Looking to make a Bells Amber clone. Anyone have an AG recipe?

Didn't find any searching. SWMBO really likes Bells Amber so I want to be as close as possible to the real thing. I thought I saw somewhere that they use willemette hops but thats all I know. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/american-amber-ale-recipe-progress-102672/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

Here's a couple that reference Bells amber.Maybe PM the members to find out their recipes.

RCCOLA said:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/american-amber-ale-recipe-progress-102672/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

Here's a couple that reference Bells amber.Maybe PM the members to find out their recipes.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I did find some info there. I PM'd Revvy and he gave me his extract recipe. I'm still looking for AG version though.

Anyone know (or want to guess) what the IBU of Bells Amber is? I think I can figure out the rest.

Well I emailed Bells a few days ago and I received a response from the Director of Quality Control. He was gracious enough to provide the following info (I summarized it):

Grain: Mostly 2-row barley malt, a small percentage of Munich, and just enough caramel malt to get 16 SRM color. 14.5 Plato. Mash at a temp to allow moderate fermentability. ABV should be just under 6%.
Hops: Equal amounts of Fuggle and Cascade for bittering and aroma. Aim for 30 IBUs
Yeast: Culture from bottles, or use WLP001.

I've put together a recipe from this info and hope to brew it this weekend. If it turns out good I'll post it in the recipes section.

Congrats on your success.Isn't it awesome how craft beer companies are helpful in this type of thing?Try that w/ a BMC company and see what they say.I guess it's the difference in companies where the employees love beer and those that love money.

FWIW, I would culture from a bottle. I think Bell's yeast gives a specific fruity essence that cannot be managed from 001. I made a clone for Bells Best Brown and used the suggested 001 but the fruit profile was nil.

Good luck! Bells Amber is a classic...

Any update on this project?

What recipe did you use?

Thanks.

bnscherm said:

Any update on this project?

What recipe did you use?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Yes. I brewed this a couple weeks ago. Once I sample the finished product (and if it tastes good) I will post the recipe in the recipe's forum. For now, here's the recipe I made based on the info I got from Bells:

BA Clone

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 11.00
Anticipated OG: 1.056 Plato: 13.84
Anticipated SRM: 12.9
Anticipated IBU: 29.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name
----------------------------------------
81.8 9.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)
9.1 1.00 lbs. Crystal 90L
9.1 1.00 lbs. Munich Malt(light)


Mash at for 60 min @ 153°


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 7.50 17.9 60 min.
0.50 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 11.3 60 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 7.50 0.0 0 min.
0.50 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Thanks for the update! I just harvested some homegrown cascade hops, and I'm thinking Michigan grown hops deserve to be brewed in a Michigan beer. Looking forward to hear how it turned out

So how does it taste?

toddrod said:

So how does it taste?

Click to expand...

Well I just bottled it Sunday after 4 weeks in the primary. I usually like to wait at least 3 weeks after bottling to make a judgement but I'll probably try one in a couple weeks. I can say that the hydro sample tasted very good. I'll keep you posted!

foxtrot said:

FWIW, I would culture from a bottle. I think Bell's yeast gives a specific fruity essence that cannot be managed from 001. I made a clone for Bells Best Brown and used the suggested 001 but the fruit profile was nil.

Good luck! Bells Amber is a classic...

Click to expand...

I haven't tried this out yet but Wyeast's says there American Ale 1056 will throw out slight citrus notes when fermented cool (60-66).

When I saw that Oberon was fermented with their regular house strain, I thought of this. Like I said, I haven't tested this out yet but it is something I'm planning on.

TH, any further notes on this experiment...? How'd it taste and any suggested tweaks to the recipe you posted?

Can't believe that there are so few attempts to clone this one on the interwebs; it's a superb amber.

elganso said:

TH, any further notes on this experiment...? How'd it taste and any suggested tweaks to the recipe you posted?

Can't believe that there are so few attempts to clone this one on the interwebs; it's a superb amber.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately that batch was one of many that fell victim to my severe off-flavor problem caused by my farm & fleet iodophor (long story - don't ask). I kept it around for a few months, but once I fixed my problem I dumped it with the other bad batches. Anyways I later brewed another amber but I toyed with the crystal malts a bit by adding more of them and I used a different yeast. Not sure why I did that and it turned out more like a scotch ale - big caramel flavor.

I've been brewing mostly IPA's lately but I recently decided to try the Bells amber clone again. I just finished brewing it tonight - literally got done 15 minutes ago. I used the exact recipe I posted earlier except I'm using US-05 for the yeast. I usually ferment for a month and bottle condition for another month so I'm sorry to say it will be a couple months before I can report on it again.

Cheers!

I made this recipe, but substituted the yeast. I used the Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, as I liked the flavor profile on their website. I had a good 36 hour lag before it finally took off with this yeast. I racked it off the krausen after 2 weeks into a secondary for another week to clear up.

This was my first all-grain, and so far this is coming out pretty well. It's only been in the bottle for 8 days now, so it's still carbing, but the flavors are coming along nicely.

I hit an OG o 1.052, and a FG of 1.010.

The flavor is definitely malt dominated. If I was going to do it again, I would like to try to get a bit more bitterness to balance it. Maybe make the last hop addition at 10 minutes left instead of at flameout?

I'm off to the store to buy a 6'er of BA, so I can do a side by side comparison when the carb is complete.

Zero said:

I made this recipe, but substituted the yeast. I used the Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, as I liked the flavor profile on their website. I had a good 36 hour lag before it finally took off with this yeast. I racked it off the krausen after 2 weeks into a secondary for another week to clear up.

This was my first all-grain, and so far this is coming out pretty well. It's only been in the bottle for 8 days now, so it's still carbing, but the flavors are coming along nicely.

I hit an OG o 1.052, and a FG of 1.010.

The flavor is definitely malt dominated. If I was going to do it again, I would like to try to get a bit more bitterness to balance it. Maybe make the last hop addition at 10 minutes left instead of at flameout?

I'm off to the store to buy a 6'er of BA, so I can do a side by side comparison when the carb is complete.

Click to expand...

Cool, let us know how the comparison turns out. Mine is about 2 weeks in bottles now. I tried one, but it was still green and pretty flat. A couple more weeks ought to do it.

The one I made came out really good. I didn't have any Bell's to do a head-to-head, though. If I remember correctly how Bell's tastes, then I think it was pretty close. I kept meaning to buy some and compare, but the keg disappeared before I could do that!

Here was mine:
8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 66.67 %
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 16.67 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
1.50 oz Williamette [4.80 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 27.4 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [4.80 %] (10 min) Hops 6.0 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (5 min) Hops 1.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (1 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [4.80 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #US-05) Yeast-Ale


I can't stand fuggles hops, but like willamette (go figure). So I used willamette where I would have used fuggles. I was out of Munich malt, so used Vienna.

Here is what I came up with, I am going to culture from the Bells Amber bottles though since they are great beers to get their yeast from as I need it for the two hearted clone that is on here.

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Bells Amber Clone
Brewer: biGhuK
Asst Brewer:
Style: American Brown Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.53 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 15.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain 71.08 %
1.38 lb Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM) Grain 12.26 %
1.38 lb Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) Grain 12.22 %
0.50 lb Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 4.44 %
0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (60 min) Hops 12.7 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (10 min) Hops 2.4 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (10 min) Hops 4.6 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.3 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (5 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops -
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.20 gm Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [StartYeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11.26 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 14.07 qt of water at 164.8 F 153.0 F

Ok well here's the results from mine. Tasting notes are the same, but I'm picking up a definite banana ester aroma that I didn't get before, but it's more noticeable out of a mug than it is from the bottle.

Side by side comparison taste is virtually identical to Bell's Amber.

Color is close, depending on what light you are in (clone is on the right, commercial is on the left):

nice zero, what yeast did you use on your beer?

hukdizzle said:

nice zero, what yeast did you use on your beer?

Click to expand...

I used Wyeast 1272 American Ale 2. I started it around 63 degrees, but it didnt really want to start fermenting, so I kept it closer to 70 for the rest of the activity.

Resurrection

Just put this in the fermentor. Slight change to the hop schedule and I used US-05 instead of Bell's yeast, hope that doesn't throw it off too much

Color was great, nice ruby color. Can't wait!!

-TH- said:

BA Clone

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 11.00
Anticipated OG: 1.056 Plato: 13.84
Anticipated SRM: 12.9
Anticipated IBU: 29.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name
----------------------------------------
81.8 9.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row)
9.1 1.00 lbs. Crystal 90L
9.1 1.00 lbs. Munich Malt(light)


Mash at for 60 min @ 153°


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 7.50 17.9 60 min.
0.50 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 11.3 60 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 7.50 0.0 0 min.
0.50 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.75 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

Click to expand...

I brewed this a while back and used American Ale II. Came out overly malty and I think it is definately missing flavor hops. Next time I'll bump the bittering and add flavor hops as seen in a couple other recipes.
Still a good beer, just not well balanced heavily toward the malty side.

Looking to brew this tomorrow bit want to switch up the hops. I just tried Bells Amber and liked the maltiness but the citrus flavor seemed out of place for me. So, I'm looking to use the grain bill Yooper used and use Brewers Gold around 20-30min and EKG for the rest. I need to calculate the IBUs to figure out how much at the 10, 5, 1, and flameout, as of right now I'm thinking of doing an ounce at each time, but drop the 1min addition.

Any thoughts?

bolus14 said:

Looking to brew this tomorrow bit want to switch up the hops. I just tried Bells Amber and liked the maltiness but the citrus flavor seemed out of place for me. So, I'm looking to use the grain bill Yooper used and use Brewers Gold around 20-30min and EKG for the rest. I need to calculate the IBUs to figure out how much at the 10, 5, 1, and flameout, as of right now I'm thinking of doing an ounce at each time, but drop the 1min addition.

Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

I would just add your 1 min addition to flame out or drop it all together and if you use Wyeast 1056 it will bring out more of the hop flavor and aroma to help balance the hop and malt.

I'm thinking of using WLP023 Burton Ale. I've used WY1272 almost exclusively for the last 1.5 yrs and have been ok with it, but it's grown old. I want something that gives a little more than American Ale does. I know S-05 and 1056 are good house strains, but I'm kind of at a point of moving more towards maltier styles, my pallette has more or less grown tired of trying all the "IPA's" out now. At this point I'm looking for something that will work in fruit beers(thinking of venturing into these for my wife) and something good for Porter's, stouts, amber's, and some bigger styles, RIS and english barleywines.

Made this on Sunday, used all Nugget and WLP023. Been around 36 hours since pitching and not seeing any real fermentation activity yet. There looks to be a little bit of bubbling, maybe a quarter sized area of really small bubbles on top of the wort. I have read 023 can be a slow starter so I'm not overly surprised.

I didn't have time to make a starter, since LHBS moved and j didn't realize it until I went to get ingredients so I ended up brewing the next day without having an extra day to get a starter going.

Just over 2 weeks since brewing and it's at 1.020-1.022, some bubbles in the hydro tine so it was hard to tell for sure. Hoping it gets down just a touch more, bit the malt sweetness I would say is more or less spot on with Bells Amber. Still quite a bit of yeast in suspension and some airlock bubbles so taste wise it's a little strange overall. Hop wise seems somewhat floral with a really mild citrus note. Hoping the floral-ness tones down a bit,it otherwise I think it's on Pace to be a good drinker.

Will update in 2-3 weeks after it finishes fermenting, bottles and carbonates.