AvgBrü American Amber Ale

This quarter’s AvgBrü recipe from the Brulosophy homebrew club intrigued me: an American Amber Ale. I haven’t even seen an amber ale in over a decade, let alone brewed one. It’s been so long in fact that it feels like a new style. The recipe guidelines called for a mix of American or British malts, British yeast, and traditional American hops including amarillo, centennial, and cascade. I came up with the below recipe and fit the hop schedule to a process that works best on my Grainfather setup.

Because of the more aggressive hopping, I like this beer more than the Amber Ales of yesteryear. It also has a more complex taste including cherry wood/resin and earthy flavors, backed up by maybe some dark fruit or blood orange. I wouldn’t be able to pick out the English malts if tasting blind, but I think it is adding a depth of flavor that domestic malts would miss.

Notes

1. Color is ruby-brown, darker than anticipated.
2. Bitterness from Columbus is on-point for american style beers.
3. Sharp bitterness after carbonation, from the water I think.
4. Fairly complex taste. Cherry wood and earthy tones. Maybe slight dark fruit or blood orange.
5. Crystal malt coming through but in balance with the bitterness.
6. Chocolate malt was added before sparging.

Recipe

Mash at 67C for 60 minutes. Mash out at 78C for 10 minutes. 60 minute boil. Ferment at 62F for 2 weeks. Carbonate and serve.

Changes

1. Adjust water profile from bitter to slightly bitter halving sulfates.
2. Add Carapils for head retention.