American Amber Ale Caramel Amber Ale

[KingBrianI]

Can this beer be made using a homebrewers candi syrup, available at brewers supply stores? I'm with you, brother, on the balance thing; nothing like a full malty ale with that hoppy counterpoint !

Can I use a candi syrup available at my homebrew store for this?

Is it too early to relax and have a homebrew? Yes, you can use the commercial stuff.

 

[hodge]

Need some advice... my two stable temp options are:

1) 54-ish

or

2) 68

I think I may be able to get 05 to go at 54, it just might be pushing it too far. On the other hand, 68 might give me too much flavor from the yeast. It is currently in the 54 range, should I go with 68?

 

[KingBrianI]

Need some advice... my two stable temp options are:

1) 54-ish

or

2) 68

I think I may be able to get 05 to go at 54, it just might be pushing it too far. On the other hand, 68 might give me too much flavor from the yeast. It is currently in the 54 range, should I go with 68?

Keep it at 54. US-05 works well at lower temps and should be ok.

 

[JGarner]

FWIW...I fermented my last batch at 58, and I definitely felt like I picked up some `peachiness` from the yeast. With that being said, I have had a couple people tell me it was my best work so far..go figure

 

[pksmitty]

I brewed this one several months ago. One of my best beers to date. When my godson (whose father has recently started brewing) tasted it, his immediate reaction was "Oh my god!"

I think I might brew this again tomorrow. It's a definite keeper.

 

[Al_B_brewin1]

So i'm attempting this as the third batch of brew ive ever made. I using the extract version you mentioned on page 18. Im making the candi syrup tonight and will be brewing tomorrow morning. Ive read this entire thread over the last two days and im super excited about it, idk how im going to wait till its finished! I do have one question, have you tried making the sugar #5 where you bring it back to 290 a second time? and if so how did that turn out? Thanks for all the info and this site is the best!

 

[KingBrianI]

So i'm attempting this as the third batch of brew ive ever made. I using the extract version you mentioned on page 18. Im making the candi syrup tonight and will be brewing tomorrow morning. Ive read this entire thread over the last two days and im super excited about it, idk how im going to wait till its finished! I do have one question, have you tried making the sugar #5 where you bring it back to 290 a second time? and if so how did that turn out? Thanks for all the info and this site is the best!

I've made #5 several times, but have only used it in Belgian Strong Dark Ales. It has a more raisiny, dark fruit character than the single-cooked candi syrup and less of the caramelly flavor. It is also much darker in color. I think the single-cooked syrup is better for this recipe, but feel free to experiment. Having said that though, you may want to try the original before changing things to see how the changes effect the final product.

Cheers!

 

[lschiavo]

I just stumbled upon this recipe. I have always loved a nice malty amber but never been able to get quite the results I was looking for. This sounds like just the ticket. I never considered syrup.

I wish I could brew it right now! It will be one of my next two batches though. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Al_B_brewin1]

King,
Im definatley going to make it according to your recipe first, and i think even make it a few times to see if i can easily replicate it. I also cant wait to attempt it as an AG when i get to that point. The syrup i made last night came out great so ill report back later to let ya know how the brew went!

Ok so the brew went off without a hitch, the only thing is that I had an OG of 1.059. Could that be cuz I only did a 3gl partial boil with DME and took the reading before i realized i needed to add about a half gallon more top off water to reach 5 gl? Thanks

Al

 

[hodge]

Just tasted this about 4 weeks into primary and it's great. Definitely has a Chinook'd flavor and aroma to it and has a nice malt backbone as well. More hop flavor and bitterness than I anticipated but great balance overall.

Looks like a re-do to me!

 

[hmmmbeer]

I brewed this back in Nov. and loved it so much I had to brew it again! However, I decided to up the grain and hop bill. I up'd the hop bill the first time thinking my packs of hops I bought was only 1oz bags, turns out they were 2oz bags. So here is what my recipe turned out to be and I'm brewing it (10 gal batch).
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.63 lb 2 Row (3.0 SRM) Grain 69.84 %
4.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 21.22 %
2.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 42.7 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
2.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
2.00 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 8.94 %
2 Pkgs Safale American (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale

 

[jtupper]

Brewed this up yesterday with a few changes...

7.5# 2-Row
1# C60

Other than that it's 1.050 5G happily bubbling away in tue firm at 64°.


Gonna be hard to wait a whole month!

 

[GrainWhisperer]

I did a 2.5 gallon batch of this yesterday.
I halved the grain bill but maintained A WHOLE POUND OF 45* CANDI SYRUP.

Yes, I'm crazy like that.

 

[Bmorebrew]

Just checking in to say I didn't brew this today.

Actually, I asked my mother in law to bring me a bunch of ingredients when she came from Colombia this past December, one of which was panela (aka piloncillo) - basically an unrefined and packed cane sugar. I've been looking and looking for something to put this stuff in, and this was the recipe that I used to do it. Everything stayed the same as the original, except I had to sub the Chinook for Simcoe.

I try to only buy hops by the pound to save money, and I had Simcoe on hand, and I think even OP said that would be the closest.

Technically, not the same beer, but this is what I used as inspiration, and it seems pretty similar.

 

[Al_B_brewin1]

Ok so I brewed this as per the recipe, waited a month on primary then a week on secondary. I bottled it the other day, but the sample I tasted seemed sour? This is only my fourth brew and all my others have come out just fine. Can someone tell me is it supposed to be this way? Will it get better after bottle conditioning? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Bigapinnc]

Ok so I really really want to brew this up. According to what I have seen, this beer is sure perfection and I like that. Ok so here is my deal, I have been in this long time search for a Carmely goodness that I can make all the time, and then come the holidays, spice It up and even add pumpkin to make a holiday brew. I feel like this has the perfect structure to do that. What is your thoughts?

 

[lschiavo]

Just checking in to say I didn't brew this today.

Actually, I asked my mother in law to bring me a bunch of ingredients when she came from Colombia this past December, one of which was panela (aka piloncillo) - basically an unrefined and packed cane sugar. I've been looking and looking for something to put this stuff in, and this was the recipe that I used to do it. Everything stayed the same as the original, except I had to sub the Chinook for Simcoe.

I try to only buy hops by the pound to save money, and I had Simcoe on hand, and I think even OP said that would be the closest.

Technically, not the same beer, but this is what I used as inspiration, and it seems pretty similar.

Your avatar sucks. I thought I was drunker than I am

 

[rwagner23]

Finished brewing this beer on this gorgeous day in MD! Thanks for the recipe!

 

[sleighdoh]

Hey everyone. Im new to all grain and hoping to make this my first go at it. What size batch is the ingredient list for? Also, where do you get your strike water temp, volume, and sparge water temp and pre-boil volume? Is everyone using software to get this info? Did not see it in the recipe. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[hmmmbeer]

The original post says it is a 5.5 gallon batch but often that means that is how much they fermented to come to a 5 gal. finished product (after losing volume to trub and you will never get every ounce of liquid and keep it clear).
I get my water temps and such from the recipe or from my brewing software. I love my beer smith program because I like to adjust my IBU’s, color and final gravity from the original recipes I find on here (or ones I throw together from knowing what hops make what aroma’s and yeasts, etc). I wish I’d had this program years ago!
Bit of advice from my first brew that I had fails on… use a small plate or something to run the strike water onto your grains so you don’t disturb the grain filter and make sure you have more water then you HAVE TO HAVE so your not tempted to press your grains for that lost wort held prisoner within the grains LOL. Hope this helped, happy brewing!

 

[sleighdoh]

Thanks hmmm beer. I downloaded beer smith last night and haven't had much time to play around with it yet, but looks pretty sweet at first glance. I built a 10 gallon MT with SS false bottom and a pex sparge arm in the top for fly sparging. Looking forward to trying it out!

 

[mcbethenstein]

Gonna brew this one in the next few weeks. I bought ingredients for a stout for my BF, but he hasn't been in a stout mood. So, I was left behind with 6 lbs MO, 2 lbs flaked barley, 1 lb roasted barley, a lb of willamette hops and a tube of san diego super yeast witha bestby date of April 4th! Well I am content to sit on ingredients, I won't let $7 of yeast go to waste, so in searching, this seems like the perfect recipe. I was going to create a new style, and call it the yankee pub brown ale... And make it like a English brown, but with American yeast and dry hopping. But a lot of my experiments go wrong, and the promise of caramel got to me. So, today I made the syrup. I actually made a 270 & a 290. They looked great, but after pouring into the jar to store for a bit, the whole thing turned solid. KB, do you have any solutions on that? Did I do anything wrong? They both taste great. Before I had decided on this recipe, I had bought 2 lbs more of MO and only 1lb crystal 80... So I also stewed up my own crystal malt tonight from 1 lb of MO. I have no idea of the degree, there was quite a bit of variation in the grain, so I'd average a guess at 100 L. After it mellows for a few days, I will compare it to the 80L and see where it is. If close I'll use it for the other 1/2 lb, but if not and it's higher, maybe 1/4 lb. I was also thinking of blending the 2 syrups... Anyone have any thoughts on that?
So at this point my recipe looks like this:
7 # Maris otter
1 # crystal 80
1/2 # homemade crystal 100?
1 # candi syrup (3/4 lb 290 & 1/4 lb 270)
1 oz chinook hops 11.3% AA (3/4 oz 60 min, 1/4 oz 0 min)
1 oz willamette hops (I have a lb, may dry hop with this too)
WLP 090 San Diego Super Yeast

Do you think this recipe will turn out good with the minor substitutions...MO, homemade crystal, and scaling back to about 30 IBUs?

p.s. I plan on making granola with the extra flaked barley. I'll let the roasted barley chill in my brew warehouse that is getting kinda full!

 

[KingBrianI]

I don't see any problem with those subs. That should be a good beer, and it will be cool to try your homemade crystal malt in it. I don't know why the syrup would have seized up. Maybe it didn't fully invert for some reason? And you added water at the end to bring the temp down to 240, right?

 

[mcbethenstein]

Yep. The syrup was amazing looking going into the jar. Dead on for color, great taste. I'll have to do a little research, and see if I can't figure out what went wrong. I have plenty of stuff to make more, so I might try to see if I can liquify it.

Edit: I stirred the pot... And maybe boiled off too long. I think I'll experiment with heating the syrup up slowly, then carefully add a bit more water... Might help. If not, $1.25 lost.

 

[Jester]

Has anyone tried this with the hard amber candi?

 

[lschiavo]

Yep. The syrup was amazing looking going into the jar. Dead on for color, great taste. I'll have to do a little research, and see if I can't figure out what went wrong. I have plenty of stuff to make more, so I might try to see if I can liquify it.

Edit: I stirred the pot... And maybe boiled off too long. I think I'll experiment with heating the syrup up slowly, then carefully add a bit more water... Might help. If not, $1.25 lost.

I had the same problem. I added back some water and all was good.

 

[mlevings12]

Looks awesome. Question: how is the candi syrup different from a store bought version?

 

[KingBrianI]

Looks awesome. Question: how is the candi syrup different from a store bought version?

way cheaper!

 

[mcbethenstein]

I had the same problem. I added back some water and all was good.

I added a bit of water and heated it in the microwave. At 30 - 60 second intervals, and broke up the chunks. Brought it to boiling in the glass jar, then left it alone to cool in the counter. I added a bit too much water and it was thin like coffee syrup. After it sat in the fridge overnight it was the right thickness, like ice cream syrup.

 

[mychalg9]

I am intrigued by this recipe. My LHBS doesnt have Chinook hops though, can I sub Nugget? They dont have the DAP either so I'll need to check around for it. Very excited to try this beer.