John Bull Extract for a Christmas Ale.

[argyle]

I have a can of John Bull Light and a can of John Bull Amber. (Yes, I know they don't make John Bull anymore.) I wanted to use it in a beer that I can drink by Christmas.

I was looking at Ed Wort's Bee Cave Brewery Haus Pale Ale (Extract Version) and saw it needed 6.5 lbs of Light LME. Can I just use the amber and expect a similar result? I figure I could add it at the end of the boil to reduce darkening. Perhaps I should just do a three gallon batch using only the Light?

Of course I am open for suggestions. If you have another successful recipe, with light and amber, please share it. I keg my beer so bottle conditioning is no problem.

Cheers - Thanks

 

[maida7]

I don't think it will make a huge differance. Depending on your tastes it may even be an improvement. I'd go for it.

 

[McGarnigle]

Amber vs. light changes it a bit. Possibly you could reduce some of the specialty grains to compensate. Or you could just use the same recipe and accept a different beer. The FG will be higher (John Bull has that reputation).

Are you turning that recipe into a Christmas Ale, or do you just mean an ale ready for Christmas time?

 

[argyle]

Thanks for the replies. I was thought about eliminating some specialty malt.

Yes, I was just wanting a ale for Christmas. I'm not adding any spices or modifications to make it a Christmas Ale.