OAT AMBER ALE - REDOATALE

The Goal: Brew a unique beer that won’t fit into any beer style but will be delicious. This recipe is the amalgamation of the best things of an oatmeal stout, an Irish Red Ale and a Best Bitter. A darker beer, brewed with oats, with a balanced malt/hop flavour profile. The goal is to create moderate levels of familiar sweet flavours of caramel and toasted bread, modest bitterness, and a medium dry finish.

MALT

Maris Otter (56%)
Caramel 20 (20%)
Munich malt (12%)
Oat Malt (10%)
Black malt (~ 2% for flavour & colour adjustments)

 

HOPS

 

German Perle or Magnum for bittering and Northern Brewer for aroma. Could also go American or English here with Challenger, Northdown or Chinook.

YEAST

WLP028 Edinburgh/Scottish Ale Yeast provides a unique ester profile of pears and melon that can really bring a unique flavours to this beer and others if used as a house yeast strain. The ester production can be controlled from relatively neutral at lower fermentation temperatures or highlighted with higher fermentation temperatures. With an attenuation range of 70% to 75% the right balance and finish can also be achieved. This strain is well suited for both malt and hoppy beers allowing for brewing flexibility if employed as a house strain.

RECIPE NOTES

A simple recipe that will rely on a nice balance of the caramel malts and oats in the grain bill, adjust the quantities in consequence to the flavours you want to achieve. Depending on preference this beer can have a 1:1 chloride to sulphate ratio but could also work with a heavier dosage of chloride.

A boil time between 60 and 90 minutes can also help develop a more complex malt profile.

TARGET SPECS

ABV: 4.0% TO 4.5% *Oats can give a nice mouthfeel allowing for the beer to feel fuller at lower ABVs
BU: 15 - 20 BU
Colour: 16 SRM
OG 10.1 ˚ P
FG 2.5 ˚ P

EUROPEAN INSPIRED RED LAGER

The goal: To make a beer that falls into or around the Vienna Lager / Marzen / International Amber Lager styles. It needs to highlight bready, bread crust, grain,cereal and toasted flavours without going into sweet, caramel, and roasted notes. This beer should be clean, balanced with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel.

MALT

Vienna Malt (50% to 90%)
Munich Malt (50% to 90%)
Melanoidin Malt (10%)
Black malt or Roasted Barley (to adjust colour)

Since most folk don’t have a decoction system, I suggest using up to 10% melanoidin malt to provide some Maillard flavours that can be reminiscent of the decoction process.

HOPS

Magnum for bittering.
Your favourite German aroma hop for late kettle additions; Hallertau Mittelfruh, Perle, Hersbrucker, Tettnanger or Tradition.

YEAST

WLP860 Munich Lager Yeast to drive that malty flavour forward with a clean lager fermentation profile and a smooth finish.

RECIPE NOTES

To achieve the balance of well attenuated, clean fermentation with a smooth and creamy finish special attention will have to be paid to conversion time and temperature as well as attenuation to ensure beer finishes between 2.5˚ P to 3˚ P. Once this is achieved, I would dial in chloride to sulphate ratio leaning towards higher chlorides.

A boil time between 60 and 90 minutes can also help develop a more complex malt profile.

TARGET SPECS

ABV: 4.7% TO 5.5% *Due to the higher FG and mouthfeel this beer can take on a bit more alcohol.
BU: 20 BU
Colour: 17 SRM
OG 12 ˚ P
FG 3 ˚ P

RE-IMAGINED AMERICAN AMBER ALE

The Goal: This beer is the most hop forward interpretation of the Red and Amber category I will propose. Taking inspiration from the California Common and the American Pale / Amber Ale styles choosing to highlight toast & light roast malt character while dropping the caramel malt which often clashes with the hoppy citrus character I am aiming for here.

MALT

2 row or Pale Ale Malt (89%)
Amber or Brown malt (10%)
Roasted Barley (~1% adjust for taste and color)

HOPS

Warrior or CTZ for bittering. For aroma, for a more piney flavour Warrior, Chinook and/or Northern Brewer. For a more citrusy flavour profile use Ahtanum, Cascade and or Centennial.

YEAST

WLP001 California Ale Yeast or WLP090 San Diego Super Ale Yeast. Both yeasts provide clean fermentations and dry beers. With the high end of their attenuation ranges in the low to mid 80s, they are reliable and versatile as house yeast strains. WLP090 can produce a slight orchard fruit ester.

RECIPE NOTES

This beer focuses on the hops; it is important to dial in the grain bill to not be overpowering. The more attenuative yeast strains will also help dry out the beer and emphasize the hop character. For the water profile, I suggest starting at a 1:1 ratio of chloride to sulphate and adjusting up or down from there based on sensory analysis.

Adjusting fermentation profile for ester production and final gravity based on sensory analysis will help achieve the target flavour profile, some might prefer this beer dryer than others!

TARGET SPECS

ABV: 4.5% to 5.5%
BU: 30 BU
Colour: 20 SRM
OG 12 ˚ P
FG 2 ˚ P

BEST BITTER - HOUSE AMBER ALE

The goal: Brew an English Bitter, on the darker side of the style colour range, without calling too much attention to the best bitter style in the naming of the beer. Depending on final BU and ABV this is a beer that can be submitted in competition in the Ordinary Bitter and Strong Bitter category and will be true-to-style.

MALT

Maris Otter (93%)
Crystal 60 (3%)
Brown malt (3%)
Chocolate Malt (~1% to adjust colour and flavour)

HOPS

Northern Brewer for bittering. The classic will work for aroma additions, but style allows for unique interpretations. I’d like to experiment with Eureka for its dark fruit and woody characters or Contessa for its green tea, floral and pome fruit character.

YEAST

WLP013 London Ale Yeast is a core White Lab strain that can produce a nice house character for a brewery. Known for its oak esters it can attenuate up to 75% leaving a beer moderately dry while adding to the malt complexity and driving forward the hop bitterness.

RECIPE NOTES

This beer focuses on hops bitterness while the American Amber Ale emphasizes hop aromas . A prominent bitterness is desired but aromatically we are looking for complimentary flavours to the grain bill. For the water profile I suggest leaning towards higher levels of sulphate.


TARGET SPECS

ABV: 4.3 to 4.8%
BU: 30 BU
Colour: 12 SRM
OG 11˚ P
FG 2.8 ˚ P