American Amber Ale Caramel Amber Ale

This one will be a staple at my place from now on. It is easily my favorite out of the 10 or 11 batches I have brewed so far. My first batch went away really fast (partially because I share too much) so I just finished bottling batch #2.

However, I need some advice on late-addition hops. On the first batch I brewed, when the beer was still young (2-3 weeks in bottle), it had an awesome aroma from the hops. I was slightly disappointed when this nice aroma diminished after the 3 week mark. So this time, I added the late-addition hops continuously starting at 10 mins left in the boil hoping this will prolong the hop flavor and aroma.

Maybe this is just the way it is, but has anyone else experienced this?

Great recipe, KingBrian! Your pumpkin ale is next on my to-brew list

drkaeppel said:

This one will be a staple at my place from now on. It is easily my favorite out of the 10 or 11 batches I have brewed so far. My first batch went away really fast (partially because I share too much) so I just finished bottling batch #2.

However, I need some advice on late-addition hops. On the first batch I brewed, when the beer was still young (2-3 weeks in bottle), it had an awesome aroma from the hops. I was slightly disappointed when this nice aroma diminished after the 3 week mark. So this time, I added the late-addition hops continuously starting at 10 mins left in the boil hoping this will prolong the hop flavor and aroma.

Maybe this is just the way it is, but has anyone else experienced this?

Great recipe, KingBrian! Your pumpkin ale is next on my to-brew list

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Glad you like the recipe! By adding the hops continuously from 10 minutes you'll get more flavor out of them which may help to prolong the percieved aroma. Hop aroma just doesn't stick around for very long, unfortunately. I made an IPA a couple months ago and dry-hopped it in the keg with 3 oz of simcoe. At about a week in the keg it had wonderful room-filling aroma but only two weeks later (with the hops still in the keg) that aroma had become much much weaker.

if this has been asked before i apologize, but what is the rational for the 30 day primary and only a week in the secondary? will it ferment for the full 30 days?

Chia said:

if this has been asked before i apologize, but what is the rational for the 30 day primary and only a week in the secondary? will it ferment for the full 30 days?

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No need to keep it in primary for 30 days. Let it ferment out completely then give it a couple days to drop most of the yeast then give it a taste. If it tastes good and doesn't need to clean up anymore, either keg, bottle or rack to secondary. The secondary is listed as 7 days because what I typically do is cold crash (with or without gelatin) for a week before kegging. That gets it really clear. But really, do whatever you're comfortable with or used to doing.

Cool! thanks for the quick reply! going to try and brew this weekend if i can get a primary open!

check it!
this turned out great. I wish I would have added more syrup,
or perhaps some crystal malt to make it just a tad sweeter. But...awesome! I'll be makin it again fo sho! thanks kingbrian!

Looks great chelero!

OK so this past weekend I brewed up my fourth batch of this recipe. Having so much experience with the process, I figured it would go pretty smoothly. WRONG.

Had my first-ever stuck sparge, which was just a minor headache and source of confusion. I’m pretty sure I know what I did wrong.

But the main problem was that when I went to the grocery store earlier in the day, it never even occurred to me that we might be low on sugar in the house. But once I started brewing, I discovered that the baking jar had only ¾ pound, and no time to go to the store. Sending SWMBO was out of the question, as she was up to her elbows in a quilting project.

Being the resourceful fool that I am (see, a regular fool is pretty harmless, but a resourceful one is a genuine danger), I hit upon the idea of using some leftover priming sugar that I had. So I added that to the scale, but was still a few ounces short. I rummaged around until I found some powdered sugar, and dumped that in.

Did you know that powdered sugar contains cornstarch? I didn’t, but I do now.

By the time the temperature in the saucepan got to 275, i.e. still ten degrees below target, it was a blackened syrupy foul-smelling concoction that was not fit to be used. Probably a blessing in disguise, because when SWMBO asked about my evident distress, and I explained the problem, she said “Oh, you can’t caramelize powdered sugar, that’s got other stuff in it!” Sheesh! Punked I was, by a quilter, in my own area of expertise. Oh, the shame.

Anyway, I made the only wise decision available at the time, which was to ashcan the syrup and proceed with the brewing operation, chill the wort, pitch the yeast, and make the sugar syrup (properly!) the next day. This plan actually succeeded – adding the syrup to the already-fermenting wort caused a bit of a foam-up, but no real problem. By the next morning (this morning), the jug was happily churning itself around, bubbling the blowoff tube, and otherwise behaving as though nothing wrong had happened. Whew!

I know this is probably tl;dr. So I will summarize:

When you caramelize sugar, there are no shortcuts, and no substitutions. Read and follow the instructions. That is all.

One more thing: with this batch I used WYeast 1450 Denny's, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Second time I've brewed this. Simply fantastic.

Here is mine from earlier this summer. Gonna brew another batch in the morning

what about using Fermax nutrient for the DAP? It contains DAP, dipotassium phos, mag sulfate, autolized yeast.

Drinking now! Very good beer. I am going to go easy on the 80l next time but very well done

ozzy1038 said:

what about using Fermax nutrient for the DAP? It contains DAP, dipotassium phos, mag sulfate, autolized yeast.

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It's really best to use pure DAP. All the other stuff in the yeast nutrient blends like fermax could cause weird flavors when cooked at high temperature in molten sugar. If you can't locate any DAP, you could make an invert sugar that will taste pretty similar by using a small amount of tartaric, citric, lactic or some other type of acid to invert some sucrose then keep cooking it until it hits the flavor and color you desire. Won't be exactly the same as the candi syrup, but it'll be close.

I plan on brewing this next. The only issues Im having is poor selection at the store I get some stuff from. They may have Chinook hops I'll find out when I get there. I have on hand Willamette, Fuggles, and Cascade. After some searching Cascade doesnt seem to be good for this beer. Assuming I cant get chinook how would you recommend the hop schedule with what I have? Also the yeast selection is terrible. I have got US-05 from there before but last time I went they only had Nottingham, Coopers, Muntuns, Turbo Yeast, and various wine yeasts. Would Nottingham be by best choice if they dont have US-05?

Another question not regarding this typical brew. Have you ever used the candy sugar for a stout? I was thinking a Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal RIS sounds really good. Thoughts?

Jsamp said:

I plan on brewing this next. The only issues Im having is poor selection at the store I get some stuff from. They may have Chinook hops I'll find out when I get there. I have on hand Willamette, Fuggles, and Cascade. After some searching Cascade doesnt seem to be good for this beer. Assuming I cant get chinook how would you recommend the hop schedule with what I have? Also the yeast selection is terrible. I have got US-05 from there before but last time I went they only had Nottingham, Coopers, Muntuns, Turbo Yeast, and various wine yeasts. Would Nottingham be by best choice if they dont have US-05?

Another question not regarding this typical brew. Have you ever used the candy sugar for a stout? I was thinking a Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal RIS sounds really good. Thoughts?

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If you can't find chinook you can use the cascade as a substitute, just be sure to take into account that you'll probably need more since the %AA is likely lower. Nottingham will work for yeast but use the us-05 if you can find it.

A Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal RIS could be good. I used caramel syrup in a chocolate stout but I think the other flavors overwhelmed the syrup. I'm not sure if you'd be able to tell it was in an RIS.

KingBrianI said:

If you can't find chinook you can use the cascade as a substitute, just be sure to take into account that you'll probably need more since the %AA is likely lower. Nottingham will work for yeast but use the us-05 if you can find it.

A Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal RIS could be good. I used caramel syrup in a chocolate stout but I think the other flavors overwhelmed the syrup. I'm not sure if you'd be able to tell it was in an RIS.

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Thanks for the advice. I might try the candi syrup in a Porter one of these days. I got to thinking about the RIS I have that I need to bottle got Safale 04 yeast. I plan on bottling today and washing the yeast. Would you recommend 04 instead of Nottingham for this brew? I also had to scale the recipe back a bit due to my 5 gallon pot. Does this look good for a 4.25 gallon batch size?....


6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 75.0 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 12.5 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.1 %
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (60 min) Hops 23.4 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [4.70%] (30 min) Hops 15.4 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [4.70%] (0 min) Hops -
0.75 lb Deep Amber Candi Sugar (40.0 SRM) Sugar 9.4 %
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

I wouldn't use yeast after it's fermented an RIS. Fermenting a big beer like that will stress the yeasts and they won't be as healthy when fermenting the next beer which could cause off-flavors. I'd go with a new pack of notty if you can't get the us-05.

The scaled-down recipe looks good.

KingBrianI said:

I wouldn't use yeast after it's fermented an RIS. Fermenting a big beer like that will stress the yeasts and they won't be as healthy when fermenting the next beer which could cause off-flavors. I'd go with a new pack of notty if you can't get the us-05.

The scaled-down recipe looks good.

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Damn you replied fast. Looks like I wont be washing the yeast today. Thanks for the advice yet again. Next time I re-up my supplies I'll be sure to get a lb of chinook and several packages of 05 so I can make it like you suggest. Looking forward to the brew day today

I brewed this yesterday can't wait to try this

My digital meat thermometer crapped out at about 240 so I had to wing it a bit. The 1st batch I got way to dark (still tastes good though) and tried to get it more of an amber color. How does the one on the left look to you? Also a pic holding it up to the light. I need to get a candy thermometer.

Color looks good!

Sounds great, just got some fresh Chinook and I was looking through to find a recipe. This is the one.

SWMBO and I just finished our first sample of the latest - batch #4 of this excellent brew. Halfway through the glass, she says "Make another batch of this!"

I used Wyeast 1450 this time, and it came out great, if anyone is in a mind to try something different.

frazier said:

I used Wyeast 1450 this time, and it came out great, if anyone is in a mind to try something different.

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I'll have to try that next time! How's it compare to the previous batches?

I'll start with a disclaimer, that I'm not really good enough to make a beer the same way if I tried - which means if it comes out different, I just don't know for sure.

With the 1450, the maltiness was a little more prominent, but not enough to be fighting with the hops for control. This seems to be the standard line on this yeast - that it brings out the malt a bit more. I recommend it!

ETA: Also, this yeast is said to be low to medium flocculation - but mine came out very clear, with just the normal processes. Very happy, I am.

got this running in the keg and after on night i get an Fing head cold. cannot taste jack! wife sure is drinking the hell out of it though, so it must be good!

I brewed this on 9/12/11 and kegged it yesterday. The only thing I changed in the recipe was that I dry hopped with .625oz of willamette for 3 days. I've had it at 30psi for 24 hours and let the pressure out then put it on 12psi of gas. I poured a taster, followed by a few more, and while green it is very tasty.
I have a feeling this is going to be a great beer.

Hey I had a problem with this recipe in that the caramel flavor was only really present for a short time. When I first tasted it at 2 weeks, it had a really nice caramel taste but (understandebly) the beer had that young taste so I put it away for another two weeks. When I tasted it again at 4 weeks, the caramel taste had faded away. The beer tasted good, everyone liked it, but it just wasn't that remarkable.

Any suggestions? Should I have added more? Roasted it at a higher temp? What did I do wrong?

badmajon said:

Any suggestions? Should I have added more? Roasted it at a higher temp? What did I do wrong?

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It's hard to say. Did you follow the recipe as written? Did the candi syrup get nice and dark when you cooked it? Beers will always change during aging, but there should have still been caramel flavor left.

Yeah I pretty much followed the recipe to a T and used a thermometer for the candi syrup. Will adding more syrup make the caramel flavor stronger when it is ready to tap? Can you reccomend any other strategy to up the caramel flavor?

badmajon said:

Yeah I pretty much followed the recipe to a T and used a thermometer for the candi syrup. Will adding more syrup make the caramel flavor stronger when it is ready to tap? Can you reccomend any other strategy to up the caramel flavor?

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Upping the crystal malt or candi syrup will increase the caramel flavor but each can have drawbacks. Upping the crystal will increase the FG and may make the beer a bit cloying. Increasing the syrup will increase the ABV. Something else you could try is using a different brand crystal malt, as I've found they can vary greatly between maltsters.

KingBrianI said:

Upping the crystal malt or candi syrup will increase the caramel flavor but each can have drawbacks. Upping the crystal will increase the FG and may make the beer a bit cloying. Increasing the syrup will increase the ABV. Something else you could try is using a different brand crystal malt, as I've found they can vary greatly between maltsters.

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Which brand of crystal malt have you had the best results with?

badmajon said:

Which brand of crystal malt have you had the best results with?

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For this recipe I use Briess just due to availability. If you used a different brand you could try Briess, or if you used Briess, maybe go with something else depending upon how it tastes to you.

So.... This is going to be my next batch. I have a few questions though. I am planning on doing no sparge BIAB method. Has anyone else done this before? Also, can I make the syrup a few days before brewing? Thanks in advance.

You can make the syrup whenever you like. I put mine in preheated mason jars and then put the lid on them. They seal themselves as they cool and you hear that "pop" sound. It will/should keep indefinitely.

I plan to brew this again soon, but will reduce the hops slightly, and darken it up a bit with some chocolate malt possibly.

Jester said:

So.... This is going to be my next batch. I have a few questions though. I am planning on doing no sparge BIAB method. Has anyone else done this before?.

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You can do BIAB with this recipe just like any other. I just brewed another batch using BIAB last weekend. The first time I brewed this, it was my very first AG batch. It turned out quite good, but I overcooked the syrup and so didn't have the flavor I was looking for. This batch I was more patient with the syrup so hopefully it'll have more of the caramel flavor (bring it up to temp slowly so you don't burn it like I did - it takes a long time to heat up, but then shoots through the last 20 degrees pretty quickly).

I just got back from a business trip, and the first thing I did was run downstairs to the basement to check on my fermentation. It's just starting to settle down. You know how sometimes with fermentations when you take a whif it's pretty potent and doesn't always smell great? Well, I took one whif of this and just wanted to stay there. It smells insanely good! I just can't get over it. I can't wait to bottle this puppy. First batch was good, but after one more year of brewing experience, the second batch of it is promising to be the best yet! It's hard to be patient...

This is brew #2 for me and went well. I added an extra 1.5# of 2 row to make a but heavier and pulled 80% efficiency. It looks great and I can't wait to get this conditioned. Should be in good shape by Christmas. Candi sugar went together well and tasted great too.

This might sound like heresy, but can you replace the candi sugar by maple syrup ?

Can you "candi" maple syrup by reboiling it with DAP ?

jfsp said:

This might sound like heresy, but can you replace the candi sugar by maple syrup ?

Can you "candi" maple syrup by reboiling it with DAP ?

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I was thinking the same thing. Although it may be easier to use a lower grade of syrup. I would think the proportion of fermentable sugar might be a little different as well.

I have the grains for this brew ready to go. Need to find time to brew it. When making the candi syrup do you just use plain table sugar (cane sugar)? Thanks