American Amber Ale Zach & Jack's African Amber

[Bitchin]

Keeping this thread alive. I happened to notice on Mac & Jack's website, which really didn't seem to have too much on it back in the day but it looks like they've re-vamped. For this brew they list Cascade and Nugget hops, anyone tried using Nugget as the bittering over Centennial?


https://www.macandjacks.com/africanamber/

The small amount of bittering hop used shouldn't make a significant difference. You'd probably need a side by side taste test to really tell. If you do try it, let us know how Nugget works out. Cheers!

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

I haven't had the real deal in a very long time since we moved out of state, but I figured if we're trying to get close it might be worth a shot to use the same hop profile. Looking to brew this up soon either way and I'll post my results in here.

 

[brewcat]

Keeping this thread alive. I happened to notice on Mac & Jack's website, which really didn't seem to have too much on it back in the day but it looks like they've re-vamped. For this brew they list Cascade and Nugget hops, anyone tried using Nugget as the bittering over Centennial?


https://www.macandjacks.com/africanamber/

Yes. I used Nugget last time I brewed this. Always used Cascade to bitter before. Then a bit of Mt. Hood at 5 minutes. This last time I used Nugget at 60 min and 5 min. Then dry hopped with Cascade. I'll probably stick with the Nugget. Not sure it was much different, but less hops to get the correct IBU is a plus.

 

[Redtab78]

I always use nugget to bitter, just recently switched to magnum tho

 

[Bitchin]

We're learning a lot about hops these days through all the research which fortunately now goes far beyond the former focus on simply maximizing bitterness. The bittering hops can actually have an effect on the late hops and even dry hops due to the interaction of the oils. I had a Kolsch the other day and I asked about their late hops because it was notably flavorful for this style. They added 45-min hops and I was surprised how much residual flavor and aroma it had. So we can see that there is potential for chemistry even with bittering hops. Like sound waves, you have constructive and deconstructive interaction amongst oils and the outcome is heavily dependent upon the hops selected.

While I think it'd be minor in this particular beer, the choice of bittering hop should probably be dictated by what M&J actually uses if we're cloning. I can't help but wonder whether they moved to Nugget over the years and if so, how long they have been doing so.

Or have they just not talked about the Nugget.

Cascade clearly takes a lead role but we don't know where the Nugget is used either. I guess we can assume it's bittering but breweries like Green Flash also use it for late additions and even dry hopping. Brewcat used Nugget at the end as well. There are even some similarities between Nugget and Mt Hood.

...just when you think you have it all figured out. Hehehehe

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

Boom here is my attempt (Left) to the real deal (right). Pumped for the outcome, most people have said it tastes just as good if not better than the real deal.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[brewcat]

Boom here is my attempt (Left) to the real deal (right). Pumped for the outcome, most people have said it tastes just as good if not better than the real deal.

Thanks for the tips!

What was your recipe?

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

What was your recipe?

Hey Brewcat,
Sorry I got sidetracked here's what I went with on mine:

11# Pale Malt
1 # Munich
1 # Crystal 80L
1/2 # Carapils

Hops:

1 oz Centennial @ 60
1 oz Cascade @ 5
1 oz Cascade @ 0
1 oz Cascade Dry Hop

Yeast:
London Ale III (I had harvested from a previous NEIPA batch, so figured I'd use this one up. Really think it helped with the cloudiness and the smoothness of this beer. I took the yeast I had previously harvested and built a 1.5 L starter a day or so ahead, mainly to get the yeast alive and kicking again and to grow a bit.

Water:

I started with RO and added the following (I used the Beersmith 3 water profile tool, utilizing the 'Amber Balanced' profile):

Mash:
2.33 g Calcium Chloride
0.99 g Baking Soda
1.11 g Gypsum
1.84 g Epsom Salt
.5 tbsp lactic acid (This was added to offset estimated Ph levels from Beersmith)

Sparge:
2.04 g Calcium Chloride
0.87 g Baking Soda
0.98 g Gypsum
1.61 g Epsom Salt

A couple notes:

I undershot my water volumes so this resulted in a stronger than expected Amber. My target OG was 1.064, I ended up at 1.070. Luckily FG didn't dry out too much and hit 1.012 for a 6.7% ABV. It's a very smooth drinker, it does have a little more citrus than the real deal but you still get that awesome caramel on the back end. Overall its a great drinker, and somewhat dangerous. I fermented at 68 degrees in a SS Brewbucket that's equipped with the FTSs if you're curious. Force carbed and was drank pretty quickly.

Cheers!

 

[dwightr8]

Hey Brewcat,
Sorry I got sidetracked here's what I went with on mine:

11# Pale Malt
1 # Munich
1 # Crystal 80L
1/2 # Carapils

Hops:

1 oz Centennial @ 60
1 oz Cascade @ 5
1 oz Cascade @ 0
1 oz Cascade Dry Hop

Yeast:
London Ale III (I had harvested from a previous NEIPA batch, so figured I'd use this one up. Really think it helped with the cloudiness and the smoothness of this beer. I took the yeast I had previously harvested and built a 1.5 L starter a day or so ahead, mainly to get the yeast alive and kicking again and to grow a bit.

Water:

I started with RO and added the following (I used the Beersmith 3 water profile tool, utilizing the 'Amber Balanced' profile):

Mash:
2.33 g Calcium Chloride
0.99 g Baking Soda
1.11 g Gypsum
1.84 g Epsom Salt
.5 tbsp lactic acid (This was added to offset estimated Ph levels from Beersmith)

Sparge:
2.04 g Calcium Chloride
0.87 g Baking Soda
0.98 g Gypsum
1.61 g Epsom Salt

A couple notes:

I undershot my water volumes so this resulted in a stronger than expected Amber. My target OG was 1.064, I ended up at 1.070. Luckily FG didn't dry out too much and hit 1.012 for a 6.7% ABV. It's a very smooth drinker, it does have a little more citrus than the real deal but you still get that awesome caramel on the back end. Overall its a great drinker, and somewhat dangerous. I fermented at 68 degrees in a SS Brewbucket that's equipped with the FTSs if you're curious. Force carbed and was drank pretty quickly.

Cheers!

No wheat?

 

[NarrowsBrewCo]

No wheat?

Nope no wheat here.