Amalgamator IPA recipe ingredients review

[Burndog]

Hello, I'm looking to brew/clone this beer:
http://draftmag.com/beachwood-amalgamator/

It's a really nice IPA with a Mosaic centric taste profile.

I've found two recipes and scaled them to 6.5 gal in Beersmith which will be done via BIAB.

Local water is good so not concerned about needing Acid Malt if it's purpose is to offset adverse PH levels.
But, no Crystal in the first recipe?
Will the lack of Carmel/Crystal Malt render Recipe #1 lacking flavor depth and color?

Recipe #1
___________________________________________________
Amt Name
18 lbs 3.2 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) 94.9 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) 5.1 %
1.87 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.25 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] -
1.25 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Boil 15.0 m
1.25 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.3 pkg Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007)
2.60 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Dry Hop 0.0


Recipe #2
___________________________________________________
Amt Name
15 lbs 13.5 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) 93.8 %
7.7 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) 2.8 %
5.2 oz Acid Malt (3.0 SRM) 1.9 %
6.3 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) 1.4 %
2.70 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.57 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 30.
1.86 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
1.57 oz Mosaic [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.57 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.9 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. -
3.71 oz Mosaic [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Days

 

[Burndog]

Learning about Cara-Pils vs Caramel/Crystal

""A common practice is to use caramel malts for color and flavor and add Briess Carapils® to increase body and mouthfeel without changing to color, flavor, or final gravity.""

http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/understanding-carapils/

Leaning to split the Cara-Pils in Recipe #1 by 1/2 and building back with C40.
Best of both worlds?

 

[MakeDankBeer]

have you brewed this yet? This is one of my current go to beers right now.

 

[Burndog]

Yes, I am Cold Crashing now and will be kegging maybe tonight...

But, I talked to Julius the Owner and Brewmaster at Beachwood and he was kind enough to give pointers on my recipe. Samples of what's in the conical currently does taste good but the next one, will be more accurate to the real Amalgamator.

Details on the current one attached.

I'll have the Brewmaster assisted one mapped out in the future (Hopefully not too far out) though I may brew some Stout with Coffee and Chocolate and Lactose next.

 

[MakeDankBeer]

Awesome. Did He mention anything about the yeast ? I would think it more like 001 then 007

 

[Burndog]

Yes, he noted WL Cal (001)
Add Honey Malt and no Caramel were also suggested updates plus the dry hop changes to only Mosaic.

I created Version 2 Recipe today (see attached image).
Note: Version 1 is now kegged and tastes pretty darn good. I have 1 can of "real" Amalgamator in the fridge and tonight will do a taste test to compare the two.

When I first tried Amalgamator my LHBS had that, and also Beachwood Citraholic in stock. Both were good but Amalgamator was less fruity and dryer like a good chardonnay compared to a sweeter wine. In other words it seemed a bit more refined (?).

 

[Burndog]

Side by side comparison... the lack of Caramel in the original shows in the color. Taste is the same to my untrained palette. Bit more fuller mouthfeel also in mine.

Damn, this is a winner!

 

[Burndog]

Head retention.... clone on the right

 

[MakeDankBeer]

looks tasty, thanks for the updated brew sheet. This is for sure going in my brew queue

 

[MakeDankBeer]

Alright finally going to brew this one this weekend. Here is what I got. I may bump up the 15-0 min hop additions a tad, and I might skip the dry hop right before kegging. Ferment around 65-68° wlp 001. Did you end up brewing the updated version? Any changes you would suggest?

3gal
10lbs 2 row (us)
4 oz carapils
2 oz honey malt

.85 oz warrior @ 60
.68 oz moasiac @ 15
.65 oz of Amarillo @ 5
.65 oz of Amarillo @ 0
.85 oz of mosaic @ 0
dry hop 1.5 oz mosaic for 11 days
dry hop 1.5 oz mosaic for 4 days

 

[MakeDankBeer]

A follow up on this one, overal the recipe is really close flavor wise. I bumped it up all the hop additions to easy 1oz increments but followed the hop schedule above. The main difference to me in flavor was I believe they used a little more honey malt possibly, when I do I side by side two things stand out. One is a little more “sweetness” from the beachwood version, so I might bump up the honey malt next time. The only other difference I noticed between the two was a little crisper bitterness from the beachwood version, I assume this is the water profile they used. I used bru n waters “yellow ale” ( or whatever it’s called) . Overall came out pretty good. It didn’t not come crystal clear as I had hoped, messed up the gelatin finning a bit.

My recipe ended up
2-Row 95.5%
Carapils 3%
Honey malt 1.5%
1oz warrior fwh
1oz mosaic @ 15
1oz Amarillo @ 5
1oz of Amarillo @ 0
1oz mosaic @ 0
Dry hop
Day 4 1oz mosaic
Day 11 1oz mosaic
Fermented with wlp001 for 12-14 days
Missed my intended og by .01
Og 1.060
Fg 1.014

 

[hornet303]

Just wanted to point out that the new cans list only 2-Row and Honey malts. I would ditch the carapils and perhaps increase the mash temp a degree or two if it feels too thin.

Also noted that the IBU lately is listed as 70 instead of their traditional 99+.

 

[Burndog]

Awesome. Did He mention anything about the yeast ? I would think it more like 001 then 007

I would have to review but I don't believe he noted anything wrong with my yeast selection.

I'm getting to be quite a fan of SafAle05 and will brew this again soon. How did your yeast choice come out?

 

[Deeweezy24]

Gents, thanks so much for all the info here. Have any of you made another batch recently or would change anything here? I love this beer and I'm brewing it next. Thanks again.

 

[MakeDankBeer]

Gents, thanks so much for all the info here. Have any of you made another batch recently or would change anything here? I love this beer and I'm brewing it next. Thanks again.

I ditched the carapils, mashed higher 154? if I remember correctly, and I think I added more hops, which I actually enjoyed a bit more but it skewed the balance a little I thought. I had maybe 4 pints of this beer before the tap got stuck open and emptied the entire keg on the floor, so it may have aged a better not sure.

 

[Deeweezy24]

I ditched the carapils, mashed higher 154? if I remember correctly, and I think I added more hops, which I actually enjoyed a bit more but it skewed the balance a little I thought. I had maybe 4 pints of this beer before the tap got stuck open and emptied the entire keg on the floor, so it may have aged a better not sure.

Thanks for the help!

 

[couchsending]

Man I love this beer. Listened to Julian talk about brewing hoppy beers quite a bit. Based on things I’ve heard him say I would say looking at the recipes that have been posted:

2% Honey Malt (he’s mentioned that’s the sweet spot)
3-4% Carapils (even if it’s not listed I’d bet it’s in that beer)
Still mash low. 150
Water profile isn’t that heavy in Ca based on what I can taste.

You’ll need at least 6-7.5oz of Mosaic in the dry hop. Their DH rates are 2-3lbs/bbl.

Start of the boil ph around 5.2

Soft crash the yeast to 60 for at least 24 hours before dry hopping. If you have a conical remove as much yeast as possible.

Leave at 60 for 3-4 days then slowly step down to as low as you can go over the next 3, dumping hops along the way (if you can).

I prefer to lager for extended periods over adding finings but others might not.

 

[Deeweezy24]

How do you lager hoppy beers? Every time I cold crash on my conical it sucks in air, so I'm worried about oxidation...

 

[hornet303]

A follow up on this one, overal the recipe is really close flavor wise. I bumped it up all the hop additions to easy 1oz increments but followed the hop schedule above. The main difference to me in flavor was I believe they used a little more honey malt possibly, when I do I side by side two things stand out. One is a little more “sweetness” from the beachwood version, so I might bump up the honey malt next time. The only other difference I noticed between the two was a little crisper bitterness from the beachwood version, I assume this is the water profile they used. I used bru n waters “yellow ale” ( or whatever it’s called) . Overall came out pretty good. It didn’t not come crystal clear as I had hoped, messed up the gelatin finning a bit.

My recipe ended up
2-Row 95.5%
Carapils 3%
Honey malt 1.5%
1oz warrior fwh
1oz mosaic @ 15
1oz Amarillo @ 5
1oz of Amarillo @ 0
1oz mosaic @ 0
Dry hop
Day 4 1oz mosaic
Day 11 1oz mosaic
Fermented with wlp001 for 12-14 days
Missed my intended og by .01
Og 1.060
Fg 1.014

I'll have to try this recipe out soon. If I run your numbers, you hit about 6% ABV, which is about 1% off. I wonder if some of the crispness from the Beachwood version is from it being dryer (higher attenuation). I have a can at home, I'll pour some into my hydro tube and let it gas off and see what FG I get. I would assume it finishes lower than 1.014.

 

[couchsending]

How do you lager hoppy beers? Every time I cold crash on my conical it sucks in air, so I'm worried about oxidation...

In the keg.. I attached the pressure transfer fitting that’s permanently attached to Co2 at the tail end of fermentation and leave it on there. I’ll slowly drop the temp to 45 and leave it there for anywhere from 2-5 days then transfer to a keg and lager/carb at 32 or so for as long as needed depending on the beer.

 

[hornet303]

Just degassed and measured my last can of 'gator. FG looks like its 1.008. That puts the OG about 1.061-2 range.

 

[hornet303]

I just ran it through Beersmith and I think it would net a pretty tasty beer. I notice all the recipes you guys have are omitting Columbus. There surely is some of the CTZ dank in there. I also listened to just about every podcast/interview I could find and he has mentioned that he like to layer hops in, which is where I came up with my hop schedule. Beersmith has an FG of 1.010, but with a 6oz DH, it will easily hop creep down a few points. I'd aim for 1.008 (as discovered by my hydro sample).

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.53 gal
Post Boil Volume: 7.03 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.061 SG
Estimated Color: 4.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 70.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 81.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name
13 lbs 8.7 oz Pale Malt, 2-Row (Rahr) (1.8 SRM)
4.3 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.32 oz Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.64 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.32 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Boil 15
0.16 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min
0.64 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Boil 5.0 min
0.32 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Boil 5.
0.16 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min
0.64 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15
0.32 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [15.50 %] - Steep/W
0.16 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 1
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml]
6.00 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 13.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 4.51 gal of water at 160.9 F 150.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Add 2.42 gal of water at 206.2 F 168.0 F 10 min

 

[finch86]

Yes, he noted WL Cal (001)
Add Honey Malt and no Caramel were also suggested updates plus the dry hop changes to only Mosaic.

I created Version 2 Recipe today (see attached image).
Note: Version 1 is now kegged and tastes pretty darn good. I have 1 can of "real" Amalgamator in the fridge and tonight will do a taste test to compare the two.

When I first tried Amalgamator my LHBS had that, and also Beachwood Citraholic in stock. Both were good but Amalgamator was less fruity and dryer like a good chardonnay compared to a sweeter wine. In other words it seemed a bit more refined (?).

What was your Mash temp?

 

[hornet303]

I just brewed the following recipe. Early tasting notes are very good, most things seems spot on. If I were to brew it again, I would add a bit of CTZ into the whirlpool and maybe up the honey malt .5% or so. Color seems a bit paler than Beachwood's and there is a bit of a richness that is lacking.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.79 gal
Post Boil Volume: 7.29 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.10 gal
Estimated OG: 1.064 SG
Estimated Color: 4.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 67.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 87.5 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
13 lbs 8.7 oz Pale Malt, 2-Row (Rahr) (1.8 SRM) Grain 1 98.0 % 1.06 gal
4.3 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2 2.0 % 0.02 gal
0.30 oz Warrior [16.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 3 15.0 IBUs -
0.35 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus (CTZ) [14.00 %] - Boil 60 Hop 4 13.5 IBUs -
0.50 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 10.6 IBUs -
3.00 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [11.30 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15 Hop 6 22.6 IBUs -
1.00 oz Amarillo [9.20 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min, 1 Hop 7 6.1 IBUs -
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 8 - -
6.00 oz Mosaic (HBC 369) [14.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 9 0.0 IBUs -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 13.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 6.32 gal of water at 157.8 F 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 5.13 gal water at 168.0 F

 

[hornet303]

Finally got around to doing a side by side comparison. I dont have any great photos of them side by side, but I'll upload a photo of mine shortly. So, doing side by side, I'd say things are very similar, but there is a lacking of the Amarillo flavor. My beer is a bit paler in color and a slight lacking of richness. Next iteration will have 1.5oz (vs 1oz) of Amarillo in the whirlpool and I'll bump the honey malt by .3%. Its possible the Amarillo needs a full 2oz.

The wife says its the best beer/recipe I've made which I'd less enthusiastically agree. The few gator fans that tried it were really impressed. I will say that after about 2 weeks in the keg, the aroma and hop potency is falling off some. I go through great lengths to do closed CO2 transfers, so I dont think oxidation has set in, but just a bit more mellow.

 

[hornet303]

Here is a final comparison. Mine is on the right. I used Biofine to clarify my beer, but in comparison, probably not needed. It dropped brilliant, but the cold glass and condensation make it look less than brilliant. My changes next batch would add .5oz Amarillo in the whirlpool and maybe a pinch more honey malt. I also used Rahr 2 row, maybe I'd try great western 2-row next time.

 

[BoilerInSoCal]

Here is a final comparison. Mine is on the right. I used Biofine to clarify my beer, but in comparison, probably not needed. It dropped brilliant, but the cold glass and condensation make it look less than brilliant. My changes next batch would add .5oz Amarillo in the whirlpool and maybe a pinch more honey malt. I also used Rahr 2 row, maybe I'd try great western 2-row next time.

View attachment 677976

Looks great! I'm going to need to add this my list...but first I am currently working on a recipe loosely based on Citraholic.

Quick question: what temp did you steep/whirlpool? Did you add at flame out, or did you first cool to 170 or the like?

 

[hornet303]

I whirlpool around 195. Citraholic is good but less dynamic than gator. I think if tiu figure out one, the other is very similar.

 

[BoilerInSoCal]

I whirlpool around 195. Citraholic is good but less dynamic than gator. I think if tiu figure out one, the other is very similar.

Thanks! Agreed. Given the specs on the two cans, I figure once you figure out the schedule all you need to do is swap out the hops.

 

[Steven Barrett]

Bump. Just tried this beer and it’s really nice. Super clean and satisfying. @hornet303 have you kept at trying to clone this? I find the aroma to be very pleasant but subtle, not like the overbearing NEIPAs.

 

[hornet303]

Looks great! I'm going to need to add this my list...but first I am currently working on a recipe loosely based on Citraholic.

Quick question: what temp did you steep/whirlpool? Did you add at flame out, or did you first cool to 170 or the like?

Sorry for the really late reply! I whirlpool at 185 for about 20 minutes. After reading Scott's "The New IPA" this temp seems pretty popular among other brewers as well.

 

[hornet303]

Bump. Just tried this beer and it’s really nice. Super clean and satisfying. @hornet303 have you kept at trying to clone this? I find the aroma to be very pleasant but subtle, not like the overbearing NEIPAs.

I actually have not brewed this since what I posted earlier, but I am considering this my go-to WC IPA build. I have a backlog of hops so I'm building a recipe that pretty much swaps the Mosaic with Idaho 7 and the Amarillo with Citra. I will whirlpool at 185 and I will NOT be using biofine this time. Regarding the subtle dryhop, I've recently upped my DH additions to 7oz. The reason being is while I target 6 gallon batches, I typically have 6.5+ gallons in the fermenter which gets me to that 1.1oz/gallon range.

I've also been soft crashing to 58F or so for a day or 2 before I DH. This allegedly helps promote the yeast to dropping out of solution to help reduce the DH getting scrubbed out by the yeast. I dont have the ability to dump the yeast cake before DH, so only so much I can do.

 

[Steven Barrett]

I wonder if a higher mash temp would result in a fuller bodied beer. I also wonder if mosaic and Amarillo in the dry hop would add complexity.

 

[hornet303]

I figured I'd add a bit more to the story. My LHBS is having a competition where everyone has to brew the same kit and the recipe is inspired by Amalgamator. Said to not be an exact clone, but very close. Here are the details:

Grain:
- 12lb 2-Row (98%)
- 4oz Honey Malt (2%)
- 1lb Dextrose

Hops:
- .75 oz Warrior @ 60
- .25 Amarillo @ 15
- .25 CTZ @ 15

Whirlpool:
- 2oz for 15 mins

Dryhop:
- 4oz DH for 3 days

Yeast:
- WLP001

Batch Size: 5g
Mash temp: 150F
OG: 1.067
FG: 1.014
IBU: 70

So, fairly similar, but some of the hop schedule is a bit different. The suggestd OG and FG cant be right. Gator finishes around 1.008/9 range from that I can tell. Im going to brew this, but adjust the 60 mins Warrior addition down and increase Whirlpool. I'll report back after its done and compared.

 

[couchsending]

Amalgamator has to have a DH amount of more than twice that. 2#/gallon is pale ale DH rates these day’s

 

[day_trippr]

[...]2#/gallon is pale ale DH rates these day’s

lol! just a tiny bit hyperbolic

 

[couchsending]

lol! just a tiny bit hyperbolic

Sorry 2#/bbl... long day

 

[5SonsBrewing]

I realize this is an old post, just stopping by to say that the CBB has a really good recipe for Amalgamator. I thoroughly enjoyed the beer. When I brew it again, I'll compare it to the real thing.

https://beerandbrewing.com/recipe-beachwood-amalgam-ish-ipa/

 

[redrocker652002]

I realize this is an old post, just stopping by to say that the CBB has a really good recipe for Amalgamator. I thoroughly enjoyed the beer. When I brew it again, I'll compare it to the real thing.

https://beerandbrewing.com/recipe-beachwood-amalgam-ish-ipa/

Not being able to see the full recipe in the article, would you be able to post it? If it is a pain in the tail I understand. Just looking for something different and the hops that are being discussed are ones I have not used much if at all. If it is a pain in the tail, no worries.

 

[5SonsBrewing]

Not being able to see the full recipe in the article, would you be able to post it? If it is a pain in the tail I understand. Just looking for something different and the hops that are being discussed are ones I have not used much if at all. If it is a pain in the tail, no worries.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1079273/beachwood-amalgamish-ipa