real close. Or, you can experiment and try different types by splitting up the batch. After primary fermentation is complete, rack to secondary and add the cherry juice. I would let this in the secondary for about 4 - 6 weeks before bottling.

From Troegs website

The Mad Elf Holiday Ale

Alcohol by Volume: 11% alcohol by volume
Hop Bitterness (IBU's) : 15
Color (SRM) : Ruby Red
Availability: Seasonal, 12 oz. bottles, 1/2 and 1/6 kegs (contact your local retailer to pre-order)
Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Chocolate
Hops: Saaz, Hallertau
Yeast: Spicy Yeast
Pennsylvania Honey West Coast Cherries

The Mad Elf, a cheerful creation to warm your heart and enlighten your tongue. The combination of Cherries, Honey, and Chocolate Malts delivers gentle fruits and subtle spices. Fermented and aged with a unique yeast, this ruby red beer has significant warming strength that underlies the pleasant character of this intriguing yet delicious Ale. The Mad Elf, a jolly and delicious beer for the Holidays.

2006 Elf
First Batch Brewed: Wed., Aug. 16
Cases Go on Sale: Monday, Oct. 30
Tasting Room Keg Tapped: November 4
Kegs Go on Sale: Nov. 20th

Tags : Beer, Homebrew, Troegs, Mad, Elf, Christmas