American Amber Ale Broken Leg House Amber

[elproducto]

 

[elproducto]

I have to say. I had no real expectations for this beer when I brewed it, in fact I was hesitant based on the amount of crystal in the recipe, but I have to say it is fantastic. I only brewed 2.5 gallons as a test batch, and will be keeping this in regular rotation.

Thanks Yoop!

 

[HomebrewCraig]

Quick question about the hops.. When I imported this recipe into BeerSmith, the IBUs only came out to 14.9, when the recipe states more than double. What could be causing such a disparity?

 

[Yooper]

Quick question about the hops.. When I imported this recipe into BeerSmith, the IBUs only came out to 14.9, when the recipe states more than double. What could be causing such a disparity?

Boil size, the AAUs of the hops, or simply having an entry error.

 

[JPrather]

Any thoughts on subbing out the Willamette with Glacier hops? I have no experience with Glacier but from what I'm reading it seems it will kick up the fruity flavors a notch or two, but I can't really tell.

I have access to a bunch of Glacier, but I can get Willamette cheap so it's no big deal. I may just replace the bittering addition with Glacier just because in my research it seems like Glacier has pretty smooth bittering qualities.

 

[burninator]

Picked up the grain for a half batch of this today...planning to brew with a friend this coming week. Got a slight inclination to boost it just a little with a caramel addition.

Thanks!

 

[burninator]

Use any irish moss in this? How well does it clear?

 

[burninator]

Brewed this last night. Forgot all about the Irish moss, as is the way with most of my brew days.

This stuff came out surprisingly dark. I actually overshot my volume by a couple of quarts (on a half batch), but I'd already compensated with a little extra base grain.

This was almost brown porter color in the carboy. It should lighten up to a nice copper or red, though, I imagine. I hated to send half of it with my friend, having seen the final wort.

One thing I've had to do with this batch, that I've never tried before, is no-chill brewing. When I left for work this morning, it was still pretty warm. I'm assuming that with proper sanitation and an airlock, this will be ok until I can get home to pitch some US-05, right?

 

[burninator]

One thing I've had to do with this batch, that I've never tried before, is no-chill brewing. When I left for work this morning, it was still pretty warm. I'm assuming that with proper sanitation and an airlock, this will be ok until I can get home to pitch some US-05, right?

The answer to this is decidedly yes. On Tuesday afternoon I pitched a slurry of yeast I harvested Monday from a pale ale, and when I got home yesterday, the krausen was high.

This has a great smell from the airlock, already. It's different from the few brews I've done already. The hops and malt combine for an almost tea-like aroma that's really pleasant. I can't wait to bottle this in another week or week and a half.

 

[burninator]

Since I seem to be using this thread as my own personal brewing log, I hope nobody minds of I continue.

This beer fermented vigorously for about three days. When I got home yesterday the krausen had dropped and there has been little to no airlock activity since then. Can this be finished? I planned to give it until the middle of next week before starting to dry hop, but I may go ahead and drop in the pellets. At this rate I could bottle next Friday, 11 days after brewing!

I'm using a bucket fermenter, so I can't see much, but by shining a light on it, I can see that it has lightened considerably, going from a deep brown to more of a reddish color.

I think this is a good candidate for clearing with gelatin. Is anybody doing that with this beer?

 

[burninator]

I went ahead and dry hopped on the first. I cut the hops in half. I'm dealing with a much smaller volume, so I think a quarter ounce of hops (half Cascade/half Willamette) in 5 quarts of beer should be plenty.

Dry hopped for 6 days and then chilled. Added gelatin one day layer.

 

[burninator]

Bottling day was this past Wednesday. You can see from the pics that this beer has a great color, and it's crystal clear. What I wish I could attach here is the incredible aroma of this beer.

The single bottle looks cloudy, but it's just condensation. If you look closely, you can see the light fixture and the room on the other side of the bottle.

 

[burninator]

Thought I'd share the final product.

Thanks, Yooper!

View attachment 1421544806237.jpg

 

[TallDan]

Thought I'd share the final product.

Awesome! I'll pm my address!

 

[burninator]

Awesome! I'll pm my address!

Better hurry. This is getting pretty flat. :-D

 

[burninator]

@Yooper you ever brew this with something other than 04/05? I have a pale ale to bottle this weekend, and this Nottingham cake is just begging to keep brewing.

 

[Yooper]

@Yooper you ever brew this with something other than 04/05? I have a pale ale to bottle this weekend, and this Nottingham cake is just begging to keep brewing.

Over the last few years, I actually stopped using both S04 and S05. S04 is ok at 62 degrees, but otherwise I didn't like the 'tart' flavor I got with it. For S05, it takes forever to clear for me and I've found that I only like it fermented at 66-68 due to some 'peachy' notes.

I almost always use WLP001 for American ales (also a Chico strain, but I like it a lot more than S05), Wyeast 1450 (Denny's Favorite) for many that need a malt balance, and lately I've tried Omega's OLY004 and I like that alot.

I keep S05 on hand, in case of a stuck fermentation as I like to have some dry yeast on hand, but I reach for BRY97 for dry yeast before S05 and haven't used S05 in ages.

 

[burninator]

Over the last few years, I actually stopped using both S04 and S05. S04 is ok at 62 degrees, but otherwise I didn't like the 'tart' flavor I got with it. For S05, it takes forever to clear for me and I've found that I only like it fermented at 66-68 due to some 'peachy' notes.

Interesting. I brewed this last batch with 05. It finished in a couple of days, and it fell out of suspension fairly quickly. I do prefer the way English strains form a compact yeast cake, though.

I'll give it a try with Notty, as it's yielded good results in a couple of pales lately, and I have the luxury of a nice cool garage for fermenting for the next few weeks.

Where are you getting your Omega strains? I haven't seen them locally. Do you prefer these because they're more neutral in this beer?

 

[KVANTAN]

Over the last few years, I actually stopped using both S04 and S05. S04 is ok at 62 degrees, but otherwise I didn't like the 'tart' flavor I got with it. For S05, it takes forever to clear for me and I've found that I only like it fermented at 66-68 due to some 'peachy' notes.



I almost always use WLP001 for American ales (also a Chico strain, but I like it a lot more than S05), Wyeast 1450 (Denny's Favorite) for many that need a malt balance, and lately I've tried Omega's OLY004 and I like that alot.



I keep S05 on hand, in case of a stuck fermentation as I like to have some dry yeast on hand, but I reach for BRY97 for dry yeast before S05 and haven't used S05 in ages.

What temp are you fermenting with BRY97?

 

[jwalk4]

Not to interrupt the discussion, but can anyone suggest a 'toned down' hop amount and schedule for a cleaner tasting, less hop forward, Amber?

 

[Yooper]

Not to interrupt the discussion, but can anyone suggest a 'toned down' hop amount and schedule for a cleaner tasting, less hop forward, Amber?

Maybe try a "Fat Tire" clone?

If this has "toned down" hops, then the grain has to be toned down as well, as it's all about the balance of malt and hops- so it would be an entirely different recipe and not this one.

 

[jwalk4]

Good suggestion. I like Fat Tire, but I always taste a little biscuit/cookie flavor in it each time I have it (can't get it too often in Ontario). I guess I was looking for a sweeter Amber. Less toasty, maybe?

I still like the grain bill though, maybe I'll just shoot for a lower og, and play with it on beersmith when I get home.

Thanks, Yoop.

 

[burninator]

Maybe try a "Fat Tire" clone?

If this has "toned down" hops, then the grain has to be toned down as well, as it's all about the balance of malt and hops- so it would be an entirely different recipe and not this one.

For the record, @jwalk4, I find this to be a very well-balanced beer. I wouldn't dare mess with the boil additions, but if anything, you might mute the hops by fiddling with the dry hops. I have a friend who bottled some of this beer without dry hops, and, while I thought it missed that slight hoppy boost, it still made a very good amber ale.

 

[jwalk4]

Great to hear.

The grain bill looked undeniably tasty. Thanks for the words o' wisdom.

 

[jwalk4]

So here's how it turned out!

After feeling experimental (and having my kegs kick le' bucket in too short a time), I decided to push this brew to the finish line. Grain to Glass in 10 days! Primary for 7 days (held at 68 for 5 days and ramped up to 72 for 2 days), racked to keg and put straight in fridge, as it chilled I cranked my CO2 to 30 PSI, let it sit for 36 hours. This morning I disconnected my CO2, purged the headspace, then dialed it back to 12 PSI and reconnected. After one foamy half-pour, pic above was the result.

As you probably have already noted, my beer is cloudy as hell even though I used a half tab of whirlfloc. So minus aesthetic points for me.

But the flavor? WOW!

Very crisp, very refreshing, very drinkable beer. This recipe is a winner anyway you look at it.

Two notes that I would consider off flavors, in this particular batch.

1) As expected, my batch is a little too bitter for my tastes in an amber despite the fact that I skipped the dry hop (I didn't want direct hop aroma/flavor). After a mouthfull, I get a dry puckering feeling in the back of my jaw/cheeks. However, the bitterness is made more pronounced by the fact that my OG, and my subsequent FG, came out a little lower than anticipated. I moved recently (new water) and am still tinkering with my new setup (new brew kettle - I didn't boil off as much as anticipated). Had I hit my OG I suspect this beer would turn out even more fabulously, a little more sweetness to balance out the bitter.

2) I used US-05 and fermented at 68 beer temp (I have a thermowell). In the aroma and in the flavor I get a touch, just a taaaaaad bit, of sweet bubblegum. Some people might view this as an off flavor, but I friggen' love it! At this level, the residual sweetness and flavor make this beer very very gulp-able and is reminiscent of Le Trois Brassuers' Amber.

 

[jwalk4]

All gone!

 

[jwalk4]

My face.

Every time I get a like from Yooper.

 

[BowAholic]

brewed this today...sort of-
8.5# Pale Ale
2# Vienna
1# Cara 40
1/2# sugar
1/4# Cara 60
1.5 oz Will. @ 60 minutes
1 oz Will. @ 30 min.
1/2 oz Cascade @ 5 min.
1/2 oz. Cascade @ 1 min.
1/2 oz. Will. @ Flameout
LOTS of US-05 slurry @ 67*

1/2 oz Will. and 1/2 oz Cascade Dry Hop @ 5 days before kegging

OG was 1.072

 

[eelgerg]

This is a LATE post, as I brewed this beer about 9 months ago, but I have to post my results.

First of all, I pretty well copied the recipe, with the exception that I used Citra for dry-hopping. After a grassy first month, this beer really hit its stride after a month in the keg. It was WOW good. I really liked the bitterness (I probably used more wilamette than was called for). If anything this could have used a tad more maltiness, but overall I was very very pleased with the end product. Looking to brew a northwest Pale Ale as my next beer, and I considered this to set a high bar to compare against. Too bad I finished my last pint about a week ago!

Thanks Yooper!

 

[Biscuits]

In the original recipe there is a remark about the water profile but no data given. What was the brewing water profile for this beer?