American Amber Ale Caramel Amber Ale

[CanAusBrewer]

Perhaps just needs a little more time in the bottle then. To bad I'm so impatient!

 

[FatDragon]

Anyone ever try this with Fantasia hops? I bought four ounces of these in our Wuhan Yakima Valley group buy because I'm intrigued by the "silky touch of cream and caramel" descriptor. I don't know whether they're talking about flavor or mouthfeel or both, though, so I'm not sure if I should use them for FWH, aroma, or dry hops. There's very little that I can find online; a few Untappd reviews of a pilot brew from Stone, a couple sites that repeat the same description from Yakima Valley's website, and a ton of stuff about Disney's dancing mushrooms.

Thoughts?

 

[jkobst]

Will be brewing this this weekend, can't wait to try it!

 

[FatDragon]

I decided to try undercarbing my last caramel amber - I added enough sugar for roughly 1.6 volumes to get it just past cask levels. Even after finishing at 1 degree plato it tastes sweeter than a more highly-carbed version, but not in a cloying way. If you're into the sweetness of this beer or want to make one for someone who isn't really into most beer but could enjoy something sweeter (in my case, my wife), it's a good way to go.

 

[BowAholic]

brewed this today but had to use 3/4 oz of Nugget @ 45m and 1 oz of Fuggle @ 10 m... It is my mom's birthday and I wanted to make some beer in her memory. I was a bit surprised when my SG came out 1.065... I guess my efficiency was up. The only grain difference was that I added 12 oz. of oats...which I nearly always do.
thanks.

 

[jbb3]

brewed this today but had to use 3/4 oz of Nugget @ 45m and 1 oz of Fuggle @ 10 m... It is my mom's birthday and I wanted to make some beer in her memory. I was a bit surprised when my SG came out 1.065... I guess my efficiency was up. The only grain difference was that I added 12 oz. of oats...which I nearly always do.
thanks.

Looks like mom put a little extra zing into that brew. Looking forward to a report back of the results in 30 days or so...

 

[BowAholic]

Looks like mom put a little extra zing into that brew. Looking forward to a report back of the results in 30 days or so...

will do... it's not my usual brew or hops so I'm interested in the results as well...

 

[BowAholic]

Looks like mom put a little extra zing into that brew. Looking forward to a report back of the results in 30 days or so...

Update-
Took a gravity sample today after it was a month old in the primary...been at 67* since day 1... FG was only 1.019... oh well... more body I guess. I started a cold crash and added some gelatin at 45*...will leave it chilling for a couple of days before bottling...can't wait.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Need to brew this one again. This was my most well-received batch and I think I have almost all the ingredients.

 

[Warbirdbrewer]

I really want to try making this beer but I am not quite to the AG level yet. I did see early in the thread a conversion for extract.
However I don't have the equipment to do a full 5.5 gallon boil. At best I could probably get away with 3-4 gallons.

My question is what adjustments do I need to make to the recipe to do a partial (say 3.5 gallon) boil?

Thanks

Patrick
DFW, TX

 

[vzom]

Found this recipe in the Top 100 HBT Recipes article and was intrigued. Over the past few days I've read through all 79 pages of posts and I will be brewing this up tomorrow.

I see a lot of people substituting the Chinook, but only a couple Willamette subs, usually for Fuggles. I have all the ingredients on hand except Willamette and am looking for a substitution. I have a bunch of Tettnang, which I've seen on several sites listed as a viable Willamette sub. Any reason this may be a bad idea?

Alternatives to the Tettnang for me would be to use Northern Brewer (which I have seen listed as a sub for Chinook, though I'm not sure about the mintiness), or forego the Willamette addition completely and just use Chinook.

I will also be lowering the IBUs slightly, as I prefer a maltier beer, if that should sway my decision in any way.

 

[hmmmbeer]

:rockin:

 

[strahmhv]

Found this recipe in the Top 100 HBT Recipes article and was intrigued. Over the past few days I've read through all 79 pages of posts and I will be brewing this up tomorrow.

I see a lot of people substituting the Chinook, but only a couple Willamette subs, usually for Fuggles. I have all the ingredients on hand except Willamette and am looking for a substitution. I have a bunch of Tettnang, which I've seen on several sites listed as a viable Willamette sub. Any reason this may be a bad idea?

Alternatives to the Tettnang for me would be to use Northern Brewer (which I have seen listed as a sub for Chinook, though I'm not sure about the mintiness), or forego the Willamette addition completely and just use Chinook.

I will also be lowering the IBUs slightly, as I prefer a maltier beer, if that should sway my decision in any way.

Tettnang will be just fine, this is an amber recipe where the malts are showcased. Differences in hops are very difficult to detect at these levels of IBUs. The hops are more a balancing mechanism than flavor component... Im sure youll make a delicious beer with what you have.

 

[pwnshop]

Brewed this up recently and its great. Thanks for the recipe! I made my candi syrup a little too dark but held up to the light it looks really nice

View attachment 1440460846400.jpg

 

[Jsamp]

I'm brewing a variation of this right now. It's been one of my favorites on this forum and haven't made it in awhile. I can't wait until it's kegged. As always the candi syrup tastes amazing.

 

[VegasBrew1]

I've been wanting to brew this for a while. Ordered the DAP months ago, just never brewed it. Making the candy syrup was far easier than I expected. One surprise was the strong ammonia smell coming from the pan. I believe it was right around the 240 or 250F range. It did dissipate prior to flame out, but I was starting to wonder if I'd done something wrong. But the syrup tasted great (good thermometers are worth it), wort was cooled as far as I could go and I'll pitch as soon as it and the yeast slurry are at the correct temps. I hope this is as good as almost all say it is. Cheers.

 

[madscientistbrewNq]

So I pulled a sample around 3 weeks. Pretty bitter... hop aroma and caramel aroma is limited... can anyone provide insight to when the beer matures and is at its best? I was gonna bottle and attend a beer exchange in two weeks but am alittle suspect at the moment.

I wish it had a little more nose.

 

[chuckcomm]

So I pulled a sample around 3 weeks. Pretty bitter... hop aroma and caramel aroma is limited... can anyone provide insight to when the beer matures and is at its best? I was gonna bottle and attend a beer exchange in two weeks but am alittle suspect at the moment.

I wish it had a little more nose.

It gets much better with age. The caramel really came out for me after more than a month. I bottled the first batch and let half the bottles sit for over two months and they were very good.

I kegged a batch last wednesday and it is a bit bitter right now.

 

[madscientistbrewNq]

Thanks Chuck I was expecting a touch more balance. It could be user error for sure but was looking for some reassurance that it would improve. Thanks again...

 

[madscientistbrewNq]

Well I have to say 1 week in the bottle and it's really coming around. It's a touch bitter and I kind of get candied orange peel. Much thanks for the recipe kingbrian. I suspect this will only get better.

 

[BigTerp]

Have brewed this several times over during the past few years. One of my favorite all around beers. Got the best complement of any beers I've brewed from a coworker and fellow homebrewer that I gave a few bottles to when he said "that beer was SO good I made my pregnant wife try some".

 

[markusreadus]

Hey all.

I brewed this a month ago I think, and have tried a few. Mine has come out too hoppy for my taste. This is something that I hope will subdue in time.

How long are you guys waiting to drink this, or did I manage to overhop somehow?

The recipe quotes batch size of 5.5 gallons. Is that the pre-boil volume, or post boil? That might explain things a little.

 

[Doed]

Hey all.

I brewed this a month ago I think, and have tried a few. Mine has come out too hoppy for my taste. This is something that I hope will subdue in time.

How long are you guys waiting to drink this, or did I manage to overhop somehow?

The recipe quotes batch size of 5.5 gallons. Is that the pre-boil volume, or post boil? That might explain things a little.

Batch size refers to the amount going into the fermentor.

I started drinking this about 4 to 5 weeks after brew day.

 

[BigTerp]

I've now made this twice after making the transition from bottling to kegging. I also have started letting my brews sit in primary for only 2 weeks before kegging, as opposed to 4 weeks when I use to bottle. Hasn't been a problem with my pales and IPA's but I've noticed this beer likes to have a little longer in primary and/or bottle/keg conditioning before it gets really good.

Don't rush this one. It's worth the wait!!

 

[BrunDog]

I totally agree. I think all beers, perhaps with the exception of some hop monsters, benefit from aging. I typically primary 3-4 weeks then keg/carbonate for a week then sample and start drinking. Then the beer continues to get better, especially at the one month-ish mark.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Does the 1.050 OG include the 1lb of candi syrup, or is that just from the grains? Thanks.

 

[markusreadus]

OG figures typically include everything, candi sugar/syrup, sugars, grains... anything that constitutes carbohydrates.

By the way, it's worth checking the figures posted here in a brewing software calculator, and if you find problems ask here. Mine didn't add up, so I made an (incorrect) assumption and ended up putting too many hops in the beer. It's drinkable, but no where near as good as I think it was supposed to be. An ale like this is striking a fine balance between bitterness, hop aromas and flavours, and that nice sweet caramel malt taste. Mine came out too hoppy, and it feels 'confused' as a result.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Thanks to the OP

 

[Duitser]

If I have to add 7.15oz of sucrose to bring the carbonation of the 5.5gal batch to 2.5 volumes, does this mean that I have to add 0.16oz of sucrose to each of the 46 (0.12oz) bottles that I can fill from this batch if I want the beer to carbonate in the bottles?

 

[markusreadus]

Yes, the sucrose needs to be added to the beer after fermentation has completed.

You can add it to each bottle individually, however that's very tedious and it can be difficult to measure out - getting this wrong is a good way to end up with exploding bottles.

If you have the equipment, my recommendation would be to drain the beer off the trub at the bottom of the fermenter and into some other fermentation vessel. Dissolve and boil all the sucrose in a little water for a few min, and then chuck that into the second fermenter with the beer. Get a well sanitised paddle or spoon, give it a very good stir to mix the sucrose evenly in the beer, and then bottle. I find that a lot easier than adding to each bottle, and I get more consistent results.

It requires you to have the equipment however. I use an auto-siphon, and you'll need a second fermenter with a tap in it.

Good luck!