Brewing is always better with others, so I invited my brother-in-law, Grant, over to brew a couple batches in June. I asked him – forgetting that the novelty and creativity of homebrewing is basically only intriguing to yours truly – what kind of beer he would like to create, citing limitless possibilities, various malts and umpteen choices for hops. His curt reply brought me back home: “Yeah, I don’t fucking know. Like, an Amber or something.” He then came over, and proceeded to get obliterated in my backyard on Deschutes Chainbreakers as Jared and I brewed and Amber and a Pale.
Our second attempt at an Amber (the first was the Skunk Ape) was a lighter brew with a less-hoppy finish (compared to the Ape). The ingredients and process is faily simple, as I wanted to brew something that wouldn’t confuse Grant, which I should have known wouldn’t be a concern, considering his disproportionate interest in drinking rather than brewing.
Ingredients for SB Amber:
- 1 lb 2-row
- 1 lb Crystal 40
- 3.3 lbs Amber LME
- 3 lbs Pilsner DME
- 1 oz cascade @ 60 min (boil)
- 1 oz Saaz @ 15 min
- irish moss @ 15 min
- 1 oz Chinook @ 5 min
- American Ale Yeast
The result was a less than ipressive, but still “not bad,” Amber. If I redo this one I would consider adding additional hops (or maybe dry-hopping) and going with darker malt. I think that the addition of the Pilsner malt evened it out a little too much.
Love, Food & Beer 