American Amber Ale Caramel Amber Ale

[sm_batch]

I have brewed this guy about 8 batches so far... dont plan on stopping.

I really suggest using the suggested syrup recipe too. I did two batches with shelf bought syrups to test the difference and went back to making the double cook caramel at home.

 

[burninator]

I've read through much of this thread, and I've noticed recurring comments on how low this beer ends up--often around 1.005. Could it be the candi sugar addition that's allowing this? Seems like you have a higher percentage of fermentable sugars contributing to OG than is normal in an American ale.

I also see that most are pitching US-05. Has there been any experimentation with Belgian or English strains?

 

[burninator]

I'm also curious about hop substitutions for the Chinook. I have Willamette, Nugget, Saaz, Styrian Goldings, and Cascade on hand, but I can try to pick up some Chinook if it's absolutely necessary.

 

[Hanso]

I'm sure most Belgian yeast would be great with this but have never tried it. For hops I'd sub Cascade or Willamette.

 

[bolus14]

+1. With the Belgian yeast it depends on what your after the fruity esters, the funkiness, etc, but I think most strains would work.

As for hops if your using a Belgian yeas I would go with Saaz or Styrian, I like them in Belgians. Im not a fan of Chinook, to resiny or piney for my liking, cascade is over done but I think would work. Willamette would be good and would provide something close to the original without the piney/resin aroma and taste.

 

[mariahman]

Brewed again, followed original grain bill with .25lb Cararoma and .5 lb biscuit malt. OG reading is coming in low at 1.036. Also used 1056 American yeast from wyeast.


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[burninator]

+1. With the Belgian yeast it depends on what your after the fruity esters, the funkiness, etc, but I think most strains would work.

As for hops if your using a Belgian yeas I would go with Saaz or Styrian, I like them in Belgians. Im not a fan of Chinook, to resiny or piney for my liking, cascade is over done but I think would work. Willamette would be good and would provide something close to the original without the piney/resin aroma and taste.

Think I'm going to go with the US-05, after all. Just love that yeast

Think you're right on the Willamette, as well. I kind of like the idea of going all Willamette on this, actually.

Just need to scale this down to 2.5 or 3 gallons, and figure out the hops conversion, and I'll be set.

 

[FatDragon]

Batch two is cool crashing right now. First SG reading was today, two weeks after pitch - 2.9 P/1.011 SG. I was hoping to get a bit lower, and it still might, but vigorous fermentation on day two raised the temperature a couple degrees higher than scheduled, which may have caused the yeast to burn out early, then I undershot my target finishing temperature for days 8-12 thanks to a cold front coming in.

The Special B seems to be showing more than expected in the gravity sample, but we'll know more in a month when it's bottled and conditioned.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Think I'm going to go with the US-05, after all. Just love that yeast

Think you're right on the Willamette, as well. I kind of like the idea of going all Willamette on this, actually.

Just need to scale this down to 2.5 or 3 gallons, and figure out the hops conversion, and I'll be set.

I'll probably go all Willamette the next time I brew this. I had never worked with Chinook before, and I second the piney/resiny comment. It turns out it just isn't my thing. I do still like the batch I made, but for my taste, I think it will be even better with just the Willamette.

 

[mpghm]

I'll be making this soon, also thinking about mellower alternatives to chinook. I don't have enough Willamette to use that exclusively, what else works well with this recipe?

 

[mdbrewer1]

I'll be making this soon, also thinking about mellower alternatives to chinook. I don't have enough Willamette to use that exclusively, what else works well with this recipe?

I'm with you on switching out the Chinook, but I don't have enough experience with the different varities of hops to give you a solid answer. A quick google search came up with these as potential substitutes...

Brewers Gold, Columbus, Galena, Nugget, Northern Brewer, Eroica

Out of those, the one I have familiarity with is Galena, and think that would go pretty well in this.

 

[Jsamp]

I'll be making this soon, also thinking about mellower alternatives to chinook. I don't have enough Willamette to use that exclusively, what else works well with this recipe?

I'd say get some kind of high aa neutral bittering hop such as magnum or columbus and use the Willamette as the finishing/aroma hops. I've made this recipe exactly as posted before and it was good. I usually experiment with it though. Right now I have a version I used 10.5 lbs of grain with Columbus as the bittering then a 5 min addition of columbus and Cascade at flameout.

 

[bolus14]

Personally I've thought about coming back to this recipe and using Sorachi Ace. Used as a bittering hop it still gives off some of its lemongrass character but not overpowering and it's high AA will get the IBU's without needing a lot.

 

[Grousebane]

Ah man! Now I want to make this one again! I am not sure about anything citrus like in it though. A hint of floral might be good.


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[bford]

My wife is a big amber fan.... but not a big hop fan... so I think I might brew this but cut the hops down to about 20 IBU.... I'll also be doing it as a 2 gallon BIAB session. Should I stick with the Chinook or try something different since I'm going to lower the hops...

 

[Jsamp]

My wife is a big amber fan.... but not a big hop fan... so I think I might brew this but cut the hops down to about 20 IBU.... I'll also be doing it as a 2 gallon BIAB session. Should I stick with the Chinook or try something different since I'm going to lower the hops...

I've made it before with just a 60 minute bittering addition and it was good. You don't have to use Chinook. If you're not going for hop character any neutral bittering hop should work just fine.

 

[bford]

I've made it before with just a 60 minute bittering addition and it was good. You don't have to use Chinook. If you're not going for hop character any neutral bittering hop should work just fine.

Thanks!

 

[bford]

Sorry for another newbie question about this recipe..

I've read through a lot of the thread, but not close to every page... kind of skipped around...


Is there a difference when making the caramel syrup with DAP and without?

What does the Diammonium Phosphate add to the process?

 

[IslandLizard]

Sorry for another newbie question about this recipe..

I've read through a lot of the thread, but not close to every page... kind of skipped around...


Is there a difference when making the caramel syrup with DAP and without?

What does the Diammonium Phosphate add to the process?

Lookie: Ryan Brews

 

[mpghm]

Bottled this a week ago. The hops tasted kind of harsh. Today I opened a small bottle to test, it's turned into a tasty brew.

 

[Doed]

This is a very good beer. It retains the head until the very last gulp. :rockin:

 

[chuckcomm]

I have read the majority of pages here looking for an answer to my candy question but havent had any luck. I do tend to skim things so maybe I read it and it didnt stick.

After making the candy syrup do I let it harden or keep in liquid form? Recipe calls for a pound and I find it odd to weigh liquid.

I plan to make the candy today and brew tomorrow.

 

[IslandLizard]

I have read the majority of pages here looking for an answer to my candy question but havent had any luck. I do tend to skim things so maybe I read it and it didnt stick.

After making the candy syrup do I let it harden or keep in liquid form? Recipe calls for a pound and I find it odd to weigh liquid.

I plan to make the candy today and brew tomorrow.

Assimilating info from 740 posts is tough by any standard.

No need to harden it.

After the caramelization process is done and you have the color and flavor you want, add some water (a cup or more) to it so it's still pourable when it cools off. Cover with a lid or some plastic wrap. After pouring into your wort you can dissolve whatever clings to the sides with some hot wort. Nothing goes to waste.

I usually make the syrup at the beginning of the brew day or while I'm mashing.

 

[chuckcomm]

Thanks for the clarification...so the entire batch goes into my wort. Thats easy enough

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks for the clarification...so the entire batch goes into my wort. Thats easy enough

If you make larger caramel batches or get into making larger batches of invert sugar which takes hours (1-6) of slowly cooking at lower temps, you can pour the extra cooled syrup into bottles, jars, or even ziplock bags and store in fridge or freezer.

The reason they get thickened or solidified is for long term storage reasons, so nothing can grow in them when stored outside cold storage.

Enjoy the journey!

 

[bford]

Plan on bottling mine tomorrow...woohoo!

 

[bford]

Bottled... here's to 3 weeks of carbing up in my closet.

 

[Mojzis]

The pound refers to the dry weight of the sugar you started with. I've had pretty good success adding a little corn syrup to the caramel (if i'm storing it a little) and keeping it in a jar. It doesn't crystallize and makes it easier to pour. But I end up dunking the jar into the wort anyway to get everything out.

 

[chuckcomm]

The pound refers to the dry weight of the sugar you started with. I've had pretty good success adding a little corn syrup to the caramel (if i'm storing it a little) and keeping it in a jar. It doesn't crystallize and makes it easier to pour. But I end up dunking the jar into the wort anyway to get everything out.

Thanks that makes sense

 

[bford]

I made mine early and let it harden.... it dissolved and mixed into the boil at the appropriate time no problem....

Smelled great when bottling and the flat beer had a pleasant taste. Think its going to carb up great and of course taste much better at that point.

 

[chuckcomm]

I did not get this brewed last week as planned. I made the candy tonight...it was actually enjoyable doing it knowing what it was for....it turned out great and I thinned it with corn syrup and will brew this friday.

 

[jbb3]

Brewed a batch of this yesterday. Bubbling away in the fermenter this morning.
When I made the syrup I think I took it a little past softball stage and it was hard as a rock. Had to warm it up on the burner a bit then dipped the whole container in the wort to get it to dissolve. Also made sure to stir the wort while adding the syrup so the syrup would scorch on the bottom of the pot.
It was a good experience and have high hopes for the results!

 

[christophereatworld]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of getting everything together for an Amber Ale. It's a Northern Brewer all-grain kit which I'm turning into a partial mash (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/american-amber-ale-all-grain-kit.html).

However, I wondered whether adding the caramel syrup would work for this recipe as well as it does for the OPs. Or is there some extra intricacy that I'm missing?

Thanks!

 

[FatDragon]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of getting everything together for an Amber Ale. It's a Northern Brewer all-grain kit which I'm turning into a partial mash (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/american-amber-ale-all-grain-kit.html).

However, I wondered whether adding the caramel syrup would work for this recipe as well as it does for the OPs. Or is there some extra intricacy that I'm missing?

Thanks!

Adding a pound of candi syrup will increase your OG and dry out your FG, so you'll have a drier, stronger beer with a greater caramel presence. It would probably be a nice addition to that kit according to the recipe listed in the instructions.

What's your plan for turning this brew into a PM recipe? Are you adding extract to the kit to make it stronger, or reducing the kit's grainbill and adding extract up to 1.047 to make it easier to brew? If you're adding a couple pounds of extract to a brew that's already 1.047, and then adding a pound of candi syrup on top of that, you're getting into the territory of making an imperial caramel amber ale, which may or may not be what you're going for.

 

[christophereatworld]

Adding a pound of candi syrup will increase your OG and dry out your FG, so you'll have a drier, stronger beer with a greater caramel presence. It would probably be a nice addition to that kit according to the recipe listed in the instructions.

What's your plan for turning this brew into a PM recipe? Are you adding extract to the kit to make it stronger, or reducing the kit's grainbill and adding extract up to 1.047 to make it easier to brew? If you're adding a couple pounds of extract to a brew that's already 1.047, and then adding a pound of candi syrup on top of that, you're getting into the territory of making an imperial caramel amber ale, which may or may not be what you're going for.

Thanks so much for the feedback.

My plan is to pull back on the grain bill and substitute in some LME (about .70 to the lb depending on the efficiency of the mash) in order to make the brewing process easier.

I'd prefer to keep it more on the sessionable side rather than verging into imperial territory.

Perhaps adding an lb of the candi syrup in place of an 1lb of the LME would be a good plan in order to keep the brew closer to the intended ABV?

 

[FatDragon]

Thanks so much for the feedback.

My plan is to pull back on the grain bill and substitute in some LME (about .70 to the lb depending on the efficiency of the mash) in order to make the brewing process easier.

I'd prefer to keep it more on the sessionable side rather than verging into imperial territory.

Perhaps adding an lb of the candi syrup in place of an 1lb of the LME would be a good plan in order to keep the brew closer to the intended ABV?

Candi syrup, if measured by the weight of the sugar you put in and not the weight of the syrup you get out (which should be a bit higher as you're adding water), should have higher potential than LME. A one-for-one swap of the two will increase the gravity a bit, though not much if you're just doing a pound.

Does Northern Brewer send the kit grains pre-mixed or are the grains separate? If you're replacing pre-mixed amber ale grains with LME, you're changing the beer because you're losing some of your caramel malts. If your grains are separated upon arrival, replacing base malt with pale LME (probably up to about half your grainbill) should be alright. If your grains are premixed, you might want to use amber LME instead - it won't be the same as if you did the all-grain kit as-is, but amber LME will replace some of the caramel grains you're removing by reducing the grain bill.

 

[christophereatworld]

Candi syrup, if measured by the weight of the sugar you put in and not the weight of the syrup you get out (which should be a bit higher as you're adding water), should have higher potential than LME. A one-for-one swap of the two will increase the gravity a bit, though not much if you're just doing a pound.

Does Northern Brewer send the kit grains pre-mixed or are the grains separate? If you're replacing pre-mixed amber ale grains with LME, you're changing the beer because you're losing some of your caramel malts. If your grains are separated upon arrival, replacing base malt with pale LME (probably up to about half your grainbill) should be alright. If your grains are premixed, you might want to use amber LME instead - it won't be the same as if you did the all-grain kit as-is, but amber LME will replace some of the caramel grains you're removing by reducing the grain bill.

Thanks again, super helpful.

I'm buying all of the ingredients separately as it was an all-grain kit which I'm modifying to make it PM. Going to switch out around half of the 2-row for the equivalent in pale LME.

 

[Shenanigans]

Thinking of giving this a go but I cant get Crystal 80 where I live here in Europe.
Would Carabohemian be a decent substitute?

https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/weyermann-cara-bohemian

 

[KingBrianI]

Thinking of giving this a go but I cant get Crystal 80 where I live here in Europe.
Would Carabohemian be a decent substitute?

https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/weyermann-cara-bohemian

Yeah, carabohemian should make a great substitute! It's slightly lighter in color but it shouldn't make a huge difference and from the description, it looks like it has exactly the flavors I used the crystal 80 for in the original recipe.

 

[jbb3]

I have a 6-1/2 gal batch that's been in the fermenter for 24 days today. Obviously it ready to keg/bottle but I'm trying to complete a keezer build. May have to go ahead and keg it and stick it in the frig until I can complete my keezer....