Crystal 150L substitution in American Amber Ale

[Griffin495]

I'm going to be brewing up the American Amber Ale in Brewing Classic Styles. While getting my grains at the LHS, I realized that they did not have Crystal 120L. They had 80 and 150. I grabbed the 150, but now I'm wondering if that was the right choice and what kind of changes I can expect. It's only 0.5lbs in a batch that has 12lbs of grain, so its only like 4%. I know, I know....it'll still make beer, it'll probably be good, RDWHAHB. Plugged into Brewer'sFriend, my grain bill still matches up with the style and I'm not freaking out about it, just curious now how the different crystal will affect taste as compared to the original recipe if anybody has any idea. Thanks in advance.

 

[thehaze]

It will definitely impact teh final colour, which will be darker. I used English Crystal 160L for a few brews. It does add a bit of burnt sugar/caramel, toffee and a slight toasty/roasty notes, but nowhere near roasted/chocolate malts.

The beer will turn out fine, but I cannot comment on whether you will like it. Just wait and see. Cheers.

 

[beermanpete]

Colorwise you could use 0.25 LB of each (80 and 150) and get pretty close. I suspect the flavor will not be so forgiving. You will likely get a good beer either way.

 

[Griffin495]

Thanks guys. This was actually brewed on 7/16/18. Appears that fermenting is done, but I'm going to let it sit until 8/4 or 5 till I bottle it and let the yeast clean up after itself.

I just realized yesterday that all the recipes in Brewing Classic Styles use rager for IBUs and not tinseth, so its going to end up a little hoppier than the recipe calls for since I plugged in my hops to reach 35 tinseth instead of 35 rager, which will put it at 38.67 rager. So a little darker and a little hoppier, but it still falls within the guidelines. Still excited to try it. Live and learn and brew again another day.

 

[thehaze]

You will get more malt presence, so the slightly higher IBUs will definitely balance the overall feel of the beer. Cheers.