Homebrewtalk Challenge - Amber Waves

I'm challenging you to make Alton Brown's beer from "Amber Waves" and see how terrible it actually is. Results must be posted. His general recipe must be followed, as well as his processes. This includes sanitizing everything in bleach, not rinsing, using ice in the bucket to cool the wort(none of this sinkful of ice hoopla), boiling the grains, and bottling when the bubbling in the airlock slows to less than 1 per minute or one week, whichever's later.

The basic recipe is :
1/2 lb "barley"
6lbs liquid malt extract. Probably amber, maybe munich.
10 minute boil
Hops added at 10 minutes - 1oz cascade, 3/4oz kent goldings
Hops added at flamout (and left to sit for 5 minutes) - 1oz kent goldings
Some sort of ale yeast in a vial. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that any dry ale yeast would probably be fine here. Alton pitched the yeast at 87º, so I'm going to say low 90's to high 80's would be fine. Really, I suppose whatever the wort + the icewater makes.


Which can be seen here
[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vlv1wBy7Z5w[/ame]
and here
[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=HA7jQ6Wwnqk&feature=related[/ame]

I'll be waiting. I don't have the production levels to tie up either of my fermenters for even a week for this!

My favorite part is at the end when he's trying to drink the homebrew and keeps wincing every time he takes a sip. ahahahahah


I'll offer an exchange for some of my Coriander wit. It makes killer chilli and beer brats.

Cant I just use Star San?

BuffaloSabresBrewer said:

Cant I just use Star San?

Click to expand...

Alton uses bleach. I'm sure it contributes some pleasant flavors to the final product.

Actually, the recipe is:

4 gallons plus 1 pint spring water
1 (7-pound) bag of ice
1/2 pound crystal grain, milled
7 pounds light liquid malt extract
1-ounce Cascade hops
1 3/4 ounces Kent Goldings hops
1/2 teaspoon Irish moss
1 vial British Ale yeast
3/4 cup Priming sugar, boiled with 1 pint water for 5 minutes

Sourced directly from the Food Network.

Yuri_Rage said:

Actually, the recipe is:

4 gallons plus 1 pint spring water
1 (7-pound) bag of ice
1/2 pound crystal grain, milled
7 pounds light liquid malt extract
1-ounce Cascade hops
1 3/4 ounces Kent Goldings hops
1/2 teaspoon Irish moss
1 vial British Ale yeast
3/4 cup Priming sugar, boiled with 1 pint water for 5 minutes

Sourced directly from the Food Network.

Click to expand...

Hey! That's actually quite similar (minus the bag of ice) to my Grateful Pale Ale! Maybe Alton's not so bad after all...

It was that episode of Good Eats that got me interested in brewing. My first batch was his recipe and techniques followed to the letter, except that I did not boil the grains. When I printed out his recipe and brought it to a LHBS store that I found, the owner read it and said that I should never boil the grains and that he did not know why the recipe didn't specify not to.

I must tell you, the beer was terrific! I suspect it wouldn't have been had I boiled the grains. That was the only deviation from Alton's procedures.

With such a poorly utilized "bittering" hops addition, the added tannins from a small amount of boiled Crystal malt might provide a welcome bitterness.

Yuri_Rage said:

Actually, the recipe is:

4 gallons plus 1 pint spring water
1 (7-pound) bag of ice
1/2 pound crystal grain, milled
7 pounds light liquid malt extract
1-ounce Cascade hops
1 3/4 ounces Kent Goldings hops
1/2 teaspoon Irish moss
1 vial British Ale yeast
3/4 cup Priming sugar, boiled with 1 pint water for 5 minutes

Sourced directly from the Food Network.

Click to expand...

AB used normal sugar if memory serves for priming sugar. Going back and calling it "priming sugar" is a little unfair.

Although I guess you could probably use a little bit of table sugar to carb without too many issues.

Oh, and for the challenge, you have to use blue bottles. Bonus points if you leave out the bottles in the son.

If you want to discuss/bash the Good Eats episode, do so in the new thread to which I moved all OT discussion.

If you want to discuss this "challenge," its rules and stipulations, and the results, continue ON TOPIC in this thread.

I kinda want to...but that process seems a little messed up to me. Maybe in a month

I was made by someone over on the green board last year...I'll look and see if I can dig that thread up (I'm not registered so I have to do it through google).

edit:
http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=72605

Laurel said:

Alton uses bleach. I'm sure it contributes some pleasant flavors to the final product.

Click to expand...

In the right concentration, bleach is fine. It has been some time since I saw the Good Eats brew episode, but if AB did not go hogwild with the Clorox, it is not going to matter in this experiment.

I've taken up cycle again so my beer consumption and home brew stock ratios are out od synch. If I can get to the lhbs this weeken I may try this.

That better Yuri?