Brew Day 7.9.12 Janet’s Brown Clone Hoppy Amber

first brew in months

Going for a hoppy but balanced brown ale. Came across the Janet’ Brown recipe that seemed about what I was thinking. Inspired by Lagunita’s WTF.

http://hopville.com/recipe/1512616/american-brown-ale-recipes/janets-brown-clone

Getting started at 4:30. I’m going to drain in a cooler. I just can’t be bothered. I’ll run a little secondary batch sparge, put @ 1.5 additional gallons through the cooler.

4:50 – start filtering water into bucket

strike 170 f water, 7 gallons to 158 f 14.5 lbs of grain on a hot day

mash between 158 and 150 for 1 hour

mash out 5 min at 170 f

added 2 oz northern brewers hops 15 minutes prior to pulling the bag, same time as adding flame to get to mash out temp. It took @ 10 min to get to 170 f, so let that sit for 15 to get a 15 minute first wort mash, then pulled bag and added flame to get to boil.

start boil @ 7 pm

boiled over bad, lost maybe .5 to .8 gallons, around 10% of wort

boiled 55 minutes

cut flame and let sit for 5 minutes.

started cool down 60 minutes, 8 pm,

cool to touch at 8:30

yielded 5.5 gallons at 1.052

Just realized I forgot to get Chocolate Malt. No where near dark or roasty.

Let’s call it a Hoppy American Amber.

Boont Amber Clone

Looking to clone Anderson Valley Boont Amber.

Recipes – http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/boont-amber-clone-stuck-115010

http://home.comcast.net/~blanchette.j/Recipes/Boont%20Amber%20Clone.html

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/can-you-brew-recipe-anderson-valley-boont-amber-239390/

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=95298

http://hopville.com/recipe/622535/american-amber-ale-recipes/boonts-amber-clone

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/739

brew log 2.28.10 session red 2

brewing session red 2 at https://brewlogblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/session-red-2/

stitched up my burned bag a little bit, still way too many rips, need a new bag.

bag in at 168

Strike @ 165

mashed in at 3:20 – 156 F

Once again mashed in a little hotter than desired. Possible reasons mashing in hotter –

• thermometer slower to react than I am patient
• pockets of heat in bag
• flame is variable
• adding heat is not a linear thing, maybe the metal in the bottom of the pot has an affect

Next time I will aim 2 degrees lower on calculations and only correct after 5 minutes of mash. Correct with 1 minute burner and 2 minute wait – check temp – burn 1 wait 2 check temp – pattern.

mash ph at 15 minutes – less than 5, added 1 teaspoons of baking soda, raised it too 5.4 or so

4:25 – mash out unknown temp due to another broken thermometer.

4:45 – boil start added hops, boiled @ 7 gallons

5:30 added hops

5:40 hops

5:50 flame off + added hops

6:05 cooled, mini whirlpool,

6:20 in fermenter.

OG – 1.049 @ 6.5 or 6.25 gallons

**need to figure for and make 7 gallons to get 6.5 in fermenter.

**need to note evaporation and boil start volume v post boil volume v collected volume.

3.5.10 – G = 1.012, abv 4.9, aa 76.8

Session Red 2

Looking for an easy drinking, malty and medium to full bodied American Amber

6.8 gallons after boil

Grains

LB OZ

7 0 Pale Malt, Maris Otter

1 0 Light Dry Extract

1 0 American Crystal 40

8 Victory Malt

8 Rye Malt

8 Cara-Pils/Dextrine

8 Munich Malt

8 American Crystal 120

.

Hop schedule

60 mins 0.75 Goldings pellet
60 mins 1.0 Fuggles pellet
20 mins 0.5 Willamette pellet
10 mins 0.5 Willamette pellet
-1 min 1.0 Willamette pellet

Brew Log 11.28.09 – Red Ale

Brewed an American Red Ale today. https://brewlogblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/american-amber-brewed/ John and his daughters Zoe and Tessa came over and hung out with me. We had fun ’til it got cold and dark and the girls got tired. I was still brewing and lost track of a few details. This was my third time with Brew in a Bag process. My process needs some refinement…

• I got a false bottom earlier in the day but it didn’t fit, need to return that and get something sized right.
• Almost 14 pounds of grain fit in my 10 gallon brew kettle with 8 gallons water, but it was pretty full. I could have added a couple of pounds before running out of room. If the grain bill is over 15 or 16 pounds I’ll start with 7 gallons water. As it was I was shy of 5 gallons after boil just a bit. With a big grain bill I’ll need to add a gallon before boil. A light bill would work with 7 gallon strike.
• I burned my bag where it was hanging over the lip of my brew kettle. Need to get kettle centered on burner. Need some kind of heat shield or burn proof bag. Need to get a new bag…
• The new 20 pound regulator got 8 gallons to 160 in less than 30 minutes.
• Mashed in at 160 with almost 14 pounds, temp dropped to 148, applied heat to 152 and mashed for 60 minutes.
• Forgot to raise temp for mash out. Did not drain grains long enough. I think these both contributed to low efficiency.
• Used a muslin bag for leaf hops. No problem. Pellet hops for flavor and aroma. total of 5 ounces hops, this made a bunch of suspended crap in wort.
• Tried to strain wort as drained into fermenter, but the strainer bag too too much time.
• Forgot to aerate.
• I’m wondering if my thermometer is correct.
• OG of 1.052, less than expected.

Update – 12.1.09 – Three days later, fermentation has slowed. Pulled a sample, cloudy red, less hop aroma then expected. Gravity at 1.011 ABV @ 5.3.

12.22.09 – a little more bitter than I wanted. I think I’ll do this recipe again, but add the hops later and maybe reduce the bitter hops. Using leaf hops makes it hard for me to tell how much the extra bitterness is due to the extra boil that lasts after I cut the flame or the extra bitter hops used to compensate for putting the leaf hops in a bag and just the differences of using leaf hops. Could be, longer boil after cut flame made aroma and flavor hops give  more bitter, extra leaf made more bitter, leaf was stronger than anticipated, or something else.

American Amber Brewed

Here is the American Amber I brewed on 11.28.09.

11 lbs.   2-row Pale Malt

1 lbs.     Munich

12 oz.    Crystal Malt 40°L

6 oz.      Crystal Malt 120°L

6 oz.      Victory

2 oz.      Chocolate

1 oz. Chinook leaf –  boiled 60 min.

1 oz. Cascade pellets – boiled 15 min.

1 oz. Centennial pellets – boiled 15 min.

1 oz. Cascade pellets – boiled 0 min.

1 oz. Centennial pellets – boiled 0 min.

Yeast : WLP 001 California Ale

Brew in a Bag, mash at 152 for 6o minutes. OG = 1.052, low efficiency. See brew day notes at https://brewlogblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/brew-log-11-28-09/

Jamil’s American Amber (red) Ale Recipe

from the jamil show on Brewing Network [http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/The-Jamil-Show/American-Amber-Ale-The-Jamil-Show-03-12-07] – west coast style

6 gallon og 1.067  –  fg 1.015 6.8 abv – 75% attenuation – 66 ibu 16 srm

12.25 lbs. Pale malt

1 lbs. American Munich

1 lbs. Crystal Malt 40°L

.5 lbs. Crystal Malt 120°L

.5 lbs. Breiss Victory

3 oz pale chocolate 200°L

1.1 oz Horizon pellet 13% 54 ibu (60)

1 oz cascade 6% (10)

1 oz centennial 9% (10)

1 oz cascade 6% (0)

1 0z centennial 9% (o)

Yeast: wlp 001, WYeast 1056 American Ale

clean neutral yeast – high attenuation, not sweet 3.5 L starter yeast

152 mash pitch just under 67, let it stay at 67 until it stops, then let yeast fall (10 days) then transfer

you could add sugar to dry out, 5% all the way up to 15 or 20% if attenuation is an issue

American Amber Ale

AMBER = session ale, balanced a bit toward the malty,

RED = big bold red ale, citrusy hops, crystal malts, avoid cloying or too sweet with too much residual sugar, very attenuated yeast to dry it out, maybe add sugar if you go real big, but a bit sweet with body is OK, amber or red. examples – “Red Rocket” and maybe dry hop with Amarillo like “green flash hop head red” for a big hoppy red

bells Amber a better example of Session Amber

from bells, via this thread http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/looking-make-bells-amber-clone-anyone-have-ag-recipe-130473/

Grain: Mostly 2-row barley malt, a small percentage of Munich, and just enough caramel malt to get 16 SRM color. 14.5 Plato. Mash at a temp to allow moderate fermentability. ABV should be just under 6%.
Hops: Equal amounts of Fuggle and Cascade for bittering and aroma. Aim for 30 IBUs
Yeast: Culture from bottles, or use WLP001

good discussion on hoppy american amber here http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/american-amber-ale-recipe-progress-102672/

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/American_Amber_Ale has good info

Regardless of balance, all AAAs are 100% malt beers, and possess a distinct crystal malt note. This is the crucial difference between AAA and American Pale Ale, such as the benchmark Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This can be a subtle difference, but it is crucial; the key to AAA vs. APA is AAA’s easily-ascertained crystal-malt contribution. As Brockington noted in his article:  Add some 80L crystal to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and you not only have a different beer, but a different style of beer.

MALT: Choose US 2-row Pale malt for the base malt. English 2-row pale malts, such as Maris Otter, have a marked flavor profile easily discernible in the finished beer; this is due to the higher final kilning temperature used in malting. American base malts have a much more neutral profile, permitting a cleaner beer. Choose a high-quality Crystal malt from 40 to 80 degrees Lovibond for the necessary crystal/caramel flavor and color contribution. 10-15% of the grist should be comprised of crystal malt. A small amount of Munich or Vienna malt can be used to emphasize maltiness; target around 5% of the total grist. Some commercial examples also use a small amount of CaraPils. If a deep red color is desired, a tiny amount of roasted barley can be used for coloring purposes only. If it can be tasted in the finished beer, you’ve used too much; no more than 0.5-1% of the total grist. Better to use a small amount of darker crystal malt (120L) than roasted barley if you want a darker color, though.

HOPS: As with the grist, choose only domestic hops varieties in AAA. Most commercial examples use one or a blend of the “Big C”s – Cascade, Chinook, Centennial

The addition of perle hops seems to tame the citrus and add a subtle earthy/pine characteristic.

light chocolate malt, victory malt, barley

http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/Jamil/JamilsAmber-RedAle.htm

http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/125-amber-ale-and-american-pale-ale-style-of-the-month

http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/127-american-amber-style-profile