Otto Von Blotto Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi everyone, Does anyone have a recipe idea that would make something similar to this Amber Ale? I tried it at the pub one night and rather enjoyed it, so wouldn't mind having a go at trying to make something similar. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Maybe this will help [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Haha, cheers. Probably coulda used the search thing but anyway. [happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 That's all I did [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 Ok rather than start a new thread I figured I'd find my original one.. Anyway, for Ruddager or anyone else who wants to check it out, this is the recipe I found that's meant to make something close to JSAA: 3kg Light LME (2 x 1.5kg tins) 400g Light Dry Malt 300g Medium Crystal 30g Chocolate Malt (1200) Hops 40g. Willamette Pellet 45 min. 15g. Willamette Pellet 20 min. S-04 Yeast 23 Litres. The spreadsheet calculations are: 5% ABV IBU 23.1 EBC 19.3 (25.9 with Dark Crystal instead of Medium) The original recipe doesn't say what crystal to use, so I guess just decide how light or dark you want it and go from there. It's the taste that counts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Thanks Otto [smile] I like ambers so I'm keen to try a few different recipes to find my ultimate amber. Right now I'm half way through an extract based one that just keeps getting better and better: Coopers OS Draught 1.5kg Amber LME 500g Light DME 25g Fuggles @30mins 21(.5?) litres I think it's a little sweet, so perhaps next time I'd boil the hops a bit longer if I were to stick with this recipe. Still bloody good though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARKP18 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Just put down a Parity Amber Ale from the How-to, with the addition of 300g Medium crystal and a 30g Cascade Hop Tea (steeped for 30mins), might dry-hop as well. My AG Atlantic Amber Clone should be carbonated early next week as well. Still have a TCS Traditional Draught left (went mad when they had free shipping and ordered about 10 cans all up), so may do a Williamette version next, would be interested to hear how that turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 Ruddager, yeah you could either boil the hops longer or use light malt + medium or dark crystal to get the color. I made an amber ale a few months ago that wasn't unlike yours. I used the Pale Ale kit + a tin of Amber malt, but I didn't boil any hops, I only dry hopped, and it was quite sweet. I usually find the crystal doesn't make it as sweet as the amber malt, although I haven't tried one with dark crystal yet. Mark, I had planned to do that Parity recipe but I never got around to it[lol] I've got a ton of Cascade, so I'll give it a go one day. I've also got about half a kilo of Willamette, which apparently is the main hop in JSAA from what I understand, so I'll probably be making a fair few of those batches [love] Will definitely post on this thread how it turns out though![biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 23, 2012 Author Share Posted September 23, 2012 Well I'm currently in the middle of the boil for this batch, it's a sweet aroma coming from the kitchen right now![love] Anyway, while that's happening I thought I'd post my updated recipe which I'm brewing today. I pretty much only adjusted the hop schedule to around the same IBU's because the AA% on them is lower than I thought. 3kg Light LME 580g Light Dry Malt (Because that's what the boil called for) 300g Dark Crystal 50g Choc Malt (I'm pretty sure the one I have is the pale one) 7 litre boil with that 580g LDM Add Hops 40g. Willamette Pellet @ 50 mins 40g. Willamette Pellet @ 40 mins 20g. Willamette Pellet @ 20 mins S-04 Yeast 23 Litre batch. The spreadsheet works it out at 5.5% ABV, 27.8 IBU, 25.3 EBC Looking forward to sampling one in a month's time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilboBaggins Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I'll probably be making a fair few of those batches [love] Why not try a partial mash for one of them Kelsey? [innocent] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 I don't really have the equipment at the moment, although I might be able to improvise something. I like the suggestion though, and it would be a good stepping stone to AG, which I'm planning to get into, just saving some money for an urn and other equipment for it at the moment.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 3kg Light LME 580g Light Dry Malt (Because that's what the boil called for) ... 7 litre boil with that 580g LDM Was reading over this thread again and thought I'd ask you to clarify your method, if you don't mind. Am I correct in thinking you steeped the grains in 7L of water, added 580g of LDM, brought it to boil and then started adding hops? Was the LME ever used in the boil, or was that added straight to the FV? Also, how did it turn out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Hi Ruddager, You're almost correct. What I did was steep the grains in a litre or two of water, then rinsed them with another litre of hot water. This liquid went into the boil pot, and I then topped it up to 7 litres and added the 580g LDM. The reason it was 580g is because of the resultant liquid from the grain steeping. I didn't use any of the LME in the boil no, I find it too much of a pain in the backside to measure accurately. And it's messier. As for how it turned out, it wasn't too bad - it was nicer than my original version but still needs something. I can't quite figure it out but I am continuing my experiments. I'm thinking next time to use less crystal and more choc or black malt to get the color, it just seems too sweet. And maybe another variety of hop on top of the Willamette. I do have an all grain version cubed, but I won't be fermenting that for a couple of months as I've got this English 'Pale' Ale I want to get going first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Ok, still got a few questions. I thought I understood why you used 580g of LDM but according to the calculator in the spreadsheet you should only need ~380g. Also, if you were to do a smaller boil, say 5L, would you have simply used less LDM or would you have put some of the excess in the FV? With respect to sweetness, what might you do to correct this? Simply adjust the grain quantities as you suggested, or was that just for colour? Would you perhaps use more bittering hops or do a longer boil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 It depends on the size of the boil. Normally you'd add 100g of LDM for every litre, so without the grain steeping liquid it would have been 700g. If I had done a smaller boil then I would have used less LDM but probably not added any extra to the FV. As for the sweetness, the grains were in there for flavour and colour, but whether there was too much of it, or whether I just need to add more bittering hops/longer boil, I haven't worked out yet. I'm leaning towards the latter though. The thing is, the JS amber ale isn't all that bitter, but it also doesn't have the same type of sweetness that I'm getting from these brews. Maybe some roasted barley in the mix might be what's missing. Or try a different strain of yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ruddager Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 So I'm getting ready to place an order for the ingredients to make this and was just wondering ... do you think using less LDM would help de-sweeten it a bit? I'm tempted just to steep grains then boil hops without the additional LDM to see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 I suppose theoretically it could, but I don't think it would make a great deal of difference. Most of the residual sweetness I've been getting has been either from the amber malt I used in the first attempt, or the crystal grains in the second. So based on that experience my next experiment is either gonna be more bittering hops to try to balance it out, or some extra darker grains to get the color without having to use a crapton of crystal. Having said all that, it is your brew so if you would like to experiment with less LDM, go for it. I'd be interested to see how it turns out actually. I only used that amount because I did a 7 litre boil and couldn't be bothered mucking around measuring out the liquid stuff. [lol] It came out at 6% ABV which was higher than I wanted. So yeah, you could probably ditch the LDM if you wanted to. [joyful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hi guys. If I was to give any advice based on what I've read in this thread already, it would be to change the yeast you are using. Having already tasted the S-04, I personally would use something else. If you are looking to remove some of this "sweetness" you mention, I think a good look at a different yeast may go along way to providing that solution. Just my 2 cents. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Yeah, that was another thought I had as well. I'll have to pick up some other yeasts when I'm in Craftbrewer next for grains, because my local shop only has the Fermentis range. But I do want to try some of the other English ale yeasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hiya Otto Man! [happy] Try the WYeast 1028 London Ale I spoke of, or Chad's WYeast 1098? I reckon I'll get bored experimenting with hops a long time before I EVER get bored experimenting with yeasts. [tongue] Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 It's on the list for sure. I've never had any problems with S-04 fermentation, but if it is something to do with this sweetness I'll find out when I try a different yeast. I'm just trying to remember what yeast I used on the original version with the APA kit as the base, I'm pretty sure it was the kit yeast. It still had that sweetness which I'm blaming the amber malt for. I may as well use up these S-04 packets so I'll try extra bittering hops next time I make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 My gut feeling is that you will have better success with this recipe if you use an American style yeast as opposed to a British style yeast. I admit I haven't tried a lot of yeast varieties in home-brewing yet, but of those that I have tried on both sides of the fence, I would expect better outcomes from an American Ale yeast as opposed to a British style yeast with this brew. I will add that I have purveyed the JS Amber Ale from both bottle & tap....MANY times. Just my 2 cents. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I reckon S-04 will go well with this beer. If you have some already you may as well use it. As for sweetness, my money is on the amber malt being the culprit [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 Yeah, I'm leaning towards the amber malt causing that sweetness. MK I was an APA kit + 1.5kg amber malt + EKG dry hopped + kit yeast. MK II was 3kg unhopped light extract + 300g dark crystal + 50g Choc malt (I think) and S-04 yeast. To be honest it's slightly better, there's less of that sweetness although it's still present, but the balance is a bit better. MK III is an all grain version of MK II which I haven't fermented yet so I can't report on that one. I did make a few minor changes to it though. One thing I do want to ask though, I've obviously got the wort cubed ready to ferment, would there be any use doing a mini boil on the stove of say 2 or 3 litres of some hops and then adding that to the fermenter when I tip the cube in? And now that I've asked that I've just realised it's not unlike doing a boil to add to a kit... [lol] [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 As for sweetness, my money is on the amber malt being the culprit [rightful] +1 My sweetest beer to date was an EB can with 1.5kg of Amber Malt. It was fermented with rinsed S04, but other brews with S04 weren't sweet. I have another brew in the bottle with 1.5kg of Amber, and 250g of crystal, this one was fermented with a 3rd generation 1275 WYeast strain. It has a small hop boil but sits on the OS Lager base. I haven't tried it yet but I'm tipping SWMBO will like it [pinched] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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