Dave O's Christmas Cracker All Grain Recipe Kit

Dave O's Christmas Cracker All Grain Recipe Kit
A satisfying brown ale with chocolate, caramel and subtle orange and spice from the hops.
There's a bit of history behind Dave O's Christmas Cracker. The recipe dates back to 2010, when it was entered into a Worcester Hop Shop Christmas beer recipe competition and went on to become the winning recipe.
We've managed to uncover some of the original recipe and tasting discussions from the time, along with the entrant's own description of the beer:
“This should be an easy drinking but satisfying brown ale with festive spice and orange notes from the hops.”
That's a pretty good description of what makes this beer work.
At 4.6% ABV, Christmas Cracker sits firmly in the easy-drinking but full-of-character category. Maris Otter provides the traditional British malt backbone, with Wheat Malt, Crystal and Chocolate Malt bringing colour, body and layers of caramel and dark chocolate flavour.
The hops add another dimension. Fuggles provide earthy and herbal British hop character, while First Gold brings the subtle orange and spicy notes that give the beer its distinctive twist. There are no added Christmas spices here — the seasonal character comes naturally from the combination of malt and hops.
Contemporary tasting notes from one of the original brewers picked out dark chocolate, almost coffee-like aromas, a smooth flavour and a little dryness on the finish, while another described the beer as having a chocolatey caramel flavour and a dark ruby colour.
It's the sort of beer that comes into its own when the evenings get darker and the fire gets lit. Rich enough to be satisfying, but balanced and drinkable enough that you won't be looking at the clock wondering when you're allowed another one.
And that's why, despite the name, you don't have to save Christmas Cracker for Christmas. It's a cracking choice for autumn evenings, winter nights, Sunday afternoons or pretty much any occasion when a good dark British ale sounds like the right answer.
Christmas in the name. An exceptionally good brown ale in the glass.
Brew Facts
Batch Size: 23 litres
Original Gravity: 1.047
Final Gravity: 1.012 approx.
ABV: 4.6%
Bitterness: 27.5 IBU
Colour: 42 EBC
Boil Time: 90 minutes
Yeast: Safale S-04
Grain Bill
Maris Otter
Wheat Malt
Crystal 120
Chocolate Malt
Hop Bill
Fuggles – 90 minute addition
First Gold – 10 minute addition
Fuggles – late aroma addition
A little bit of Worcester Hop Shop history, a winning recipe from 2010, and a very drinkable brown ale that deserves to be brewed well beyond December.