CS7 - American Amber Ale

[Richard Jack]

Most of my beers are named after the less desirable characteristics of their country of origin. I have the "Moaning Pom" and the "Fighting Irish", and so on. This one is dubbed the "Annoying American" in honour of the perennial American tourist that has propped up so many borderline third world economies over the years.  Just like its namesake, this beer is a little bit fat, and a little bit loud, but I like it. Incidentally, it's the first straight re-brew I've ever done. Some of you will probably recognise the heavy plagiarism from JZs book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21L batch, 1.061 -> 1.012, 6.4%, 51 IBU, 13.5SRM

Amount	Item	Type	% or IBU
3.90 kg	Golden Promise	Grain	78.6 %
0.35 kg	Crystal Malt	Grain	7.0 %
0.35 kg	Munich I	Grain	7.0 %
0.17 kg	Caraamber	Grain	3.5 %
0.17 kg	Dark Crystal	Grain	3.5 %
0.02 kg	Chocolate Malt, Pale	Grain	0.4 %
23.83 gm	Southern Cross [14.80%] (60 min)	Hops	37.5 IBU
26.98 gm	Amarillo [7.20%] (10 min)	Hops	7.5 IBU
26.98 gm	Cascade [5.80%] (10 min)	Hops	6.0 IBU
27.01 gm	Amarillo [8.50%] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)	Hops	-
27.01 gm	Cascade [5.50%] (0 min)	Hops	-
1 Pkgs	SafAle S-05	Yeast-Ale

[Richard Jack]

Thanks for the excellent and very specific advice! I love that sort of feedback... You can probably tell I annoyed the hell out of all my teachers at school.

Cheers.

[Barry]

Pours a brilliant clear amber-tending-brown with off white head that rises up with the vigorous pour but drops away quickly leaving a whisp.

Citrus and toffee on the nose.

front of the palette is quite smooth and easy drinking, then the malt and hops hit you simultaneously at the back, toffee mixed with lovely bitterness. Finish is fairly long and bitter and leaves you wanting another mouthful.

 

It's not flawless, the initial draw from the glass is almost confounding for a beer this size - quite kind of empty. That doesn't last long though and the result is flavoursome and bloody yummy.

 

Good beer going down a treat. Cheers guys!

 

[John H]

Thanks Richard

 

Really enjoyed this. Great colour, nice toffee and hop aroma, Great balance between the malt and the hops, Enjoyed the hop combo - my first taste of Amarillo/cascade - like.

 

Yum

 

 

[JackoNZ]

Not gonna say too much about this, it's bloody awesome. Great malty aroma with some citrus hop coming through too. Excellent body, carbonation is perfect. Big fat malty flavours, I get toffee and lots of chocolate. Finishes with a lingering bitterness which balances well with the big malty backbone. I wouldn't change this at all mate, nicely brewed. Cheers

[Adrian Tayler]

A pretty ballsy beer IMO... very strong malt flavours for sure.  pours nicely, great aroma and awesome flavours.. pretty easy to drink given the ABV but hey, we only live once aye...

 

a serious beer and very well accepted in this household..

 

Great entry and thanks for the swap guys..   \m/

[Stu McKinlay]

Bright, deep red, with a large off-white. Huge caramel aroma, tending towards toffee. It takes me a couple of sniffs to ensure it's not diacetyl (I'm glad I decide not as I was worried that I might start to develop a reputation). Very sweet. Hops lurk in behind and, in the fully bodied mouthfeel, deliver the required cutting action to make me want more... a serated knife the the fat caramel belly of the beer.

A lovely beer, that I'd personally love to try in a trimmed down version - just to let the hops shine through a bit more. You could cut back the specialty a little, drop the mash temp (and/or grain:water ratio)... or perhaps raise the sulphate level (or a touch of any combination). I'd probably cut the pale crystal myself.

It is the kind of beer I like... as you may have guessed if you've tried His Majesty 2010 or Hud-a-wa'. Reminds me of a cross between them and Tall Poppy.

[Richard Jack]

Thanks for the suggestions Stu!

[Tilt]

I had this beer this afternoon after mowing the lawn - a marathon 2 hour session long overdue (the lawn, not the beer!) - What a great way to close the arvo. 

Tobacco, brown/ red held up to the afternoon light - a thin head and lower carb level, but this let the weighty malt do its thing unimpeded.  I got a toffee syrup like sweet nose with subtle citrus hop aroma in the background.  The first taste wasn't what I expected - lighter in mouthfeel and impact than I expected from the aroma and the 6+% ABV - but this was a surprise but good thing.  The malty toffee flavours dominated but not too much - there was enough bitterness and citrus bight to balance this for me. 

The toffee malt and even a little coffee flavour (made me recall the Kopico flavour - those dutch coffee lollies) started to come through as the beer warmed in the second glass - and this is when the full force of the beer came to me.  Needless to say I liked the second glass more than the first, with a fuller mouthfeel, lingering richness and caramelisation to savour.  I'd like to have this one on handpump at a warmer cellar temps, a sure way to make the most of its richness - very tasty thanks Richard.

[Martin Bridges]

Nice label. Always good when someone puts some effort into their labels!

 

Looks great in the glass - deep amber/red with an off-white head which persists well. Aroma is of a herbal hop, with hints of dark fruit. Some citrus lurking there.

 

Mouthfeel is indeed very fat. Maybe a bit too fat - I prefer my ambers a bit more drinkable. Still, interesting richness. Unfortunately as the glass warms up this richness and fullness presents more and more as diacetyl. Almost tending towards Scottishness. Good balancing bitterness, but that butterscotch note is very present. Am I getting paranoid about diacetyl? Sorry.

 

All in all an interesting beer.

[Richard Jack]

No need to say sorry for finding flaws Martin, thanks for the feedback. I couldn't taste the diacetyl myself when I bottled it, and have not held one back to recheck, but I'll watch out for it on re-brew. Thanks again.

[Stu H]

Pours very deep red, creamy head. NIce lacing on the side of the glass! In the nose, lots of toffee caramel in the nose, and a touch of fruity hops in there. Not as hoppy as I thought it would be, though I do find the balance between the caramel and bitterness about right. It's a pretty big beer, loving the mouthfeel! Maybe could deal with a tiny tad more carbonation, to bring out the head, and maybe be a bit sharper on the tongue?

 

Overall I'm enjoying drinking this bad boy! I'd be stoked to have a 6-er of this in my fridge for sure.

 

Cheers lads

 

S