Hookarm's Christmas Beer - Not so Great

Hoo-kay! An unbiased scoring.

Hookarm's Christmas Beer

Appearance (0-3): Very cloudy brown with an off white head that dissipates slowly. 1 point
Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Ginger aroma dominates. There is some sweetness, but it's all ginger. Smells really great! 3 points
Taste (0-10): Hop/Malt Balance (0-4): This is tough. There is some malt sweetness, but the ginger flavor is immense. It's almost bitter, like hops. It's almost too much. 3 points
Aftertaste (0-3): Again, the ginger flavor dominates, but there is an slightly unpleasant hop bitterness at the back of the tongue. 1 point
Mouthfeel (0-3): Full mouthfeel, nicely carbonated. 3 points
Overall Impression (0-3): I like it. But the cloudiness and the bitterness bring this one down. 1 point
Total: 12 Points

I don't hate this beer. On the other hand, I'm not in love with this beer. I served this at my employer's Christmas Party. Someone said it was rough around the edges. I don't disagree with that. I think the beer is unbalanced. I just don't know what is missing. It needs some sweetness to cut the bitterness.

Hookarm's Christmas Beer

It's that time of year again. Shortly after Oktoberfest, my thoughts turn to Christmas beer. Bascially, I made the same thing as last time.

• 7 lbs. light malt extract
• 1 lb honey
• 1/2 lb Crystal 60L
• 2 oz black patent
• 2 oz Cascade Hops (60 minutes)
• 1 oz Saaz Hops (2 minutes)
• 1 oz flaked ginger
• 6-inches stick cinnamon
• zest from 4 oranges
• California Ale yeast

Put the specialty grains in 6 gallons of cold water and bring to a boil. When the boil begins, remove the grains. Add the extract, honey, and the Cascade hops. Boil 45 minutes. Add the Ginger, cinnamon and orange zest. Add the saaz hops in the last 2 minutes of the boil. When the beer has cooled, pitch the yeast.

OG: 1054-1060
FG: 1018-1026
3.7% ABW
4.7% ABV

I brewed it out at Honey Creek Brewery. I hadn't been out there in a while, but I was eager to do a whole wort boil again. Everything went well, and the brew smelled of carrot cake. I wanted to bathe in it!

My original gravity was 1075.

I am going to let this sit until Sunday the 28th, then I will keg it and let it age for four more weeks.