American Amber Ale - BJCP Comp entry

[dylanphelan]

I have to brew an American Amber Ale for an upcoming competition.

I've never brewed one before - not really my favourite style.

So far I'm thinking of something like this, maybe throw in a little biscuit. Possibly more hops, or another variety?


Ingredients


4.72 kg Pale Malt (5.0 EBC) 72.0 %
0.79 kg Cara Gold (120.0 EBC) 12.0 %
0.52 kg Munich Malt (25.0 EBC) 8.0 %
0.26 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC) 4.0 %
0.26 kg Caramunich I (Weyermann) (100.5 EBC) 4.0 %
10 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 14.9 IBUs
12 g Perle
30 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 11.6 IBUs
50 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] Yeast 9 -

Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.5 %
Bitterness: 34 IBUs
Est Color: 27.3 EBC

Any thoughts?

 

[Braufessor]

Looks pretty good overall to me - I think Columbus and Centennial are a great combo in amber ales.

Not familar with Cara Gold..... Is it a caramel/crystal malt? If so, 16% caramel malt might be getting a bit on the high side, in my opinion....plus the carapils and munich on top of it.

Personally, I like to keep caramel malts lower - in the 7-10% range and then use an ounce or two of something like carafa to tweak the color if I need to.

Overall though, looks solid to me.

 

[dylanphelan]

Not familar with Cara Gold..... Is it a caramel/crystal malt? If so, 16% caramel malt might be getting a bit on the high side, in my opinion....plus the carapils and munich on top of it.

Personally, I like to keep caramel malts lower - in the 7-10% range and then use an ounce or two of something like carafa to tweak the color if I need to.

yeah, i was thinking i might drop that caramunich 1. That cara gold gives a nice toffee caramel taste. Was also thinking that the carapils may not be necessary with the high % of caragold. usage rate says up to 20%.
I've never brewed with more than about 6% of it tough.

I do want a noticeable sweetish caramel taste

 

[dylanphelan]

I do have carafa 1, amber malt and chocolate malt i could use to tweak the colour, but i want to avoid a toasty finish as per the BJCP guidelines

 

[dylanphelan]

Not familar with Cara Gold..... Is it a caramel/crystal malt? If so, 16% caramel malt might be getting a bit on the high side, in my opinion....plus the carapils and munich on top of it. .

Château Cara Gold™ malt imparts a strong caramel-sweet aroma and unique toffee-like flavor, adding a rich amber color to beer. A distinguishing characteristic of all caramel malts is glassiness. This glassy endosperm creates the desirable non-fermentable components that give true caramel malt the ability to contribute mouthfeel, head retention, and extended beer stability.

 

[Justdrumin]

I agree with the above. I just made an Amber that came out great. I would probably drop the carapils and the caramunich. You'll get plenty head retention and body from the 12% cara gold. I would use just an ounce of two of chocolate or carafa if needed. That little amount won't give you the toasted notes that are out of style, but still keep the color in style.

 

[dylanphelan]

So, I ended up brewing it like this:

I dropped the carapils and caramunich1. I pushed my mash temp up a bit

5.63 kg Pale Malt (5.0 EBC) Grain 1 79.5 %
0.85 kg Cara Gold (120.0 EBC) Grain 2 12.0 %
0.57 kg Munich Malt (25.0 EBC) Grain 3 8.0 %
0.04 kg Carafa I (Weyermann) (630.4 EBC) Grain 4 0.6 %
9 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [16.30 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 15.4 IBUs
14 g Perle [7.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 7.9 IBUs
5.00 g Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 7 -
33 g Centennial [9.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 11.9 IBUs
50 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] Yeast 10 -


Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color

Est Original Gravity: 1.056 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.4 %
Bitterness: 35.2 IBUs
Est Color: 28.6 EBC