The Carmel Amber Ale was something we decided we were going to brew just before the holidays as a holiday beer. Of course it was ready by Christmas, but just barely. So now it has become instead a warm amber light through these dark winter months.
The beer is a pretty simple Amber Ale. It’s made up of mostly 2 Row Pale, a bit of Crystal 80 and Amber Candi sugar. It’s hopped with Chinook for the bitters and Chinook and Willamettes for the aroma. The beer beer came in at 5.25% and 45 IBU. After fermentation we kegged the beer and force carbed it in our keezer.
So how’d it come out? On the pour it comes out with a great amber color a little bit on the darker Carmel side. The keezer helps to build a creamy white head on the beer that slowly settles out leaving some silky foam on the side of the glass. On the nose it’s really not there. There is a small hint of hops but you really have to search for it. A friend of mine suggested that a future batch should shoot for more of a floral hop aroma and I would tend to agree. Once it hits your mouth it’s a nice medium hopped brew. The carbonation is on the low side and really gets out of the way for the malts and hops to shine. There is a slight Carmel flavor from the candy sugar but it isn’t strong. It finishes leaving a bit of the hop flavor behind and a bit of a bitter bite in your mouth.
Overall I like the beer. I think it’s very drinkable but there isn’t anything that makes it particularly special. If we decide to make it again I think that I would focus on finishing the beer at a slightly higher FG and definitely change up the hop additions a bit. What do you think? Got a suggestion?
Brew details after the jump.
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Style: American Amber Ale |
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Type: All Grain |
Calories: 165 |
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Rating: 0.0 |
Efficiency: 70 % |
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IBU’s: 44.93 |
Boil Size: 6.50 Gal |
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Color: 19.8 SRM |
Batch Size: 5.00 Gal |
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Boil Time: 60 minutes |
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Estimated |
Actual |
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Brew Date: |
– |
11/27/2010 |
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OG: |
1.050 |
1.050 |
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FG: |
1.015 |
1.010 |
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ABV: |
4.59 % |
5.24 % |
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Serve Date: |
12/24/2010 |
12/23/2010 |
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| Fermentation Steps |
| Name |
Days / Temp |
Estimated |
Actual |
| Primary |
14 days @ 68.0°F |
11/27/2010 |
11/27/2010 |
| Secondary |
7 days @ 72.0°F |
12/11/2010 |
12/10/2010 |
| Bottle/Keg |
7 days @ 74.0°F |
12/17/2010 |
12/17/2010 |
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| Grains & Adjuncts |
| Amount |
Percentage |
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Name |
Gravity |
Color |
| 1.50 lbs |
15.79 % |
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Caramel/Crystal Malt – 80L |
1.034 |
80.0 |
| 7.00 lbs |
73.68 % |
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Pale Malt (2 Row) UK |
1.036 |
3.0 |
| 1.00 lbs |
10.53 % |
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Candi Sugar, Amber |
1.036 |
75.0 |
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| Hops |
| Amount |
IBU’s |
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Name |
Time |
AA % |
| 1.00 ozs |
44.93 |
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Chinook |
60 mins |
13.00 |
| 1.00 ozs |
0.00 |
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Chinook |
0 mins |
13.00 |
| 1.00 ozs |
0.00 |
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Williamette |
0 mins |
5.50 |
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| Yeasts |
| Amount |
Name |
Laboratory / ID |
| 1.0 pkg |
California Lager |
Wyeast Labs 2112 |
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| Mash Profile |
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| Full Body Infusion In |
45 min @ 158.0°F |
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| Add 10.62 qt ( 1.25 qt/lb ) water @ 170.0°F |
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| Full Body Infusion Out |
10 min @ 168.0°F |
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| Add 4.25 qt ( 0.50 qt/lb ) water @ 196.0°F |
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Written by
Justin
on February 4, 2011
The Carmel Amber Ale was something we decided we were going to brew just before the holidays as a holiday beer. Of course it was ready by Christmas, but just barely. So now it has become instead a warm amber light through these dark winter months.
Douglas Getty February 8, 2011
What do you think of adding some hops in the secondary ?
Justin February 23, 2011
I didn’t at the time, in hindsight I really wish I had. Next time I think we would do some dry hopping. Any suggestions on what hop?