Amber Ale/Lager thoughts

[Bigbre04]

Hey yall,

I need to brew something amber next week. What styles are interesting at this point? I probably have time to do a lager, but i am not sure. I was thinking maybe an Amber Mexican Lager or my normal Amber Ale. A red Ale would not be a bad option as well!

Vienna Lager:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1474638

Amber Ale
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1605642

Smoked Amber Lager
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1438874

I will spin up a Mexican Lager next week! the recipes above are all in need of bringing up to my current practices so i will sort them next week.

Current draft list:
1 rye pale ale 5.9%
2 Hefe 4.9% --> Dolcita Single hopped kolsch ~5.4%(its at 70% atten this morning)
3 apricot sour 6.2%
4 WC ipa 7.3%
5 Golden Lager 5%
6 Oyster Stout 6.9% --> Black lager 5.8%
7 Bock 7% -->?????????
8 Session Juicy IPA 5%

The Imperial pils(double golden lager) is in the fermenter spunding today! hit 18.6p and 84% efficency on it!

 

[Brew Cat]

need a Maibock for may and the Mexican (Vienna) lager

 

[Brew Cat]

Hey yall,

I need to brew something amber next week. What styles are interesting at this point? I probably have time to do a lager, but i am not sure. I was thinking maybe an Amber Mexican Lager or my normal Amber Ale. A red Ale would not be a bad option as well!

Vienna Lager:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1474638

Amber Ale
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1605642

Smoked Amber Lager
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1438874

I will spin up a Mexican Lager next week! the recipes above are all in need of bringing up to my current practices so i will sort them next week.

Current draft list:
1 rye pale ale 5.9%
2 Hefe 4.9% --> Dolcita Single hopped kolsch ~5.4%(its at 70% atten this morning)
3 apricot sour 6.2%
4 WC ipa 7.3%
5 Golden Lager 5%
6 Oyster Stout 6.9% --> Black lager 5.8%
7 Bock 7% -->?????????
8 Session Juicy IPA 5%

The Imperial pils(double golden lager) is in the fermenter spunding today! hit 18.6p and 84% efficency on it!

keep the pressure low on that spunding valve for the first week IMO

 

[Dave Y]

I'd go more than 22 IBUs on the low spin lager. here's one I did on the brew day from hell.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1623090/vienna-lager-2026
last year's was 28 ibu and tasted fine. Pretty sure the only thing much different is the Mun. 2 and 30 instead of 28 ibu.

Amber: #Peasant2rowForTheWin looks good.

I'm liking that smoked lager, and I need to finish out a bag of smoked malt. hmm...

 

[J A]

Basic quick Octoberfest/International Lager style fermented at 60 degrees on Munich or Berlin Lager yeast. Fast, clean, malty, but light enough for warm weather.
I've done variations of this a few times, often in conjunction with a split of a darker ale:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1542557/irish-red-lager-split-lager

 

[ecr278]

I'd go more than 22 IBUs on the low spin lager. here's one I did on the brew day from hell.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1623090/vienna-lager-2026
last year's was 28 ibu and tasted fine. Pretty sure the only thing much different is the Mun. 2 and 30 instead of 28 ibu.

Amber: #Peasant2rowForTheWin looks good.

I'm liking that smoked lager, and I need to finish out a bag of smoked malt. hmm...

Hey Dave,
Thanks for sharing your recipe, I enjoyed but also sympathize with your misfortunes during brew day....I think we've all been there, haha
I have brewed a number of Viennas but haven't nailed my recipe yet. My aspiration is to make something like Notch Brewing Amber lager, which is an incredible beer. I've stayed away from roasted malt but maybe that's what I'm missing--a touch of astringency/bitterness from roasted malt. Would you brew your recipe again with the same % of Carafa or less? I was thinking of using 1% in mine but not sure if that is enough--I dont want to end up tasting the roast, does that make sense?

 

[Dave Y]

I just got a sample while it's cold crashing today. I'm holding the crash until later this evening to keg because I'm harvesting the yeast. It's somewhere between 1.010 and 1.011 and if anything, it's a little sweet, but I mean a little. I think this iteration is better than last time, but I'd like a week or 2 to make sure the flavor profile is stable.

 

[J A]

I just got a sample while it's cold crashing today. I'm holding the crash until later this evening to keg because I'm harvesting the yeast. It's somewhere between 1.010 and 1.011 and if anything, it's a little sweet, but I mean a little. I think this iteration is better than last time, but I'd like a week or 2 to make sure the flavor profile is stable.

I find that it's a little tough to get an Amber Lager/O'fest to really finish out dry. There's no doubt that lagering helps to settle things and push the malt flavor and give the impression of less sweetness. A little sweet is to be expected as long as there's not a lingering or cloying quality to it.

 

[thewelldigger]

Hey yall,

I need to brew something amber next week. What styles are interesting at this point? I probably have time to do a lager, but i am not sure. I was thinking maybe an Amber Mexican Lager or my normal Amber Ale. A red Ale would not be a bad option as well!

Vienna Lager:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1474638

Amber Ale
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1605642

Smoked Amber Lager
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1438874

I will spin up a Mexican Lager next week! the recipes above are all in need of bringing up to my current practices so i will sort them next week.

Current draft list:
1 rye pale ale 5.9%
2 Hefe 4.9% --> Dolcita Single hopped kolsch ~5.4%(its at 70% atten this morning)
3 apricot sour 6.2%
4 WC ipa 7.3%
5 Golden Lager 5%
6 Oyster Stout 6.9% --> Black lager 5.8%
7 Bock 7% -->?????????
8 Session Juicy IPA 5%

The Imperial pils(double golden lager) is in the fermenter spunding today! hit 18.6p and 84% efficency on it!

Altbier, perhaps.

 

[Brew Cat]

Bier de garde?

 

[Bigbre04]

Altbier, perhaps.

i have a schwartz(black lager) that is on deck in the cooler.

@Brew Cat I dont have the yeast for that and i dont trust Saison yeasts...disregard this as i thought it used a french saison yeast, but the recipes i am seeing use german ale yeast(which i still dont have, but that is a separate issue)

ill look at mai bocks, i have never brewed one!

I'd go more than 22 IBUs on the low spin lager. here's one I did on the brew day from hell.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1623090/vienna-lager-2026
last year's was 28 ibu and tasted fine. Pretty sure the only thing much different is the Mun. 2 and 30 instead of 28 ibu.

Amber: #Peasant2rowForTheWin looks good.

I'm liking that smoked lager, and I need to finish out a bag of smoked malt. hmm...

I based that recipe off of Devils backbone vienna lager which is pretty good and they claim only 22 IBUs? I am not opposed to increasing it, but lets see where the recipe ends up as i bring it up to my current practices.

@J A lemme look at the recipe!

just got into work and i am putting out fires from the weekend. Fuck my bartenders are incompetent

 

[Sandy Feet]

I guess I didn't see the post on Friday, but I like my Vienna Lager a lot, and I think it is good super simple. 98. something% Vienna. 2 or so % Chocolate 350.

 

[Dave Y]

i have a schwartz(black lager) that is on deck in the cooler.

@Brew Cat I dont have the yeast for that and i dont trust Saison yeasts...disregard this as i thought it used a french saison yeast, but the recipes i am seeing use german ale yeast(which i still dont have, but that is a separate issue)

ill look at mai bocks, i have never brewed one!

I based that recipe off of Devils backbone vienna lager which is pretty good and they claim only 22 IBUs? I am not opposed to increasing it, but lets see where the recipe ends up as i bring it up to my current practices.

@J A lemme look at the recipe!

just got into work and i am putting out fires from the weekend. Fuck my bartenders are incompetent

I've had a few 6 packs of the DB Vienna but it's been a while. I really like their 16 point IPA. Great taproom too.

 

[Brew Cat]

i have a schwartz(black lager) that is on deck in the cooler.

@Brew Cat I dont have the yeast for that and i dont trust Saison yeasts...disregard this as i thought it used a french saison yeast, but the recipes i am seeing use german ale yeast(which i still dont have, but that is a separate issue)

ill look at mai bocks, i have never brewed one!

I based that recipe off of Devils backbone vienna lager which is pretty good and they claim only 22 IBUs? I am not opposed to increasing it, but lets see where the recipe ends up as i bring it up to my current practices.

@J A lemme look at the recipe!

just got into work and i am putting out fires from the weekend. Fuck my bartenders are incompetent

well you can make Biere de Garde with lager yeast
Im looking to brew one but have not figured out how it would differ from my Alt
which uses German ale yeast

 

[Bigbre04]

well you can make Biere de Garde with lager yeast
Im looking to brew one but have not figured out how it would differ from my Alt
which uses German ale yeast

exactly it would be very similar to my black lager that i have coming on draft soon.

I am brewing an IPA tomorrow or Wednesday and then this amber will be on friday.

 

[J A]

@J A lemme look at the recipe!

You could simplify even further, depending on what you have on hand. I always like CaraMunich in the 40 range but it's nice to push a little darker color and deeper flavor with something just a bit darker. Roasted isn't good for anything Amber with the possible exception of American Amber. Something that keeps a nice color between orange-y gold and old penny and stays caramel-y and toasty without being too sweet or edging too close to roasted.
Vienna Lager is nice but I think of it as a pretty distinctly different style - much simpler malt profile and a touch extra bitterness. Sort of like a deeper flavored German Pilsner whereas an Amber Lager is like a more colorful and flavorful Helles.