American Amber Ale House Amber (AG & Extract)

[gcdowd]

Hey thanks for your input. I'm gonna brew it this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out

 

[gcdowd]

So I brewed this yesterday and fermentation is going well. What's the turn around time on this? My OG was 1.057. I have a large pipeline going so waiting is no big deal

 

[Schlenkerla]

Without looking what's been posted on the the recipe, six weeks would be pretty standard. Three for fermentation and three for carbonation.

Obviously, four weeks is quite doable. The carbonation starts to mellow after a few weeks. I'm assuming that you keg. If you don't I'd stick with six weeks on bottling.

 

[gcdowd]

Ok thanks. Yes, I keg but like I said, it could be a few months until I get to it.

 

[Schlenkerla]

With that kind of delay drinking it, you should be rather pleased when you pull your first sample.

 

[jeezess]

Brewed the AG (BIAB) version of this almost exactly, except for a few variations in the Cascade boiling times. Just took a taste-test last night after two weeks in primary, and WOW! That'll do. PERFECT balance, great Cascade nose, beautiful color. I can't wait to bottle this bad boy.

Any recommendations on corn sugar amounts for bottling this one? Put about 5 oz for 5 gal in the bottling bucket for my last batch (Irish Red, O.G. 1.039) and it was a little too bubbly. I definitely don't want to over-carbonate this one.

 

[gcdowd]

With that kind of delay drinking it, you should be rather pleased when you pull your first sample.

Btw I tapped this about 2 weeks ago and it's nearly gone. Very delicious!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Btw I tapped this about 2 weeks ago and it's nearly gone. Very delicious!

That's why I called it the house Amber...I should always have some on tap or ready to go.

 

[jackstraw0083]

Brewed the extract version of this recipe last weekend, I'm excited to see how it turns out! I brew a lot of hard cider but this is the first beer that I've brewed in quite a while.

Have you heard of people getting high initial SGs with this recipe? I followed the recipe as written, but ended up with an initial SG of 1.080. From what I've read it seems like most people start in the 1.055 - 1.060 range. Also, does it make much of a difference whether you dry-hop with pellet or whole hops? The brew store where I bought my hops only had pellet hops, so this is what I'm using. I'm thinking that I may have to rack it to secondary to clear some of the pellet mush thats developed. It's looking like I may be end up with a very strong, slightly cloudy brew. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Brewed the extract version of this recipe last weekend, I'm excited to see how it turns out! I brew a lot of hard cider but this is the first beer that I've brewed in quite a while.

Have you heard of people getting high initial SGs with this recipe? I followed the recipe as written, but ended up with an initial SG of 1.080. From what I've read it seems like most people start in the 1.055 - 1.060 range. Also, does it make much of a difference whether you dry-hop with pellet or whole hops? The brew store where I bought my hops only had pellet hops, so this is what I'm using. I'm thinking that I may have to rack it to secondary to clear some of the pellet mush thats developed. It's looking like I may be end up with a very strong, slightly cloudy brew. Thanks for the recipe!

The higher gravity can be due to mash efficiency. Factors like quality of grind, temperature, water-grist ratio, water pH, and sparging practices.

Take no offense, the amount you are off seems to be a mistake. My recipe has an assumed 75% efficiency. Were you really much more efficient? If it's a mistake could it be a difference of actual vs planned grain bill weight, or gravity measurement. Did you comp for the temp during the gravity check.

What do you think?

As pellet vs whole leaf. There is not much difference in regards to taste. Pellets tend to drop into the secondary, but not all. Whole leaf tends to float due to air pockets in the leaves. Your yield will be lower with whole leaf due to absorption. Pellets leave debris in your secondary which can affect racking. Whole leaves can clog a racking cane.

Either way take your time racking to your bottling bucket or keg. Don't be greedy and try for every last drop. It will just cause anguish over sediment or a clogged cane.

Cheers

 

[gcdowd]

The higher gravity can be due to mash efficiency. Factors like quality of grind, temperature, water-grist ratio, water pH, and sparging practices.

Take no offense, the amount you are off seems to be a mistake. My recipe has an assumed 75% efficiency. Were you really much more efficient? If it's a mistake could it be a difference of actual vs planned grain bill weight, or gravity measurement. Did you comp for the temp during the gravity check.

What do you think?

I think he brewed the extract version. In that case, my guess is poor mix of wort and top off water.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I think he brewed the extract version. In that case, my guess is poor mix of wort and top off water.

Right, I was thinking LME DME subbing but it is too high for this. You are probably right.

 

[jackstraw0083]

Thanks for the responses. And yes, I did brew the extract version. A bad mix of wort/water was what I would have thought too, except that I started the boil with the recommended volume, added the recommended top-off water volume, and had the final volume at what I was looking for. Who knows. I'll post how it turns out though, it smells great so far.

 

[KepowOb]

Thanks for the responses. And yes, I did brew the extract version. A bad mix of wort/water was what I would have thought too, except that I started the boil with the recommended volume, added the recommended top-off water volume, and had the final volume at what I was looking for. Who knows. I'll post how it turns out though, it smells great so far.

By "a bad mix of wort/water" they aren't talking about the total amounts, but that the water and wort weren't mixed together very well. Water and wort can be quite hard to mix together from what I've been reading, and are pretty much the only reason you'll have a OG that's off the recipe if you brew extract (unless you screw up the volumes obviously).

It won't matter in the end though, it'll all get mixed properly during fermentation.

As far as this recipe goes, I'll think I'll be lining it up for a brew in a month or so. I saw that you'd recommended 3 weeks primary fermentation for the extract recipe... I was just wondering what the optimal bottling time is, in your opinion (I read through a few pages in the thread, but not all of them, sorry if it was mentioned somewhere already). I'll be making this for a party, so I want to make sure it's aged enough in the bottle. I've got plenty of time though, so I'll be able to age it nicely... but since it'll be the first time a lot of people will be sampling my beer, I want to make sure it's as good as it can be . I'm assuming at least three weeks, but let me know if I should aim for 5-6 or even longer, or shorter(?). As I said, I've got the time, I just want to make sure I start it on time.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I normally ferment for six weeks then bottle. Then give four weeks for carbonation. That is temp dependent. Assume about 68F, lower longer, higher shorter. Temps should be for an ale about 65 to 75F during the summer as a general rule of thumb.

 

[KepowOb]

Thanks for the quick reply Schlenkerla, that timeline works out perfectly as I can squeeze in another batch before starting that one in about 4 weeks, I'll let you know how it turns out when all is said and done .

 

[CrookedTail]

I was wondering how this would hold up to hop-bursting. Maybe add all of the hops in the final 15 minutes.

Something like this:

Fermentables
6lbs Amber DME (50% @ start, 50% @ flameout)
.5lbs Crystal 40L
.5lbs Carapils

Hops
2oz 6% AAU Cascades @ 15 min
2oz 6% AAU Cascades @ 5 min

Yeast
Nottingham

That comes out to just under 34 IBUs, and would probably have big time hop flavor. What do you guys think?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Not sure. How does the ibu turn out with that short of a hop schedule?

My guess is its short of the ibu target.

Run the calculation on some brewing software and find out for yourself.

You can use this if you don't have software.

http://hbd.org/recipator/

 

[CrookedTail]

Not sure. How does the ibu turn out with that short of a hop schedule?

My guess is its short of the ibu target.

Run the calculation on some brewing software and find out for yourself.

You can use this if you don't have software.

http://hbd.org/recipator/

With late extract additions, my recipe calculator says the bitterness will be a hair under 34 IBUs.

 

[Schlenkerla]

With late extract additions, my recipe calculator says the bitterness will be a hair under 34 IBUs.

Sounds like a go. Do it man!

Then let us know your results.

 

[CrookedTail]

Sounds like a go. Do it man!

Then let us know your results.

Finally got to trying this. Basically a cross between an existing 15 minute Pale Ale recipe on this site, and your Amber. I used darker crystal malt to make it more of a West Coast Red. It's fermenting right now, and smells awesome!

Here is what I brewed:

Hop Burst Red

Fermentables
6.3 lbs Amber LME (half @ 15, half @ flame out)
1 lb Amber DME (add @ 15)
.5 lbs Crystal 60L
.5 oz debittered black malt

Hops
2 oz Cascade (7.3 AAU) @ 15 min
2 oz Cascade (7.3 AAU) @ 5 min

Yeast
US-05

OG: 1.055
IBU: 38
SRM: 14.8

Not sure, but I may dry hop this. Worried it might be overkill, as all of the late additions will contribute a lot of flavor and aroma.

Like I said, the aroma from the fermenter smells great. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Schlenkerla]

If you have fresh whole leaf hops, cascade. Do the dry hopping. If all you have is pellet then I would say no. Dry hopping with pellets is kind of a pain.

 

[CrookedTail]

If you have fresh whole leaf hops, cascade. Do the dry hopping. If all you have is pellet then I would say no. Dry hopping with pellets is kind of a pain.

I dry hop with pellets all the time. I put a nylon paint strainer over my siphon to filter out the hops.

That said, I have about a pound of fresh cascades that my brother-in-law gave to me from his yard. Maybe I'll use some of those in this beer.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I dry hop with pellets all the time. I put a nylon paint strainer over my siphon to filter out the hops.

That said, I have about a pound of fresh cascades that my brother-in-law gave to me from his yard. Maybe I'll use some of those in this beer.

In that case definitely use the fresh whole hops. It will be awesome....

 

[SevenFields]

A new homebrew store is opening up in town next week and I plan on getting the ingredients to make this.
I like simple good recipes like this!!! Thanks

 

[CrookedTail]

In that case definitely use the fresh whole hops. It will be awesome....

I had used some of those hops in an IPA, but I guess I did a poor job of getting the air out of the bag for the hops that were left over, because when I opened the bag to dry-hop this beer, they looked kind of nasty.

So I ended up going to my LHBS, and they had some fresh Nugget hops from a local farm. I threw two ounces of them into the fermenter.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I had used some of those hops in an IPA, but I guess I did a poor job of getting the air out of the bag for the hops that were left over, because when I opened the bag to dry-hop this beer, they looked kind of nasty.

So I ended up going to my LHBS, and they had some fresh Nugget hops from a local farm. I threw two ounces of them into the fermenter.

If they smell like cheese then they are spoiled. Nugget is not a bad choice. I have done pale ales with nuggets. They have high alpha acids for bittering. They smell pretty good.

 

[CrookedTail]

Finally gave it a try. The combo of amber extract, C60, and pinch of debittered black malt produced a gorgeous red color. And the nugget hops gave it a pleasant nose.

But at the moment, I'd say it's just Ok flavor-wise. It definitely seems more bitter than 35 IBUs. I think it still is a little green, to be honest. Also, there is a very slight yeast flavored aftertaste.

Like I said, it may still be a bit green. So I'm going to give it a few weeks to mellow out.

 

[CrookedTail]

A few weeks later, and this beer has improved quite a bit! The yeasty aftertaste is gone. It is still pretty bitter, but in a good way. And it is crystal clear. It's beautiful-looking.

I'd say this is a definite re-brew. I might try using Amarillo or Centennial hops next time, just to see the difference it makes.

Here's how it looks:

 

[boozecruz]

Been thinking of doing an adaptation of this recipe. I'm not a HUGE fan of bitter, so I did lower the amounts of the hops to fit my taste profile based on what I have had in the past. (going low, can always up them later)

This is also a 3 gallon batch, rather than the 5 gallon batch that is listed. No 5 gallon carboy yet.

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: Nottingham Dry
Yeast Starter: None
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 3
Original Gravity: 1.053 (per BeerSmith)
Final Gravity: n/a
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 11.6 SRM
IBU: 15.1
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): n/a
Additional Fermentation: n/a
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): n/a
Tasting Notes: Unsure as of yet

3.5# Amber DME
8 oz. Crystal 40L
4 oz. Victory
4 oz. CaraPils


.25 oz Cascade (60 mins)
.25 oz Cascade (5 mins)
.25 oz Cascade (Flameout)

30 Minute steep at 155 F


I added the victory to add the extra depth, and I do like a bit of a bready/biscuity taste, just a hint.

Any opinions to this inexperienced brewer as to if this is worth the $20 in supplies and 3 hours of a precious weekend off? (which are 1 out of 3 off is all)

Schif