It's that time of year again. Time for christmas beer. I had some helpers, some in real life, and some virtually through the power of skype. (Kata telecommuted from St Petersburg)

This year's recipe is a mix of Hello Kitty and a little bit of Hello Sailor, brewed up to 20l, instead of the two 10l tests last year.

• 900g Marris Otter
• 450g Medium Crystal
• 3.3kg Liquid Malt Extract
• 40g Progress (5.4%AAU) for 60min
• 45g Centennial (8.2%AAU) for 5min
• 13 cardamon seeds for 5min
• 3 ~2-3" cinnamon sticks for 5min
• 1.5 tsp Allspice for 5min
• Zest from 7-8 lemons for 5min
• S-04 yeast
• OG: 1.054, expected final: 1.016 or so

The grains were minimashed for ~45min at ~66-67C. I'll let you know how it tastes later!

Only other note from the evening is that if you're juicing lemons, using the bottom of a glass will work quite well, but only until you try and squeeze out the last drops, then you, rather predictably, smash the glass. Be careful with your fingers!