A few years ago we had a competition in our showrooms for the best Holiday Beer. The winner was an unknown brewer named Kyle Sommers. We actually hired Kyle following the competition to work in our customer service office(see where good homebrew will get you!) In 2010 Kyle graduated from the Siebel Institute to continue his dream of becoming a professional Brewmaster. He is now brewing at Lagunitas.
We loved the big body, rich malt, and the extremely complex spice blend. When we went to make the recipe for sale we thought twice because we had to buy out the spice section of our local grocer.
Based on a Northern English style Brown Ale, it has 6 different spices added at two different times in the brewing and fermentation process, resembling and inspired by a Belgian-style winter beer. This winter warmer will make your kitchen smell like Thanksgiving Day at Grandma's house. With some added Belgian brown sugar to counter-balance the spice and add some alcohol content, this is a great way to top off your Holiday adventures by the fireside. If you are a firm believer in the Reinheitsgebot (no spices, sugar, etc.), this is not the beer for you!
Kyle suggests using White Labs English Ale yeast, WLP002