American Amber Ale Caramel Amber Ale

[95civiclx]

i brewed this and everyone loved it, changed the hops to cluster but it was still great. i was asked if i could make an imperial version of this... how does 14lbs of 2 row and 2lbs of the crystal 80L and a bit more of the candi sugar sound so its still high on alcohol but that's not all you taste.

 

[KingBrianI]

i brewed this and everyone loved it, changed the hops to cluster but it was still great. i was asked if i could make an imperial version of this... how does 14lbs of 2 row and 2lbs of the crystal 80L and a bit more of the candi sugar sound so its still high on alcohol but that's not all you taste.

To make an imperial version I would bump up the base malt but leave the crystal 80 at 1.5 lbs. I'd also bump the syrup up to 2 lbs. Increase the hops a bit to keep everything in balance. I think that would make a beer that tastes great fresh when the hop still shine, but may be very interesting if left to age a while as well.

 

[Old_E]

Just wanted to check back in and say how great this beer came out. I mashed a little higher and used that Dusseldorf yeast. Came out crisp and clean. I have nothing to compare it to but the IBU's were perfect for me, and the aroma, flavor and color are amazing. Far surpassed my expectations.

Thanks KBI! I will be brewing this again. Also I think this would make a great start for a winter brew. Maybe a little more hops and a little higher gravity, some vanilla?

 

[KingBrianI]

Thanks KBI! I will be brewing this again. Also I think this would make a great start for a winter brew. Maybe a little more hops and a little higher gravity, some vanilla?

Hmm, higher gravity, hops, maybe 2-4 oz of pale chocolate malt, and I think you would have an excellent winter warmer.

 

[JeffB]

Just got my ingredients today, will be making steam this weekend!

 

[Old_E]

Hmm, higher gravity, hops, maybe 2-4 oz of pale chocolate malt, and I think you would have an excellent winter warmer.

Exactly. Pale chocolate is a good idea.

I will probably wait until next year. By the time I got that carbed up, it will be 91* in the shade here.

 

[JeffB]

My very first all grain batch of this is in the barrel and Im very happy to report I hit both my OG and my 5.5 gallons. AG isn't as hard as I thought!


She's bubbling already at 2 hours, I went with WL029 Kolsch.

Thanks KBI this is a great thread and Im hoping my try is a good one.

 

[JGarner]

I bottled a batch of this that I brewed a few weaks ago. I ended up with a FG of 1.006. I hit the OG on the nose as well as my mash temp. Has anyone else experienced this or know what would cause it? (The low FG) Btw, it was still the best flat beer Ive ever tasted.

 

[TimothyChurch]

6 glasses in and I have nothing but praise for this beer. The wonderful hoppy flavor with the finish of caramel. This amber elixir shall bring happiness to everyone who enters my home.

 

[KingBrianI]

I bottled a batch of this that I brewed a few weaks ago. I ended up with a FG of 1.006. I hit the OG on the nose as well as my mash temp. Has anyone else experienced this or know what would cause it? (The low FG) Btw, it was still the best flat beer Ive ever tasted.

Are you sure your thermometer is correct? It sounds like you might have mashed low.

6 glasses in and I have nothing but praise for this beer. The wonderful hoppy flavor with the finish of caramel. This amber elixir shall bring happiness to everyone who enters my home.

That's awesome, glad you like it!

 

[JeffB]

Almost at day seven, The first two days this made some obnoxious sulfur gas. The room it is in smelled like a wet f@rt for the whole time

Cant wait to taste this one, its clearing now and the yeasties are going to sleep.

 

[KingBrianI]

Haha, I'm pretty sure that is normal for kolsch yeast. Definitely let us know how it turns out with that yeast.

 

[JeffB]

Ok, Since I just upgraded my account here and can now post pictures I figured, what the heck lets post a picture. I pulled a sample for testing, I can see the yeast in the carboy are still slowly swimming around munching on this goodness but a little bit in my diet is OK.

The color is a nice amber, the smell is very nice although different. I can defiantly smell the yeast but Im still picking up hints of the raisin smell from the DAP/Sugar mix. I cant really taste this raisiny essence but its hint is there and is going to add a very nice touch to the finished product if it survives another few weeks in primary. Taste wise it is good, hops are there for sure but are nicely subdued by the slightly sweet maltiness Im getting and I think the raisin smell is helping mask some of the young bitterness even though there is really no hint of flavor form the 290 degree sugar mix. Overall its well balanced yet yeasty and green at this point. I think this one is going to be very nice when its done cooking. I fermented low so far, about 63-64. My gravity right now is 1.010 so Im close to finished but she needs to rest a bit longer.

 

[tieflyer]

Would anyone be willing to swap a bottle of this for one of my ipa's? I would love to try one out to see if I should try making it again. It was my second batch ever, and I screwed up the mash temps royally!

 

[jm195907]

so i've had this in primary for 4 weeks, carbed it in a tap-a-draft for 3 weeks and tried my first glass today. I was worried about the caramel flavor as I had no thermometer when I was making the syrup, but it turned out great. The initial taste is great, but it's lacking something on the back end, if that makes any sense. any ideas? how is it supposed to finish? great beer either way.

 

[JGarner]

Well I finally made it 3 weeks in the bottle. This is by far the best beer I have made and is tops as far as an amber goes. I had some Full Sail amber in the fridge to compare it to and this is better! I went to a party the night after I tested it and they were serving fat tire...good...but this is better. Thanks for the recipe, it will be a regular. I find it to have a nice mellow hoppy finish with just a trace of raisiny caramel flavor at the end..very subtle. As far as making the candy syrup without a thermometer goes, I would guess that you probably didn't get the temps high enough to bring out the caramel flavors. I could not believe how long it took after the boil started to reach 290 degrees.
Cheers to King Brian

 

[skelrad]

I brewed a 2.5 gallon batch of this, left it in the primary for 3 weeks, and just opened the first one after 3 weeks in the bottle. While it's got pretty good flavor, I'm definitely not getting any of the caramel flavors coming through. I can smell a slight sweetness, and get just a touch of sweetness at the finish, but not the complex caramel flavor I was hoping for. I'll give it some more time in the bottle, but i wonder if my thermometer was off and I just didn't get the candi hot enough.

 

[carrotmalt]

I'll give it some more time in the bottle, but i wonder if my thermometer was off and I just didn't get the candi hot enough.

How did the color compare to the examples below? Mine comes out pretty dang dark at 290. Pretty much looks black in the pot. I bet the flavors will continue to develop over time even if you didn't quite hit 290.

Here's a pic of the color stages.

 

[dale1038]

I brewed this 2 months ago and it's hitting on all cylinders now! Great Amber!

My caramel syrup came out to about the 270 degree color. Lighter than what the recipe calls for but was still very nice. I'm going to try and get it darker next time. The caramel really didn't start shining through until the 6 week mark or so.

I also dry hopped this with .5oz of Chinook. It has faded over time and I don't think it was really necessary. I think you want to smell the caramel with the hops in the background, not the other way around.

By far the best American style Amber I've made! Thanks and cheers!

 

[jm195907]

it really is a great brew. i've given mine a few more weeks and it's getting really good.

 

[skelrad]

Tried a sample after 3 weeks in the bottle (after 3 weeks in primary). It was okay, but nothing to write home about. I was surprised that it tasted a lot like my first basic all extract amber ale. So I gave it another week...it's a different beer now! I'm amazed at the difference. There is a slightly sweet, kind of fruity aroma to it, and a fantastic finish with just the right amount of hoppiness. I screwed up the caramel and didn't get it quite dark enough, so I'm not getting much in terms of that flavor, but it still adds a very nice complexity to the finish. All in all, this is a great beer after it has aged for a little while. I know it's hard to leave a few in the case, but if you're patient and wait on this, you'll be amazed how good it gets over time. This was my first AG brew. I will never go back to the simple taste of extract ever again. BIAB is so easy that there is little reason to.:rockin:

 

[jackers252]

Finally this beer is on tap. I did a two month primary and almost two weeks on the CO2. This beer is a winner, no doubt. I gotta say, it's one of my favorite beers I've made yet. It will be a staple in my 6 tap keezer.

 

[drkaeppel]

This beer looked absolutely delicious and I just finished brewing it.

I wanted something slightly heavier, so I added an additional 1.5 lbs of 2-row pale malt. Final gravity was 1.060. The color is really nice! My wort was already very clear going into the fermentor (minus the floaties, which settle quickly anyways).

Cannot wait to try the final product!

 

[DrawTap88]

This beer looked absolutely delicious and I just finished brewing it.

I wanted something slightly heavier, so I added an additional 1.5 lbs of 2-row pale malt. Final gravity was 1.060. The color is really nice! My wort was already very clear going into the fermentor (minus the floaties, which settle quickly anyways).

Cannot wait to try the final product!

You won't be disappointed. I need to brew this again.

 

[IndyAles]

Just made this today. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

[barrog]

Just made this one again. It's on the gas carbing. This time around I droped the finishing hops to half ounce each. Seems to fit better with my tasts. This beer goes to show that you don't need a long and complicated malt and hops bill to make a wonderful beer. This will end up being my house ale for sure

 

[ballz50401]

Has anyone tried adding the candi syrup @ flameout instead of 15 minutes left in the boil. I would think that this would increase the aromatics of the caramel and increase the perception of caramel in the overall beer. I am definitely going to give this recipe a try this summer. Thanks for the recipe. The pictures posted of this brew look amazing.

 

[bovinejony]

Hey Brian,

I am a brew noob and am limited in the equipment department to partial mashes. This recipe looks totally exciting and I would love to brew this up, especially trying out the Candi syrup for the first time.

Do you have any recommendations for how to turn this recipe into a partial mash? Any compensatory malts to add to make up for the use of extracts?

Thanks so much for posting this recipe, look forward to working a version of it out.

 

[KingBrianI]

Has anyone tried adding the candi syrup @ flameout instead of 15 minutes left in the boil. I would think that this would increase the aromatics of the caramel and increase the perception of caramel in the overall beer. I am definitely going to give this recipe a try this summer. Thanks for the recipe. The pictures posted of this brew look amazing.

After all the boiling it takes to make the syrup, I don't think 15 minutes in the kettle will drive off any aromas that are in there. But feel free to experiment and add it at different times. You may find something that works really well.

Hey Brian,

I am a brew noob and am limited in the equipment department to partial mashes. This recipe looks totally exciting and I would love to brew this up, especially trying out the Candi syrup for the first time.

Do you have any recommendations for how to turn this recipe into a partial mash? Any compensatory malts to add to make up for the use of extracts?

Thanks so much for posting this recipe, look forward to working a version of it out.

This is a very easy recipe to make with extract and steeping grains. Steep the 1.5 lbs of crystal malt and use either 4.2 lbs of light DME or 5.25 lbs of light LME in place of the two row malt. Everything else in the recipe should be the same. If you're not doing a full boil, you may want to increase the first wort hops slightly to get the same bitterness. It's that easy.

 

[ballz50401]

After all the boiling it takes to make the syrup, I don't think 15 minutes in the kettle will drive off any aromas that are in there. But feel free to experiment and add it at different times. You may find something that works really well..

Ok, thanks for the quick reply. I was just curious because I've heard that flameout additions work well with honey. I've never used candi syrup before. Thanks again for the recipe.