Amber ale recipe. Any help?

So I am trying to branch out a bit with the styles I brew. I keep a culture available of American Ale II so I thought that styles that can be brewed well with that yeast would be a good place to start.

I have attempted many Pale ales, IPAs, Porters and stouts. I think An American Amber Ale is just what I need.

I am looking for something to offset my tendency to make everything quite hoppy. Generally well received, but not everybody is a hop head. I am hoping this recipe might be something close to an alaskan amber, fat tire, or stone pale ale. If anybody has a great recipe for one of these, maybe just send me the short cut.

Here is my rough draft:

OG: 1.053
26.2 IBU
13.4 SRM
5.0% ABV

6.5# two row
1.5# biscuit
1.5# munich 10L
.75# crystal 80

1 oz cascade 60 min boil
1 oz willamette 5 min boil

What do you think? Less biscuit? More crystal? Mash temp? Hops?

For the Malt I would bump up the two row to #10, replace the Munich with 1# Vienna Get rid of the biscuit and add .5# of flaked oats, drop the crystal 80 to .5#.

For the hops I would go 1oz Magnum at 60, 1oz Cascade at 30 1oz Willamette at 10.

Using pilsner malt will make it seem more like an amber and not as much of a pale.

There are going to be many opinions ,but here is my idea.

Drop the biscuit. Just add that much to the 2 row. Keep the Munich. Add about 1/2 lb Crystal 40 and keep the C 80 the same

Get the IBU's up to 35-40.

add an addition at 15 ( this will bring up the IBU's some) and consider another addition at flame out.

Here's my base amber recipe that turned out fantastic (if you want to borrow something from it).

It's 10 gal so you may need to adjust.

18 lbs maris otter
4 lbs Munich
1 lb crystal 80
8 oz chocolate malt (pale)
8 oz carapils/dextrine

.25oz nugget 60 min
.25oz nugget 50 min
.25oz nugget 40 min
.25oz nugget 30 min
.50oz nugget 20 min
.50oz nugget 10 min

2 pkg California ale WLP001 or San diego super yeast.

My efficiency was a little low on this one. Ended up with 1.052 OG and 1.012 FG. 5.2%

32 IBUs

My plan is to add spice to it for the fall/winter (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger) and honey for the spring/summer.

-TK

Everybody has a different best recipe for ambers. I think the addition of a bit of malty depth by way of either maris otter for a base grain or some biscuit malt is awesome. (FWIW I usually use ~ 8 oz biscuit)

I've noticed lately that a combo of several crystal malts to achieve the desired color is beneficial, so I might suggest doing a blend of 40 or 60l and some 120l. The other way I've found myself going is including a bit of chocolate malt of roasted barley (usually 1-2 ounces at most) to get the desired color and add a bit to the complexity of the flavor.
I've found 14 SRM to be the sweet spot for a color I really enjoy.

I also usually aim for ~34 IBUs in mine with a hearty amount from the late boil hops as well, but like I said, everybody has the best amber ale recipe and they are all pretty dang good.

Thanks for the input.

I am going to go for a compromise between the various suggestions.

OG: 1.054
31.4 IBU
13.4 SRM
5.1% ABV

7.5# two row
1# biscuit
1# munich 10L
.75# crystal 60
.25# crystal 120

1 oz cascade 60min
.5oz willamette 15 min
1 oz willamette 5 min

Alright boil under way as of 8:15. I will let y'all know what happens with this one.

HopLife said:

Alright boil under way as of 8:15. I will let y'all know what happens with this one.

Click to expand...

rad! Just cracked into an amber of mine and noticed you'd updated, recipe looks good!
cheers.

Here's my most popular beer. I call it Flat Tired.

12# 2 row pale
8 oz Biscuit
8 oz cara-pils
8 oz crystal 20
8 oz crystal 120
4 oz Munich
.75 Centennial @ 60
.50 cascade @ 20
1.0 Amarillo @ 5

Ibu 21
Srm 8

This is the favorite of my non hop heads.
Cheers

I realized I never updated this thread.

If anyone cares, this is a solid recipe. Make sure to use the final edition posted on 2-16-12. I have received my best compliments on this beer. Anybody who does not claim to be a hop head gets this beer. I did not like it because it was balanced strongly toward malt.

As my german friend said. "I have not had beer this good for years, it tastes like what I like at home." He then went on to lambast Budweiser and extol me as a masterful brewer. Whatever, just some beer dude.

Anyhow, if you want a rich, malty, biscuity beer that is not super sweet, dial your system to help this beer attenuate fully and have a light-medium body.

PS: you could easily eliminate the Munich and use a more flavorful base malt like a pale malt or Maris otter.