So I’ve decided to start getting into some basic water chemistry and needed a brew to test it out with. I always enjoy a good Amber Ale and so I decided to try a new recipe (to me at least) from Ontario Beer Kegs.
Recipe Source: Ontario Beer Kegs
Beer Specifications
| Beer Name: | OBK American Amber Ale |
| Beer Style: | Red Ale |
| Recipe Type: | All Grain |
| Pre-Boil Volume: | 6.25 gallons / 23.7 litres |
| Batch Size: | 5.25 gallons / 19.9 litres |
| Estimated SRM: | 13° |
| Estimated IBU: | 42 |
| Estimated OG: | 1.057 |
| Estimated FG: | 1.013 |
| Estimated ABV: | 5.8% |
Grain Bill/Fermentables
| LBS | Fermentables |
|---|---|
| 10 | 2-Row |
| 1 | Crystal 120L |
Hops
| Oz | Time | Hops |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 min | Northern Brewer |
| 2 | 5 min | Cascade |
Yeast
| # | Yeast |
|---|---|
| 1 | SafAle US-05 |
Fermentation Schedule
| 21 days | Primary |
| 7-14 days | Bottle Conditioning |
| Optimal Fermentation Temperature: 64-82°F / 18-28°C Place fermenter in stable temperature, out of the light. |
|
Directions
| Mash Temperature: | 152°F / 66.7°C |
| Mash Time: | 60 min |
| Boil Duration: | 60 min |
For the water chemistry part, I followed the easy guide here and added 2% acidulated malt to my grain bill as well as 1tsp of calcium chloride to my RO water.
My original gravity came out at 1.050 which is a few points short of the recipe but that didn’t bother me too much. After fermentation I took another reading and got a final gravity of 1.007 which is also lower than the recipe’s estimate but my ABV of 5.64% came in close enough for my liking.
Of course all the measurements in the world don’t really matter if the beer isn’t good and thankfully this beer turned out really good! It’s nice and clean but with a full, but not heavy, body. Slightly malty but overall really balanced.
This is also one of the first times I’ve brewed a beer that has none of that ‘homebrewers’ taste to it so if that’s something that’s been bothering you I’d definitely recommend looking into some water adjustments of your own. Overall I’m actually super happy with how this brew turned out!
P.S. – we called this brew “Arizona Red”
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