American Amber Ale Caramel Amber Ale

[mychalg9]

Also I am still a noob at this: My LBHS has Rahr 2-row and Rahr Pale Ale malt. Which is the one I want to use?

 

[KingBrianI]

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.

Also I am still a noob at this: My LBHS has Rahr 2-row and Rahr Pale Ale malt. Which is the one I want to use?

I wouldn't use nugget but if it's all you can find then it will work. Simcoe, Centennial and Cascade would all be OK though. You should be able to get the chinook and DAP online pretty easily if you can't get it locally.

Either the 2-row or pale ale malt will work for this recipe. The 2-row will be a bit lighter with a touch less malt flavor and the pale ale malt will be slightly darker and have a bit more toasty, malty flavor. Use whichever sounds better to you.

 

[GrainWhisperer]

KB: This beer is fantastic. Thanks for the recipe.
I did a 2.5 gallon batch halving your recipe (with a full pound of store-bought amber candi syrup because...well what else would i do with the leftover half pound?) and it turned out great.
My fifth batch of beer and head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Thanks!

 

[kapbrew13]

My attempt.. Does the color look ok?

 

[Mb2658]

My attempt.. Does the color look ok?

Looks about right to me

 

[BrewPilot74]

I just tried this beer. I think it's the best one I've brewed. Great balance, beautiful color and crystal clear. I think I've found my house ale. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

 

[hmmmbeer]

Looks about right to me

Agree, color looks good to me too. I've made about 20-30 gallons of this beer and I'll keep making it every time I get close to being out! AMAZING beer!

 

[jgilmour]

making a 3gal BIAB tonight!

 

[kapbrew13]

Thanks!! Can't wait to try it.

 

[egravy81]

OK I tasted my first bottles last week after only one week of conditioning and tried one today (two weeks' conditioning). Delicious! Great recipe,

 

[Thedagem]

So I tried to use beersmith to make this into a 10 gal recipe. I just got the program and am not sure I did it right. So I've posted what I got below, Just wanted to see if it looks right to you.
1.25 Chinook at 60min
1.75 Chinook
2oz Willamette
2lbs of the candi sugar
2.6 oz crystal 80l
13.5 lbs of two row

Can't wait to brew this. Thanks for your help.

 

[KingBrianI]

So I tried to use beersmith to make this into a 10 gal recipe. I just got the program and am not sure I did it right. So I've posted what I got below, Just wanted to see if it looks right to you.
1.25 Chinook at 60min
1.75 Chinook
2oz Willamette
2lbs of the candi sugar
2.6 oz crystal 80l
13.5 lbs of two row

Can't wait to brew this. Thanks for your help.

I'm guessing you mean 2.6 lbs of crystal 80, not 2.6 oz, right? Otherwise it looks close.

 

[Thedagem]

HA, yeah, that's exactly what I meant. It wouldn't be quite 2 pounds of candi sugar either, the original recipe is for 5.5 gallons. So I'm guessing it would be more like 1 pound 13 oz or so. Anything else you noticed that I should change?

 

[KingBrianI]

HA, yeah, that's exactly what I meant. It wouldn't be quite 2 pounds of candi sugar either, the original recipe is for 5.5 gallons. So I'm guessing it would be more like 1 pound 13 oz or so. Anything else you noticed that I should change?

I noticed the flameout addition ratio of chinook and willamette aren't 1:1 in your version. Shouldn't make a huge difference, though.

 

[Thedagem]

Yeah, I don't know why, but beersmith never makes the recipe 1:1 when you double it from 5 to 10 gallons. Should I just forgo what the program says and just double everything?

 

[KingBrianI]

Yeah, I don't know why, but beersmith never makes the recipe 1:1 when you double it from 5 to 10 gallons. Should I just forgo what the program says and just double everything?

Yeah, you'll probably come in over gravity and under bitter though. It's hard to say without knowing your methods. Do you aim for 10 gallons of finished beer, or 10 gallons in the fermenter, meaning that you really only have like 9 by the time it's ready to drink? If you aim for 10 gallons of finished beer, I'd say double the recipe and don't look back. The recipe is for 5.5 gallons so that I get about 5 gallons of beer in the keg.

 

[hodge]

Just bottled my second attempt at this, first with temp controls. This has been in the bottle for a week after two weeks in primary and even though it seems impossibly early, it might be the best beer I've brewed so far.

Lots of caramel and fruit in the nose and a nice balance of hops and malt, finishes clean, and a great house beer.

I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not to leave in the bottle for a little while longer.

 

[Lycan]

Just made this over the weekend. I used 9 lbs of 2 row to up my numbers because I feel that my mash has a low efficiency. I ended up hitting 1.040 off the mash tun and 1.060 after cool down in the ferment bucket. The syrup was super easy to make. I have half a corny left of wee heavy and just filled my other with cream ale so this will have plenty of time to clear out.

 

[BarronVonBrew]

I just opened up a bottle of this last night and it's the best beer I've ever brewed (only my 6th homebrew, so really it's not that much of an accolade, but still amazing). I upped the finishing hops, and increased the grain bill by a bit just to get a little bigger flavor and aroma and to also compensate for my inefficiency. King Brian, thank you!

 

[KingBrianI]

I just opened up a bottle of this last night and it's the best beer I've ever brewed (only my 6th homebrew, so really it's not that much of an accolade, but still amazing). I upped the finishing hops, and increased the grain bill by a bit just to get a little bigger flavor and aroma and to also compensate for my inefficiency. King Brian, thank you!

You're quite welcome!

 

[BigTerp]

KingBrian - what was your efficiency for the original recipe?

 

[KingBrianI]

KingBrian - what was your efficiency for the original recipe?

Probably 75%. I'll have to check the Beersmith file when I get home.

 

[davis119]

ok so im going to get the stuff for this today...... my brother-in-law will be doing a partial of this and wants to rack it over apples any suggestions on that ?

 

[KingBrianI]

ok so im going to get the stuff for this today...... my brother-in-law will be doing a partial of this and wants to rack it over apples any suggestions on that ?

If it were me and I wanted to do the caramel apple thing, I'd make this beer as listed and also make a cider. Then mix at serving. That way you don't have a keg of apple beer that no one likes, but you can still mix them if you like that kind of thing.

 

[davis119]

If it were me and I wanted to do the caramel apple thing, I'd make this beer as listed and also make a cider. Then mix at serving. That way you don't have a keg of apple beer that no one likes, but you can still mix them if you like that kind of thing.

Lol ill mention that too him..... would apple juice be a better option?

 

[KingBrianI]

Lol ill mention that too him..... would apple juice be a better option?

I'd recommend against adding any kind of fruit product. If you guys choose to go that route, I can't vouch for the results!

 

[davis119]

I'd recommend against adding any kind of fruit product. If you guys choose to go that route, I can't vouch for the results!

Ok. Im doing the original all recipe. How important is the FWH? And if I don't do it that way do I have to up the additions at all?

 

[KingBrianI]

Ok. Im doing the original all recipe. How important is the FWH? And if I don't do it that way do I have to up the additions at all?

If you don't FWH, you'll get less IBUs, less hop flavor, and a slightly harsher bitterness. You can up the bittering addition to get the IBUs right, but you still won't have the hop flavor. If you're doing a partial mash, just add the FWH after the mash while the wort is heating.

 

[KCBigDog]

This looks awesome, and is on my to do list!

 

[emprbasist]

Nevermind! I figured out what I screwed up.

Can't wait to try and brew this tomorrow.

One question.. did anyone try using whirlflock at the last 15 of boil instead of the gelatin prior to kegging?