Brew Dudes

As we close out another year of homebrewing adventures, the Jar of Destiny returns with its seventeenth round of unplanned beer‑style challenges.

With the Jar feeling a little lighter these days, we reached in once again to see what it had in store for us. Each time we pick, we get two different styles that bring opportunities.

Let’s see what The Jar had in store for us this time.

The Picks

If you’re new to this series, here’s the quick rundown. We tossed every beer style from the 2015 BJCP guidelines onto wooden discs, dropped them into a jar (THE JAR), and every three months we draw a new style to research, brew, and evaluate. It’s part education, part experimentation, and part pushing ourselves as homebrewers.

John’s Pick: 30C – Winter Seasonal Spiced Beer

Nothing says “end of the year” quite like pulling a winter seasonal from the jar. This category is a broad, flexible style that invites creativity but punishes heavy‑handedness. As John points out, there’s a very thin line between a beautifully balanced holiday beer and something that tastes like a potpourri accident.

Winter seasonals often lean on classic holiday spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. They can be built on a variety of base styles, from amber ales to porters and stouts. The real challenge will be deciding these things:

• Which spices to use
• How much to add
• When to add them (boil, secondary, tincture, etc.)

Mike’s Pick: 6B – Rauchbier (Smoked Beer)

For Mike’s pick, he pulled 6B: Rauchbier, a style that’s both traditional and polarizing. Despite being a fan of smoked beers, he’s never brewed one, which make this pick a perfect Jar of Destiny challenge.

Rauchbier is rooted in German brewing tradition, often built on a Märzen‑like base with a noticeable but smooth beechwood smoke character. Mike’s initial thoughts ranged from:

• A traditional smoked Märzen
• A smoked amber lager
• Or even a curveball like a smoked IPL

Wrapping Up 2025

Another year, another pair of styles drawn from the Jar of Destiny. From the delicate balancing act of winter spices to the bold, smoky character of a classic Rauchbier, Round #17 promises to stretch our brewing skills in fun and unexpected ways.

See you in the near future when we taste these beer.

BREW ON!

In this edition of the Jar of Destiny series, Mike pours his American Stout for tasting and brewing. This style is defined by bold roast and hop presence, dark color, with moderate to high bitterness typical for American craft beers. We think dark grains and strong hop bitterness don’t go well together so Mike’s challenge was to brew a beer that could balance stout roast and American hop character.

Let’s see how he did.

JoD American Stout Recipe

Grain Bill & Adjuncts

• Pale malt: 6.75 lb
• Chocolate malt: 4.8 oz
• Roasted barley: 4.8 oz
• Honey malt: 3.6 oz
• Table sugar: 8 oz
• Molasses: 2 oz

Hops

• 1 oz Nugget @ 60 min
• 1 oz Amarillo @ flame out

Mash & Fermentation

• Mash at 145°F, step to 155°F, total ~50 min
• Fermented at 65°F for 10 days, then ~70°F for another 10 days
• Yeast: Lallemand House strain

Water Chemistry (ppm)

• Ca 83, Mg 6, Na 24
• SO₄ 141, Cl 56, HCO₃ 71

Outcomes

• Original Gravity: 1.061
• Final Gravity:1.012
• ABV: 6.4%

Tasting Notes

Color was opaque and dark with a tan head. Aroma showed burnt sugar and slight smoke notes. Flavor had roast, dry finish, and a subtle interplay between roast and hop bitterness, with honey malt adding some nuance.

We talked about how this version threads the line between classic stout roast and American hoppiness without being overwhelming. Mike pointed out elements like tobacco-lean aromas and a dry, bold finish.

The American Stout we brewed and tasted fits style expectations: dark, roasty, bitter, and bold.My personal takeaway is this version is more balanced than many earlier American Stouts I’ve tried. The honey malt and molasses helped bridge roast and bitterness. The dry finish worked well with the hop profile without overwhelming it.

If Mike had to tweak it for next time, he’d adjust sulfate and chloride to soften hop bite slightly. But overall, this is a stout where you wrestle with it and enjoy the challenge. That’s exactly what the style should do.

BREW ON!