i'm pretty new to brewing, so am pretty much sticking to the kits at this point...
I've got a Coopera Real Ale in the bottle at the moment, which I plan on cracking open in about a month...
I'm quite keen to make a nice Christmas brew... I live over in California (although I'm an Aussie) so its pretty cold here round Christmas time...
Was thinking I could use the Coopers Stout kit, and maybe add some faint spices to it - like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves...?
I know it\ll be seen as controversial - make a good honey stout! Try a really flavoured honey (500ml?) and even throw in 100 gm of cocoa powder.... cinnamon would add a nice background but don't use more than 2 teaspoons I reckon
Someone (can't remember who) posted that cloves really serve to knock people out - they seem to have that sort of drowsy effect when mixed with alcohol.
Of course, that's one way to calm people down that's for sure!