Brew Dudes

Mike has been working on his American Amber Ale recipe for several batches, and we’re now tasting version seven. His inspiration comes from the amber ale brewed by Cambridge Brewing Company, which closed after decades of operation. That beer had a distinctive malt character that Mike remembers fondly, and he’s been trying to capture those qualities.

For this latest batch, he adjusted the grain bill to improve the color while maintaining a balanced flavor. We poured a couple of pints to see how his changes worked and discuss what he might try next.

American Amber Ale Recipe #7

This recipe is for a 3.5 gallon batch.

Water Chemistry:

• 50% soft spring water
• 50% tap water
• Gypsum and magnesium sulfate additions
• Small acid addition to adjust mash pH

Grain Bill:

• 91% Maris Otter malt
• 5% Crystal 40 malt
• 3% Pale Chocolate malt (approximately 220°L)
• 1% Pale Chocolate amount: 4 ounces

Hops:

• Tettnang – approximately 2 ounces at 60 minutes
• Tettnang – approximately 1 ounce at 10 minutes

Yeast:

• 2 packages of Cellar Science Cali Dry yeast pitched directly without rehydration

Mash Schedule:

• Mash at 145°F for 45 minutes
• Raise temperature to 155°F for 25 minutes

Fermentation:

• Fermented at basement temperatures between 65°F and 68°F

Results:

• Original Gravity: 1.051
• Final Gravity: 1.010
• Estimated ABV: 5.4%

Our American Amber Ale Tasting Notes

The first thing I noticed was the beer’s attractive color, which was somewhere between amber and copper. Mike thought the pale chocolate malt contributed slightly more brown color than he wanted in the finished beer. The off-white head looked good, and the aroma had pleasant malt notes without anything overpowering the overall presentation.

Taking my first sip, I noticed how clean the fermentation was and how well everything worked together. The malt flavors were present without being heavy, while the beer finished dry and remained refreshing. I also noticed a lingering malt character that seemed to come from the Crystal 40 addition. There was enough caramel sweetness to provide interest without making the beer taste overly sweet. The Tettnang hops contributed some spicy character, although they didn’t dominate the flavor or overpower the malt profile.

Mike explained that his ideal amber ale would have subtle caramel sweetness alongside a distinctive nutty, bready character. He hoped the pale chocolate malt would provide those flavors while also producing the darker amber color. While the malt contributed some of those qualities, he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the final color. Still, we both agreed that the beer tasted good and remained enjoyable throughout the entire pint.

What We Learned About Brewing American Amber Ale

This batch reinforced how small changes to specialty malts can influence both the color and flavor of an amber ale. Mike is considering adding a small amount of roasted barley alongside Victory or biscuit malt in his next version. He may also experiment with a darker chocolate malt to achieve the color without introducing noticeable roasted flavors. Another possible change involves simplifying the hop schedule to a single bittering addition using Tettnang hops.

I liked the Tettnang character in this beer, but Mike wants the malt profile to become more prominent. Removing the late hop addition might help him get closer to the flavor he remembers. We also talked about how American Amber Ale deserves more attention from homebrewers who enjoy traditional craft beer styles.It’s a versatile beer that offers enough malt flavor for darker beer drinkers while remaining refreshing for pale ale fans.

Mike hasn’t quite recreated his ideal amber ale, but version seven is another step in the right direction.

BREW ON!

We are back for round 20 of our Jar of Destiny homebrewing challenge with two new assignments. Every beer style from the 2015 BJCP guidelines went into the jar when we started this series. We randomly select styles, research them, brew them, and eventually return to taste the finished beers together. Once these two beers are complete, Mike and I will have brewed 40 beers for this challenge. Let’s see what the Jar gave us this time.

Fruit Lambic – 23F

My selection came from the European Sour Ale category, specifically BJCP style 23F, Fruit Lambic. The immediate challenge is producing a sour beer quickly enough to fit within our usual brewing schedule. A traditional version involves fermentation and aging, which does not exactly work well with an approaching December deadline.

We discussed encouraging fermentation with warmer temperatures during the colder months to keep the souring process moving. Cherries came up during our conversation, although I still need to decide which fruit I will actually use. Either way, I need to develop my brewing plan and get this beer fermenting as soon as possible.

Brown IPA – 21B

Mike pulled style 21B, Brown IPA, giving him another interesting assignment from the broader IPA category. The challenge is balancing an American IPA hop profile against a noticeably maltier brown beer foundation. There should be substantial bitterness and hop aroma without adding excessive roast character that competes with those hops.

Mike described the easy approach as brewing an aggressively hopped American Brown Ale, but the finished beer still needs to drink primarily like an IPA rather than simply becoming another brown ale. He also discussed using old-school American hops, potentially creating the assertive citrus character associated with earlier American IPAs.

Now It’s Time To Research and Plan

This round gave both of us styles where balance and process should make the biggest differences. My Fruit Lambic creates a fermentation and aging challenge because sour beer usually benefits from considerably more time. Mike’s Brown IPA requires balancing malt character, color, bitterness, and hop aroma without letting roast flavors dominate.

We are targeting December to taste both beers and determine how closely they match their respective styles. Until then, we have research to complete, recipes to develop, and two more unusual beers to brew.

BREW ON!

For pick nineteen of our Jar of Destiny homebrewing beer challenge, Mike drew Sahti, a traditional Finnish farmhouse beer style. We had never tasted Sahti before, and Mike had never brewed anything using ordinary active bread yeast.

Sahti traditionally uses juniper character, bread yeast, and a brewing process that does not include boiling the wort. Mike chose a modern interpretation while keeping several historical ideas at the center of this unusual homebrew challenge.

The Sahti Process & Recipe

Mike used a Sahti malt blend that came from Viking Maltings, containing pale, crystal, and enzymatic malts. He mashed around 150 degrees Fahrenheit for ninety minutes to create a wort designed for strong fermentability. During the mash, he added two ounces of crushed juniper berries to begin building the beer’s botanical character. After mashing, Mike raised everything to 185 degrees Fahrenheit because he wanted additional pasteurization before beginning fermentation. He then transferred the wort directly into the fermenter without completing any traditional brewing boil along the way.

The recipe was straightforward, although several parts of this process were completely new territory for our homebrewing experience.

Batch Size

3.5 US Gallons

Grain

• Sahti malt blend – Pale base malt with smaller amounts of crystal malt and enzymatic malt

Juniper

• 2 ounces juniper berries added during the mash
• 1 additional ounce juniper berries used for a vodka tincture after fermentation

Mash

• Mash at approximately 150°F for 90 minutes
• Raise to 185°F before transferring into the fermenter

Boil

• None

Yeast

• Dry active bread yeast
• Two heaping teaspoons pitched around 72°F
• Mike initially said tablespoons before immediately describing the amount as teaspoons

Fermentation

• Strong fermentation for about three days
• Juniper tincture added after fermentation during carbonation
• Approximately 200 milliliters of tincture liquid added to the beer
• Light carbonation rather than a highly carbonated finished beer

Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.010

Mike cooled the wort to roughly 72 degrees Fahrenheit before pitching two heaping teaspoons of active bread yeast. Fermentation started quickly, remained active for about three days, and eventually brought the gravity down to 1.010. Because the juniper character remained subtle, Mike prepared another ounce of berries as a concentrated vodka tincture. He added roughly 200 milliliters after fermentation while the beer was beginning its light carbonation in the keg.

Was This Historical Style Any Good?

The finished Sahti poured pale gold with noticeable haze, a white head, and surprisingly persistent lacing on the glass. We found an unusual damp wood aroma with fruity esters, although the juniper itself remained fairly difficult to identify. The flavor reminded us of a light wild ale, with earthy farmhouse notes and a noticeably dry finish. Despite the unusual ingredients and process, the beer was much more enjoyable than either of us initially expected.

The biggest surprise was how completely bread yeast fermented this wort, reaching 1.010 without using traditional brewing yeast. We also learned that juniper can disappear more easily than expected, even when berries are added twice. Mike would probably double the post-fermentation juniper addition next time to make that character more clearly identifiable. Most importantly, this challenge proved that unfamiliar brewing methods can still produce an interesting and enjoyable finished beer.

The Jar abides.

BREW ON!