Amber ale - yeast and hops

[loafing_about]

Hi all, I have a Thomas Cooper family secret amber ale extract for my next (3rd) brew. Was going to keep it simple with just the 1kg LDM they recommend but have a few different yeasts I could try. 

Would you go us05, Nottingham, or Coopers commercial as all 3 are available. 

Then hops- don't want to get too complicated for this brew but could do some pellets as either a steep/boil or possibly dry hop but not sure what is available in the local shops. 

Any thoughts?

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, loafing_about said:

Hi all, I have a Thomas Cooper family secret amber ale extract for my next (3rd) brew. Was going to keep it simple with just the 1kg LDM they recommend but have a few different yeasts I could try. 

Would you go us05, Nottingham, or Coopers commercial as all 3 are available. 

Then hops- don't want to get too complicated for this brew but could do some pellets as either a steep/boil or possibly dry hop but not sure what is available in the local shops. 

Any thoughts?

I would go US-05.  20-30 minute steep of Cascade.  Most brew shops should have it.

[loafing_about]

14 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I would go US-05.  20-30 minute steep of Cascade.  Most brew shops should have it.

Thanks Shamus. Will try to put it down tomorrow. 

[loafing_about]

On 9/4/2020 at 7:24 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

I would go US-05.  20-30 minute steep of Cascade.  Most brew shops should have it.

Ended up bottling this today after about 2 weeks in the FV. Ended up with cascade steep and us05 yeast. The extra week in the FV really settled the yeast cake so bottled really clear. 

[Journeyman]

Be interested in how it comes out. I'm not far off kegging an FS Amber with LME can and extra LDME. I used simcoe 20m boil and mosaic tea with the kit yeast as a starter.

[loafing_about]

On 9/21/2020 at 11:04 AM, Journeyman said:

Be interested in how it comes out. I'm not far off kegging an FS Amber with LME can and extra LDME. I used simcoe 20m boil and mosaic tea with the kit yeast as a starter.

Just starting to try these now after around 3 weeks in the bottle. 
think it still has some developing to do plus I may have under bulk primed (130g dextrose for 23 litres) so a bit under carbonated. 
flavour is good but not much body/mouthfeel and hops haven’t  pushed through quite as much as I wanted.   with a few tweaks of maybe extra liquid malt and dry hop  will make similar again. 

[Pickles Jones]

3 minutes ago, loafing_about said:

Just starting to try these now after around 3 weeks in the bottle. 
think it still has some developing to do plus I may have under bulk primed (130g dextrose for 23 litres) so a bit under carbonated. 
flavour is good but not much body/mouthfeel and hops haven’t  pushed through quite as much as I wanted.   with a few tweaks of maybe extra liquid malt and dry hop  will make similar again. 

To early, give another two weeks minimum. It should have started to mellow out by then and the CO2 should have improved also.

[Lab Cat]

20 hours ago, loafing_about said:

Just starting to try these now after around 3 weeks in the bottle. 
think it still has some developing to do plus I may have under bulk primed (130g dextrose for 23 litres) so a bit under carbonated. 
flavour is good but not much body/mouthfeel and hops haven’t  pushed through quite as much as I wanted.

It really depends on the storage temp. 2 weeks would be fine above 18. It will take longer in colder weather/storage. Maybe move a sixer to a warm spot.

Time will not alter the hop flavour, in fact it will already be reduced after a month in the bottle. How many gram of hop did you steep?

130g is probably a bit light on for priming, but should suit that style

[loafing_about]

2 hours ago, Lab Cat said:

It really depends on the storage temp. 2 weeks would be fine above 18. It will take longer in colder weather/storage. Maybe move a sixer to a warm spot.

Time will not alter the hop flavour, in fact it will already be reduced after a month in the bottle. How many gram of hop did you steep?

130g is probably a bit light on for priming, but should suit that style

I’m petty lucky with temp where I’m storing them pretty consistently between 17and 20 so should be ok but will keep sampling 1-2 a week and see if they develop  more. I’m more interested in seeing if the flavour builds than flatness. It is almost like the flavours are separated rather than one complex flavour. 
hops, in hindsight, were probably also underdone with only 15grams. Not sure why I went that low.  
This was only brew 3 so just starting to experiment with recipes and techniques and it is all learning and fun!

[Lab Cat]

Yeah, quite low for a steep so wouldn't except much flavour from that. I'd use at least 2x that when steeping, depending how 'big' the hop is. Cascade isn't a hop bomb.

There are other hop schedules you can play with - bittering, where you boil a small amount for 10-15m, steeping and dry hopping. Brews that have more complex flavours will often use all three methods, with different hops.

[loafing_about]

Thanks lab cat