Liquid Christmas

Mill the grains and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.5 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) and a temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold the mash at 152 °F (67 °C) until conversion is complete, which should be less than 60 minutes. Raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C).

Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 6.5 gallons (25 L) and the gravity is 1.070 (17 °P). Optionally, add treacle to the wort stirring thoroughly to avoid scorching.

The total wort boil time is 90 minutes. Add the bittering hops with 60 minutes left in the boil. Add Irish moss or other kettle finings with 15 minutes remaining and the spices with one minute left in the boil. Chill the wort rapidly to 67 °F (19 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter and aerate thoroughly.

Pitch 15 grams of properly rehydrated dry yeast or use three liquid yeast packages. Alternatively, make a 5-liter starter using one package of liquid yeast, letting the starter ferment out fully and pitching only the resulting yeast into the wort.

Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C), raising the temperature to 70 °F (21 °C) during the last 1⁄3 of fermentation to help reduce diacetyl and assure complete attenuation. Allow the lees to settle and the brew to mature without pressure for another two days after fermentation appears finished.

Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack it to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle. Target a carbonation level of 1.5 to 2 volumes.