Amber malt

[rinasek]

Hi everyone,

After couple of batches doing kits and extracts i have decided to do everything that cool kids do and make my first all-grain batch. Got all equipment and found my self recipe.

Recipe calls for 0.5lb of Amber malt, but only two brewshops that exist here in Serbia do not have it. Closest thing i could find are these to:

• Caraamber (at bottom of table): http://www.weyermann.de/eng/produkte.asp?idkat=18&umenue=yes&idmenue=0&sprache=2
• Cara Ruby: http://www.castlemalting.com/Castle...ficationID=178&CropYear=2013&Language=English

Now as i have been able to deduce, Caraamber should be something like Biscuit and Biscuit should replace Amber malt... About Cara Ruby i don't know anything.

At the moment i am leaning towards Caraamber, but still not sure.

Also can Amarilo substitute Cascade 1:1?

Thoughts?

 

[motorneuron]

I would just use biscuit instead of amber. Half a pound of biscuit is about right for many recipes. The big difference between amber malt and the two that you have suggested here is that amber is not a crystal/caramel malt; it's just kilned. So amber will be much toastier and not sweet. Cara amber and cara ruby will be sweet.

Amarillo usually has a higher alpha acid percentage than cascade. For bittering (or for flavor, though it's less important), the same amount of amarillo will make beer that's maybe 50%-100% more bitter. If you still want amarillo for flavor, you could use the same amount but add it a bit later, which will decrease its utilization. So, for example, a 20 minute Cascade addition could be a 15 minute amarillo addition. It will still add a little more bitterness, but not quite as much. For aroma, though, you can substitute 1:1.

Might be easier to give advice if you posted the whole recipe, but it sounds like you'll be fine.

 

[cwhouston]

Welcome to all grain - you won't look back.

I use English amber and find simply toasting maris otter or other base ale malt for 20 to 25 minutes at 150 C produces a better result. Rumour has it that it needs to be left for a week in a bag after toasting to allow grainy flavours to dissipate, and I do, but I cannot confirm if it makes a difference.

 

[rinasek]

First thanks for answers. Second, recipe i was going to try is Lady Liberty Pale Ale from Palmer's "How to brew".

7 lbs Pale Malt
8.0 oz Amber Malt
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
8.0 oz Munich Malt
0.50 oz Northern Brewer [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Cascade [6.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min
1.00 oz Cascade [6.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)

@motorneuron When i add unchanged amount of Amarilo to equations bitterness skyrocketed, so i'I've adjusted amounts now. I think think that using 0.32oz Amarilo (~9%) should be roughly same as using 0.5oz Cascade. As far as i understand recipes (and please correct me if i am wrong) Northern Brewer is main bitterer here.

As for Amber malt, i will have to go toasting it myself or find some other substitute. Homebrewing is not so developed here, people rather make and drink plum brandy

 

[stpug]

Like mentioned above, Amber malt is a kilned malt and not crystal/caramel/cara malt. If you want to BUY something that's close to amber then your best bet is biscuit/victory or brown malt (or a mix of brown and biscuit/victory). However, I would go the route of simply toasting your own - it's easy and it works very well. When toasting, I once brewed the next day and once waited a good 7 days; I can't say I noticed any difference.

 

[motorneuron]

It's a small point, but if you're using Amarillo instead of cascade, I would use the same quantity but adjust the time to keep bitterness the same. So instead of using .5 ounce of cascade at 30 minutes, you should probably do the .5 ounce of amarillo at around 20-15 minutes, and then do another amarillo addition at maybe 10-5 minutes. There is more to a hop addition (especially 30 minutes-0 minutes) than its bitterness. If you add less of the hop overall, you'll get a bit less flavor. Not a big deal though.

And yes, NB is your main bittering hop here. I wouldn't worry too much about the difference between, say, 35 and 40 IBUs. You'll get a good beer.

My two cents--I have home-toasted malt before, and it works well. I think the amount of time you let it sit out is more important the darker it is.

 

[rinasek]

@motorneuron I've adjusted according to your advice and will add .5oz Amarilo at 20min and 1oz at 7m. That gives almost same bitterns and i hope more flavor (it is easy with things you can calculate, but for flavor you need a bit of XP).

Now for toasting, can i use this Pale malt or Munich, since i will have some leftovers? I guess that should not be to complicated and i got no problem with waiting.

 

[motorneuron]

You could probably just use 16 oz of Munich and not worry about home-toasting. Between the Munich and the C60, you're plenty dark enough for an APA. But if you do want to toast, I'd do it on the pale malt, just because (I'm guessing) it's cheaper. So if you screw up, no need to worry!

 

[rinasek]

I think i'll try toasting, seems it would give more of personal touch to beer.

Any advice on toasting? I've read 30 minutes on 350F for Amber.

 

[stpug]

The couple times I've toasted my own I did:
1) US 2-row at 350F for 15 min
2) Maris Otter at 300F for 35 min

Both worked out well. I remember a bigger toasted note from the longer and lower toast of MO (#2). At the time I was aiming for more of a victory/biscuit level of toast, and if I recall it correctly I would say it was closer to an Amber toast but not all the way there. Hope this helps.

 

[TastyAdventure]

Hell, use .25 of caraAmber, and .25 of biscuit


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[rinasek]

The couple times I've toasted my own I did:
1) US 2-row at 350F for 15 min
2) Maris Otter at 300F for 35 min

Both worked out well. I remember a bigger toasted note from the longer and lower toast of MO (#2). At the time I was aiming for more of a victory/biscuit level of toast, and if I recall it correctly I would say it was closer to an Amber toast but not all the way there. Hope this helps.

Thanks ill try 30min at 350F guess that should work.

@ TastyAdventure Sadly no biscuit here, either

 

[stpug]

I guess I should finish the process I used

Spread the grain thin on a cookie sheet
Stir every so often (5-8 minutes)
You don't want them turning dark brown/roasted (dark tan is okay but not brown)

 

[rinasek]

Thanks, will post results soon i hope


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[masonsjax]

Since the later hop additions are there primarily to add flavor and aroma, I would use the full amount called for and reduce overall bitterness by reducing the first bittering charge. Whatever you do will result in beer though, so don't sweat it. Have fun!

 

[JKaranka]

Amber is great. It's really toasty, unlike crystal, and not that dark. It is a completely alternative flavour set to the roasted malts. That said, not everybody's cup of tea!