Easy Drinking Amber/Red = Struggle

[hops2it]

I thought it would be super easy to find a real easy drinking session American amber/red but I'm kinda struggling.

What I'm wanting is a low IBU session type red (say 4.0 - 5.5 % range) that your garden variety BMC drinker would love. Think Centennial Blonde of the red recipes.

I'm just shy of firing up beersmith and making one from scratch but I wanted to see if anybody has any ideas, recipes you've tried, etc.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Go with a 60 shilling scottish and change the yeast to what you like, S-05?

 

[Yooper]

How about the American amber every one knows (and tends to like)? A Fat Tire clone would be a classic choice.

 

[hops2it]

How about the American amber every one knows (and tends to like)? A Fat Tire clone would be a classic choice.

Not sure what it is about Fat Tire but I've never been a fan. Do agree it may be a good choice for the masses though, a lot of people seem to like it. It's been a long time since I've had one but I remember it being a bit musty tasting and a little dry on the finish.

Ideally, I'd like to avoid 2 things primarily...overly dry, overly roasty. And being a pain on my requests...wait may be too late on that last one.

 

[hops2it]

Go with a 60 shilling scottish and change the yeast to what you like, S-05?

Could be a jumping off point if I keep any smoke/roast to a minimum and finish it clean with a 1056 or yeah S-05 or similar.

 

[YeastMode]

Please take this with a grain of salt (or grain?) because I am fairly new to this hobby, but I believe I have been looking for something similar to what you have requested. After reading a few dozen recipes in various locations, I came across two that may fit your request somewhat:

John Palmer's (I believe) Big Basin American Amber Ale - Just google it and the recipe will pop up in basically any version you want (all grain, partial, extract....)

The second one, if you are feeling more adventurous, is the Caramel Amber Ale posed by KingBrianI in this forum: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/caramel-amber-ale-167880/

I plan on brewing a version of the Big basin this weekend, although I have made a few tweaks and will use a different yeast. Good luck.

 

[mister704]

I see you are in IA. I am in VA and I must say, one of the best Reds I have ever tasted was from BJ's Brewery.

If you have anyway of getting the recipe, I would shoot for that. Very very good.

this is it here. http://www.bjsrestaurants.com/bj-beers/beers/bjs-jeremiah-red®

 

[hops2it]

Please take this with a grain of salt (or grain?) because I am fairly new to this hobby, but I believe I have been looking for something similar to what you have requested. After reading a few dozen recipes in various locations, I came across two that may fit your request somewhat:

John Palmer's (I believe) Big Basin American Amber Ale - Just google it and the recipe will pop up in basically any version you want (all grain, partial, extract....)

The second one, if you are feeling more adventurous, is the Caramel Amber Ale posed by KingBrianI in this forum: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/caramel-amber-ale-167880/

I plan on brewing a version of the Big basin this weekend, although I have made a few tweaks and will use a different yeast. Good luck.

I have come across that in my travels as well but at near 50 IBU, it'll be more hops than I'm looking for. Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[hops2it]

I see you are in IA. I am in VA and I must say, one of the best Reds I have ever tasted was from BJ's Brewery.

If you have anyway of getting the recipe, I would shoot for that. Very very good.

this is it here. http://www.bjsrestaurants.com/bj-beers/beers/bjs-jeremiah-red®

^^That's along the lines of what I'm looking for though they label it as an Irish so it may be a little more malt forward than I'm wanting but very close. The 25 IBU is about exactly what I was thinking.

Honesly, Rock Bottom has a nice house red that's pretty much what I'm looking to do. I figured most brewpubs had an easy drinking house red like this but maybe its not as common as I thought.

 

[hops2it]

Ok, what do you guys think of this:

 

[Rivenin]

thats a lb and a half of caramel malt. seems a touch high, however, with ambers/reds, it probably is to style.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/ is the place for "american ales" on this forum which does have a few reds and ambers as well. there are quite a few good'uns in there... i'd lend a hand if i could, but i'm not a huge fan of either so i've never brewed them.

 

[Malticulous]

Your recipe looks good. I'd not use a 30 minute hop addition. I like 1 oz at 15 min and .5 oz at flame out. Some other malt to add malt complexity other than crystal malt would be good. Munich is nice. I use some Melanoidin in mine. If you want red I think it needs to be 14-15 srm. I have a Red in my recipe pulldown that does well with BMC drinkers and craft drinkers too.

 

[BrewerDan1]

This my House Amber. Easy to drink and appreciated by many.

Title: Amber Ale (modified 6-7-14)

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: American Amber Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6 gallons

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 5.09%
IBU (tinseth): 35.5
SRM (daniels): 14.04

FERMENTABLES:
7 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (67.6%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 60L (9.7%)
1 lb - Dry Malt Extract - Light (9.7%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 80L (4.8%)
0.5 lb - American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt) (4.8%)
4.2 oz - American - Caramel / Crystal 10L (2.5%)
1.6 oz - American - Chocolate (1%)

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Chinook, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 20.69
0.5 oz - US Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.1, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 8.75
0.5 oz - US Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 8.1, Use: Boil for 12 min, IBU: 6.06

Yeast: WLP001