Xmas on my mind

Being that its warm outside it seemed a good time to start to plan a brew for when its cold outside, namely the HolzBrew 2014 Xmas Ale. I decided upon a Bourbon Dubbel/Quad. I call it a Dubbel/Quad (perhaps a "Duad") because the OG (1.082) places this beer somewhere between the Dubbel and Quad categorical styles. I've never cared much about brewing to a particular style, so no worries. I've been on a big trappist kick lately and thought it would make a nice beer for winter. I saw that LaTrappe makes a bourbon barrel aged version of their quad that gets great ratings on BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, so I figure it might be worth aging this batch on bourbon soaked oak cubes.

The White Labs 500 strain that I pitched took off beautifully. The picture above shows the wort at pitching (left) and then again 12 hours later (right).

Papa Noel

	Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
	Type:	Calories: 260
	Rating: 0.0	Boil Size: 7.96 Gal
	IBU's: 21.77	Batch Size: 7.00 Gal
	Color:   20.0 SRM	Boil Time: 90 minutes
	Preboil OG: 1.075

		Estimated	Actual
	Brew Date:	-	07/06/2014
	OG:	1.080	1.082
	FG:	1.018	1.018
	ABV:	8.12 %	8.38 %
	Efficiency:	72 %	74 %
	Serve Date:	06/22/2015	/ /

Fermentation Steps
Name	Days / Temp	Estimated	Actual
Primary	21 days @ 70.0°F	07/06/2014	07/06/2014
Secondary	90 days @ 72.0°F	07/27/2014	-
Bottle/Keg	30 days @ 74.0°F	10/25/2014	-

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount	Percentage		Name	Time	Gravity
18.00 lbs	82.76 %		Pilsner (2 Row) Bel	60 mins	1.036
2.00 lbs	9.20 %		Candi Sugar, Dark - D90	20 mins	1.036
6.00 ozs	1.72 %		Special B Malt	60 mins	1.030
1.00 lbs	4.60 %		Turbinado	60 mins	1.044
6.00 ozs	1.72 %		Briess 2-Row Caramel 40L	60 mins	1.034

Hops
Amount	IBU's		Name	Time	AA %
2.00 ozs	15.73		Hallertauer Hersbrucker	60 mins	4.00
1.00 ozs	6.04		Hallertauer Hersbrucker	30 mins	4.00

Yeasts
Amount	Name	Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg	Trappist Ale	White Labs 0500

Additions
Amount	Name	Time	Stage
1.00 oz	Oak Chips	15 weeks	Secondary
1.00 oz	Whirlfloc Tablet	15 mins	Boil

Mash Profile

Medium Body Infusion In 60 min @ 154.0°F

Add 23.44 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 166.0°F

Sparge

Sparge 20.16 qt of 170.0°F water over 60 mins Other 2oz. Hungarian Medium Roast Oak Cubes 375ml Bourbon -HolzBrew