First try at a Amber Ale thoughts?
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row)
3 lbs Amber (Crisp) (27.5 SRM)
1 lbs Biscuit malt (Castle Malting)
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
8.0 oz Caraamber (Weyermann)
0.70 oz Nugget [13.00 %] - First Wort
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml]
Single infusion no mash out
Sacc. rest at 153 for 60 minutes
I’m all for simple recipes. You already have the amber malt, so I’d drop the biscuit entirely or cut back to a half # (or ideally sub in Victory). I would also drop the caraamber for the same reason.
However, that is what I would do.
Also, what IBU are you targeting? Do you not want a lot of hop character? FWH’s are going to be perceived as a 20 min addition would (though software/formulas will give you a lot of IBU’s from it). I personally think you need a clean bittering addition.
I would go with .5-1oz of magnums or even your Nuggets at 60. I would add a lot more late hops as well, maybe one more varietal at 10 minutes, one oz @ 5 (either a combo or single hop), then repeat at flameout. That hopping schedule is particularly useful if you stick to your malt bill you’ve listed above, as those malts will need to be balanced by a good hopping schedule.
All that said, Amber is a WIDE category, and people like to brew them because they can get creative. The recipe you have is going to be VERY malt-focused though. Google BU:GU ratio for American Ambers and play with the recipe once you have the ratio you want. This is Ray Daniels’ way of quantifying the hop/malt balance in different styles.
I’d use way less amber malt and drop the biscuit. Amber doesn’t really give you amber color, but it will give you a lot of toasty/biscuit flavor. I use a few ounces of roasted barley for color in my ambers.
