Need a good All Grain Amber Ale recipe for a neighbor!

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EdWort

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I have a neighbor who is going to bust his All Grain Cherry on an Amber Ale for my neighborhood Oktoberfest so I'm looking for recipe recommendations.

OK, Amber Ale folks, lets hear em and why you like em. Thanks!
 
Here is are the details of an big American amber I did back this winter. On the higher end of IBUs and ABV for an amber but good nonetheless. Ingnore the Bravo hops, choose any nice American hops and I think he will like it.

Picture2.png
 
This one turned out very nice. Very malty.


Aberdeen Amber Ale

Batch Size: 10.50 gal
Boil Size: 13.12 gal
Estimated OG: 1.048 SG
Estimated Color: 11.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount
16.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
3.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [7.50%] (60 min)
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [7.50%] (30 min)
2.00 oz Tettnang [3.20%] (5 min)
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale


It's a great fall beer.
 
I just brewed this one this weekend and it has the makings of being a great beer. More of an India Amber Ale or Imperial Amber Ale (if there are such things). Tasted fantastic going into the fermenter and did a taste test today and is still top notch. Won't be ready for a couple of weeks yet but here it is:

Arrogant Tongue Twister
Batch Size: 9.00 gal
Boil Size: 12.00 gal
Original Gravity: 1.077 SG
Bitterness: 82.2 IBU
Color: 15.8 SRM

16 lbs Pale Malt, Halcyon (3.0 SRM) 64.65 %
2 lbs 12.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.5 SRM) 11.11 %
2 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) 8.08 %
1 lbs Aromatic Malt (25.0 SRM) 4.04 %
1 lbs Wheat Malt, Dark (8.0 SRM) 4.04 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) 2.02 %
5.4 oz Caramunich - 120L (120.0 SRM) 1.36 %
2.6 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) 0.65 % (wanted to use it up)
1 lbs Candi Syrup, Belgian Dark (80.0 SRM) 4.04 %
0.70 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (75 min) (First Wort Hop) 11.0 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) 14.6 IBU
2.00 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (60 min) 28.6 IBU
2.00 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (30 min) 14.6 IBU
2.00 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (15 min) 7.6 IBU
2.00 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (10 min) 5.7 IBU
2.00 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
2.00 oz _MIX [6.50 %] (Dry Hop 21 days)
1 Pkgs Pacman Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs)

15 min at 131.0 F
75 min at 152.0 F

Notes:
Hop Mix: 1.75 oz Mt. Hood (5.8AA), 4 oz Cascade (6.0AA), 2.75 oz EKG (5.0AA), 1.2 oz Nugget (12.0AA), 3oz Glacier (7.0AA)
 
We did a simple alt that was a hit for a large biker BBQ gathering.

Alt Donner Hosen 10g
8lbs Munich
8lbs 2-row
4oz chocolate malt
2oz Vangaurd 5.5% (Hallertau) 60min
1/2oz Vangaurd 15min
Safale 05

It turned out very smooth and easy to drink, if you let it warm in the glass a bit all that Munich comes alive. We also had Haus ale with Amarillos and an oatmeal stout, but the alt was the crowd favorite.
 
In my opinion, American Amber Ale is easy as pie. You want low to moderate hops flavor/aroma with American hops predominant. Flavor should tend toward the malt; emphasize caramel notes more than bready (melanoidin) flavors. Essentially, if you think of an amber American Pale Ale that ratchets back the hops profile and ramps up the caramel/crystal malts, you won't be far off.

I like American 2-row for primary fermentables, with about 10% 60oL and 5% 90-120oL crystals. You can add some American Munich, but using much more than 10-20% puts you more toward an actual Oktoberfest than American Amber Ale. By no means should dark roasted malts be used; not only will it throw off the flavor, the color of the head will suffer. Get your color from caramel/crystal malts. A single-infusion mash is appropriate. You can mash fairly cool, since body, mouthfeel and color come from the caramel/crystal. I usually get ~1.050.

Hops can be any of the "C"s. Personally, I'm utterly sick of them - if I wanted that flavor, I'd just squeeze a grapefruit into my beer - but it's your/his beer. I prefer Willamette. It's just as American, and not so bloody obvious. (Mt Hood is another nice US hops variety.) Plus, and this is just my opinion, since American Amber Ale is really close to American Pale Ale, overuse of "C" hops has the potential to throw off the drinker - she might think she's drinking an APA that the brewer screwed up! I shoot for ~30 IBUs.

Of course you want an American Ale yeast. American Amber Ale has its origins on the West Coast, so yeasts like 1056, US-05, etc. are appropriate. I like Cal V, but your mileage may vary. Ferment relatively cool to mute ester production. Flavor should come from the malts and hops, not the yeast. Perform a thorough diacetyl rest.

Here's the most important thing in the BJCP profile:

Overall Impression: Like an American pale ale with more body, more caramel richness, and a balance more towards malt than hops (although hop rates can be significant).

So, to differentiate from APA, use darker caramel malts to make it richer and darker than APA, and cut the hops back. Easy, right?

Here follows my "starting point" recipe. Your brewery will perform differently, so your actual amounts will differ. I get around 75% efficiency.

Grist:

9# US 2-row
1# US 60oL Crystal
0.25# US 120oL Crystal

Hops Schedule:

All Willamette pellets @ 5% AA

1.25oz - FWH
0.5oz - 20
0.5oz - flameout

Simple, eh?

Cheers,

Bob
 
I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bob's dissection of the style and thoughts on recipe construction.

Now... if we can just get him to do the same with the rest of the style guide... :D
 
c'mon Ed I don't beleive for a minute you don't have a recipe to use.

Nope. Nichts, Nada.

I love this forum when it comes formulating new recipes. Start a discussion and get viewpoints from around the globe in a matter of hours. Pick a recipe, or take all advise into consideration combined with current inventory and try something new.

I owe all of my beers to HBT and what I've learned here over the years. Every beer has turned out tasty so far and I'm sure my neighbor's Amber won't be any different.

Thanks all for your input. I'll let you know what we do and how it turns out.
 
I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bob's dissection of the style and thoughts on recipe construction.

Now... if we can just get him to do the same with the rest of the style guide... :D

Someone far, far more qualified than I has already done so but thanks for the props! :D

Get a copy here. About 12 years ago, there was a really interesting article on the style in The New Brewer. I'll have to see if I can dig it up; I know I've got it somewhere.

Bob
 
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Ed, take a look at Bobby_M's American Amber. I had it and I can say its very good. I'd make it a little maltier, but its solid...
 
Alas... I was supposed to get a copy of that very book for my birthday last year... but my brewing buddy ended up kind of forgetting, and well, it's kind of tasteless going up to someone and saying, "hey, remember that printout of the Designing Great Beers amazon page you gave me for my birthday last year? Represent yo!" is in poor taste.
 
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Alas... I was supposed to get a copy of that very book for my birthday last year... but my brewing buddy ended up kind of forgetting, and well, it's kind of tasteless going up to someone and saying, "hey, remember that printout of the Designing Great Beers amazon page you gave me for my birthday last year? Represent yo!" is in poor taste.

ROFL! Every brewer should have a copy of that book. It is indispensable!

Bob
 
You convinced me.. click click I just ordered a copy from Amazon.

At least half my to brew list is from this forum, and the recipes I made myself so far are 50%+ cobbled from archived threads. Gotta love it.

- Eric :mug:

There is simply a surfeit of good information here on HBT, enough that you can probably find anything you desire!

That said, Designing Great Beers is a must because Daniels gives you a fairly generalized overview what ingredients and processes are used and why. Then he cuts you loose to design your own formulation. This is important because recipes can actually be a hindrance to the developing brewer. Simply brewing to a recipe doesn't necessarily teach you anything about ingredients or process.

Anyhow, good on yer for getting your own copy. Soon it'll be dogeared and nasty, just like mine. ;)

Cheers,

Bob
 
Here is the profile for my Imperial Red
Malted Wheat 10.00%
Crystal malt 12.00%
Munich malt 10.00%
Pilsner Malt 35.00%
Two row Pale Malt 33.00%


Target IBU 65

Brewers Gold 17.5 Kettle Addition
Centennial 17.5 Kettle Addition
Simcoe 20 Middle Addition
Simcoe 10 Late Addition
Simoce .75 Oz at knockout
Simcoe 1 oz dry hop

Specific Gravity 1.074
Terminal Gravity 1.014

I originally ran into issues with hitting my temps on this, so I ended up performing a single decoction for this ale. It turned out fabulous.
 
Malted Wheat 6.00%
Crystal malt 7.00%
Munich malt 10.00%
Chocolate Malt 1.00%
Canadian Two row Pale Malt 76.00%

Target IBU 60
Perle 10 Kettle
Warrior 25 Kettle
Perle 5 Middle
Warrior 15 Middle
Warrior 5 Late
Warrior .5 oz dry hop

Target Gravity 1.060
90 minute boil

Another fine beer.
 
I made this bad boy for my friend's wedding. He lives in Puerto Rico. I ended up shipping him three cases as his wedding present.

Malted Wheat 6.00%
Crystal malt 16.00%
Munich malt 4.00%
Two row Malt 74.00%

Target IBU ~40

bullion 20 Kettle
Centennial 20 Middle
Centennial 1.00 oz late addtion
Centennial .75 oz Knockout
Challenger .5 Dryhop

Specific Gravity 1.052
90 minute Boil
 
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