Second brew

[Rodcx500z]

For my second brew I thought amber, your thoughts on this
New Recipe
American Amber Ale
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 5.000
Total Hops (g): 59.90
Original Gravity (OG): 1.047 (°P): 11.7
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.62 %
Colour (SRM): 10.9 (EBC): 21.5
Bitterness (IBU): 27.0 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
3.500 kg Maris Otter Malt (70%)
1.000 kg Caramalt (20%)
0.500 kg Amber Malt (10%)
Hop Bill
----------------
29.9 g Target Leaf (9% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
20.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Aroma) (0.9 g/L)
10.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Aroma) (0.4 g/L)
Misc Bill
----------------
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.

 

[user 18729]

Looks a great recipe to me. What yeast are you planning on using?

 

[PhilBrew]

Hi Rod

I wouldn't go above 5% with Amber malt, if you were wanting to drink this before Xmas ... it can get a bit harsh in large amounts ... I'd suggest dropping that to more like 3% (300g) ... and I'd also halve the Caramalt, personally ... adding more MO in to replace the grains removed ... to get it more like 4,200g MO, 500g Caramalt and 300g Amber, say ... and then, if you were particularly wanting it that colour, you could adjust that by adding 50g-100g of Black Malt in just enough to get the colour you wanted ... something like that would be less convenient in terms of amounts of grains left-over ... but think of the fun you'll have concocting a user-upper brew in future

Cheers, PhilB

 

[Rodcx500z]

Cheers Philbrew, its all new to me this ag malarky all advice welcome, and yeah fun down the line

 

[Rodcx500z]

How does this look
New Recipe
American Amber Ale
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 5.300
Total Hops (g): 59.90
Original Gravity (OG): 1.051 (°P): 12.6
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.01 %
Colour (SRM): 8.9 (EBC): 17.5
Bitterness (IBU): 26.0 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
4.500 kg Maris Otter Malt (84.91%)
0.500 kg Caramalt (9.43%)
0.300 kg Amber Malt (5.66%)
Hop Bill
----------------
29.9 g Target Leaf (9% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
20.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Aroma) (0.9 g/L)
10.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Aroma) (0.4 g/L)
Misc Bill
----------------
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Danstar Nottingham

Recipe Generated with BrewMate

 

[Rodcx500z]

How does this look
New Recipe
American Amber Ale
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 5.300
Total Hops (g): 59.90
Original Gravity (OG): 1.051 (°P): 12.6
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.01 %
Colour (SRM): 8.9 (EBC): 17.5
Bitterness (IBU): 26.0 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
4.500 kg Maris Otter Malt (84.91%)
0.500 kg Caramalt (9.43%)
0.300 kg Amber Malt (5.66%)
Hop Bill
----------------
29.9 g Target Leaf (9% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
20.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Aroma) (0.9 g/L)
10.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Aroma) (0.4 g/L)
Misc Bill
----------------
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Danstar Nottingham

Recipe Generated with BrewMate

I have since altered caramalt to 400g, amber to 200g

 

[MrRook]

Cheers Philbrew, its all new to me this ag malarky all advice welcome, and yeah fun down the line

How does this look
New Recipe
American Amber Ale
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 5.300
Total Hops (g): 59.90
Original Gravity (OG): 1.051 (°P): 12.6
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.01 %
Colour (SRM): 8.9 (EBC): 17.5
Bitterness (IBU): 26.0 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
4.500 kg Maris Otter Malt (84.91%)
0.500 kg Caramalt (9.43%)
0.300 kg Amber Malt (5.66%)
Hop Bill
----------------
29.9 g Target Leaf (9% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
20.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Aroma) (0.9 g/L)
10.0 g East Kent Golding Leaf (4.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Aroma) (0.4 g/L)
Misc Bill
----------------
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Danstar Nottingham

Recipe Generated with BrewMate

Looks like a good recipe, not necessarily an American amber, but should make a nice pour.

 

[Davvy]

Yep - looks good.
At that bitterness level, it will probably too easy to drink !

With your records on this brew, once you start to drink ; you will be able to alter any part easily for the subsequent brew, (unless it is spot on to your taste first time....)

 

[matt76]

Just to echo @PhilBrew 's comments above, and noting that you've already adjusted the recipe since then...

I did an English pale ale a few months back with 10% Caramalt - it was good but just verging on a little too sweet. As I was saying just the other day on this forum, if I did it again I'd take it down to 5%.

Regarding the amber malt - I have an APA conditioning at the moment that used 20% Vienna and 10% Amber Malt. It tasted great at bottling so it will be interesting to see how it tastes 4 weeks after bottling and if Phil's comments about Amber bear out.

I also have an ESB conditioning, made with 9% brown malt. Brown is basically one up from amber in roasted intensity - now that was a little much until I added a dry hop which seemed to balance out the roasty flavours.

Ahh, heck - you know what, you decide. It's really easy to over think it - I think you're in the ballpark and everyone's process and tastes are different. I think there's a lot to be said for learning by doing in this hobby - and it is a hobby, not a Space Shuttle launch!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Rodcx500z]

Cheers Matt I appreciate all this advice about the smaller amounts of grains and what they do, I think I will do this one then read up on grains and make notes for reference

 

[PhilBrew]

Hi Rod
+1 to the comments above, especially the "learn by doing" bit

Hi Matt

20% Vienna and 10% Amber Malt. It tasted great at bottling so it will be interesting to see how it tastes 4 weeks after bottling and if Phil's comments about Amber bear out.

... hopefully the maltiness of the Vienna will offset the dryness of the Amber for you, and you'll decide I'm talking rubbish

Cheers, PhilB

 

[Rodcx500z]

Phil I am beginning to understand now that its different for everybody, I have done 6 kits and as good as they are I want more and I know I can do better, at the end of the day its your own malt not someone else's, if I can brew something like you buy in a pub I will be very happy and the bonus is sharing it with other people, so on with the journey I will keep progress posted, one thing I have learned already is when I took the og reading on this brew I have never had clearer wort, reet I will shut up now thanks for advice and happy brewing

 

[PhilBrew]

Hi Rod

... if I can brew something like you buy in a pub I will be very happy ...

... and with the recipe that you've ended up with, I'm confident you will ... should turn out not a million miles from Shepherd Neame's Spitfire

Which as Martin Cornell was pointing out recently (link), appears to have been re-classified from "Premium Bitter" to "Kentish Amber Ale" ... good luck with the brew :small

Cheers, PhilB

 

[Rodcx500z]

Wow really that's awesome, but early days

 

[Rodcx500z]

Can I just say Phil I was lucky being born when I was in 1953, when I got to drinking 68 69 it was all mild and bitter here in the northwest, Greenhalls , boddingtons, and a few others like Robinsons, Hydes anvil, then came the ***** like brew 10 and a few others party 7 comes to mind, then came lager nothing like the real thing total **** water, real lager for me was german brewed to the purity laws, I think what I am trying to say here is a whole generation was lost to lager ****, o and holts they do a fine ale

 

[matt76]

Hi Rod
+1 to the comments above, especially the "learn by doing" bit

Hi Matt
... hopefully the maltiness of the Vienna will offset the dryness of the Amber for you, and you'll decide I'm talking rubbish

Cheers, PhilB

I made some notes here about my AG#19 Chinook APA (and the ESB I mentioned too):
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/matt76s-brewdays.81971/page-3#post-832163

Basically I think the 10% Amber works great, I really like it. But whether that's just because it works, or if, as Phil suggests, it's because the Munich balances it out I'm not totally sure.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Matt, I was playing around last night with brew mate and got a few more recipes mainly bitters and pale ales, its tells you in highlighted yellow if anything is out off balance, I found a hbs about 20 miles away so on Thursday i'm going to buy a 25kg sack of maris otter and they do 500g bags of other grains for a pound each, so I will get a few of those and a few different yeasts should keep me going for awhile, as for hops I going to get some more equinox I used them as hop tea in some of my kits they are a high alpha hop but really good for dry hopping well I like them I might get some simco and cascade to, thanks for the link for esb and chinook apa, , one thihg I did learn was that pale ale I did on Wednesday I used wilko gervin yeast pitched at 24c it went from 1053 t0 1010 this morning, bot its staying in fv for 2 weeks