Honey'd Amber Ale

This was my first brew, and I was determined to make it memorable. It is. This brew has already turned out to be one of the best I've ever tasted, and that's saying something, and the alcohol content allows for a 1 beer limit, useful for keeping a few brews around for quite a while. I discovered the original recipe in "The Brewmaster's Bible" that I borrowed from my local library, entitled, simply, "Amber Ale". Originally, the difficulty was a 2 of 5, but now I'd put that to about a half-point higher, still, a very easy brew to make.
I have made my own additions and calculations, including the addition of 4 oz. Orange blossom honey to the wort. I have also altered the recipe to have a higher original gravity, and therefor, a higher alcohol content than most amber ales, around 7% v/v. This batch is designed for 2 1/2 gallons (approx. 10 litres), but can be modified to fit a batch 5 gallons or higher. I call it Honey'd Amber Ale by BeeVomit. If you have questions, you may contact me through my DeviantArt account on-line. Enjoy!

Brewer:	BeeVomit		Email:	-
URL:	http://www.beevomit.deviantart.com
Beer:	Honey'd Amber Ale		Style:	American Amber Ale
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	2.5 gallons
Color:	26 HCU (~14 SRM)		Bitterness:	30 IBU
OG:	1.070		FG:	1.014
Alcohol:	7.3% v/v (5.7% w/w)
Water:	For the wort, I use 1.5 gallons tap water, which eventually condenses down to about 3/4 gallon after the 60 minute boil. I quick-cool the wort in it's brew kettle in a sink basin of cold water and ice, just until the ice melts, about 90 degrees F. Then, I add it to the 1 to 1 1/2 gallons chilled spring water in my primary fermentor, effectively reducing the heat to about 65 degrees F.
Grain:	1 lb. 0 oz. American crystal 40L
Steep:	I start by boiling 1.5 gallons tap water (with an optional pinch of table salt) in a 2-gallon stainless steel pot or kettle. Once a boil is reached, I add the 1 lb. Crystal malt grain in a muslin bag to the liquor, cover the pot, and turn off the heat. I let steep for 15 minutes, then remove and drain the bag of grain. I then discard the bag, grain and all, into my compost pile
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.117	1.5 gallons
	4 lb. 0 oz. Light malt extract 3 oz. Corn sugar 4 oz. Honey
	After the Crystal malt extraction, I return the liquor to a rolling boil. Adding the 4 lbs. liquid light malt extract and 4 oz. orange blossom honey, I stir with a sanitized plastic or metal stirring spoon (wooden spoons can harbor bacteria - do not use) until all sugars are completely dissolved. I do not stop stirring for more than a minute at any point during the brew. When the brew returns to a rolling boil, I turn the timer to 60 minutes and add 1 oz. Cascade hop pellets. Continue to stir at a regular pace (you'll be doing this for a while, so no excess force is warranted). Be careful of a boil-over from the hop addition. At 30 minutes, add another quarter-ounce of hop pellets. Keep stirring. 1 tsp. Irish Moss, which allows for an extra-clear brew, is added 15 minutes to the end of the boil. You may re-hydrate it in warm water for 24 hours previous, or add the dried flakes as is. I find it doesn't really matter, overall. At 5 minutes, add the last quarter-ounce of Cascade hop pellets and continue stirring until timer dings. Cover the pot, then transfer the hot pot from the stove to the waiting cold water and ice bath in your sanitized sink basin to quick-cool the mixture.
Hops:	1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 60 min.) 0.25 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 30 min.) 0.25 oz. Cascade (aroma)
Yeast:	I used American dry yeast for this batch. I don't remember what kind, but it was name-brand, and the starter kicked in less than an hour before I made it. It actually started way sooner than I had expected. My brew supply shop kept it in their freezer. It came in a small, red packet. I think there was a large "L" on the back, part of the brand logo, or something. Anyway, it worked very well. I recommend using dry yeast and making a starter. You don't have to make a starter if you're using liquid yeast packs, like Wyeast. My neighbor swears by Wyeast's slap-packs, but so far my greatest successes in brewing have come from making dry yeast starters. For info on how to make a good one, I recommend asking an expert or referencing Google's expansive search engine. Good luck!
Log:	I did not keep very good records on this brew, sorry. All I really paid attention to was the ingredients, though I do remember how long it took me to do my primary and secondary fermentations. I started it on a Monday and transferred the brew to the secondary exactly one week later. Then, a week after that, I checked the gravity and decided 1.014 was low enough. I primed the secondary with 3 oz. Corn sugar, for carbonation, and bottled the brew in 24, 12 oz. brown glass bottles which I traded from a friend's house for a hamburger and re-used. I stored the bottles in my dark bathroom cupboard near or around 60 degrees slightly fluctuating temperature for 2 weeks before trying the first brew.
Carbonation:	I used 3 oz. corn sugar to prime my secondary ferment just before bottling. This made the beer a bit more frothy than I had anticipated, though it is manageable if you know how to pour it right. I think the next time I might want to try just a bit less, around 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 oz. Remember to double this amount for a 5 gallon batch, and, use the same amount by volume of the batch, not necessarily for the volume of each container. The amount of sugar to use in the batch stays the same whether the bottle is 12, 22, 32, or 40 oz. I do not recommend adding individual amounts of sugar to each bottle, as some home brewers do.
Tasting:	The ale, after two weeks, had a light caramel taste to begin with, which I attribute to the honey and crystal malt extract, and a nice aromatic smell from the final hop addition. I also noted a bitterness about halfway through the taste, if that makes sense, for which I hold the mid-way hop addition responsible. Finally, a great bitterness, which was replaced, not suddenly, but very pleasantly, by a mellow aromatic quality, settled on the back of my tongue, about a half-second after the first sip was taken. This was definitely from the early hop pellet addition of 1 oz. The taste of this final hop bitterness stayed on my tongue, faintly, for nearly 2 hours into the evening. I find that this is a great beer to have with a heavy dinner, especially red meat or venison. It has a moderately high alcohol content, which allows the drinker to enjoy one beer without overdoing it, and also allows for slow consumption as a batch. This is also a beer for an acquired taste, not one, thankfully, to consume with a bunch of friends at a party. It is a sipping beer with a high caloric value, perfect for brewing indoors during late winter or early spring. Personally, I liked it very much, especially when poured into a tall glass at about 55 degrees F. and enjoyed with a rare steak dinner with mashed potatoes and fry-steamed asparagus.

Recipe posted 02/10/09.