Last Hope Amber Ale

[Simonh82]

Brewed this beer at the weekend. It's turned out to be something like a bastardised American English amber ale. American hopping rates but using English hops on an amber ale base.

I was aiming for a slightly darker bitter but this is much more in the amber/brown territory. The colour prediction in Brewer's Friend sucks.

I went pretty heavy on the crystal malt and used Weyermans aromatic malt for the first time. I think I like it. It's given me the malty toasted character that I have looked for but found missing from recent use of amber malt.

Title: Last Hope Ale

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Best Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 26 liters (fermentor volume)
Efficiency: 83% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.045
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (alternate): 4.48%
IBU (tinseth): 32.32
SRM (ebcmorey): 24.2

FERMENTABLES:
3.5 kg - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (77.8%)
0.2 kg - United Kingdom - Crystal 60L (4.4%)
0.3 kg - German - Munich Light (6.7%)
0.2 kg - German - CaraAroma (4.4%)
0.1 kg - United Kingdom - Crystal 140L (2.2%)
0.2 kg - Torrified Wheat (4.4%)

HOPS:
15 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Boil for 75 min, IBU: 18.16
20 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 8.4
20 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 5.01
10 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Whirlpool for 15 min at 98 °C, IBU: 0.4
15 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Whirlpool for 15 min at 98 °C, IBU: 0.36
15 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Whirlpool for 20 min at 75 °C
15 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Whirlpool for 20 min at 75 °C
30 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Dry Hop for 5 days
40 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Dry Hop for 5 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 65C, Time: 60 min, Amount: 24 L

YEAST:
White Labs - Essex Ale Yeast WLP022
Attenuation (avg): 73.5%

The yeast was one my girlfriend attempted to kill by leaving my Homebrew Company delivery sat against a radiator for 12 hours. The yeast was about 40°C when I took it out of the box. I made a starter after discovering that and then it sat in the fridge for a week or so.

I woke it up with a mini starter when I started brewing at the weekend. Let's just say it was getting lively by the time I was ready to pitch. This was before it erupted out of the top of the flask.

 

[cheshirehomebrew]

Looks good, a little malty for my tastes but I like the selection of hops, I tend to brew lighter pale ales with American hops or hop strength and am liking what I make

 

[Grizzly299]

Looks lovely and with a few more gravity points would lend its self well to being an ESB!

 

[Simonh82]

Looks lovely and with a few more gravity points would lend its self well to being an ESB!

I think the Malt base would work well in an ESB. My last two brews have been 5.8% and 6.5% so I was after something a bit more sessionable.

 

[Simonh82]

I've just started tucking in to this beer and it has turned out really well. It is a deep red colour and has a rich maltiness and very subtle roast note from the cara-aroma malt. I think I really like this malt, it adds the rich toast malt flavour I've been after but failed to get with amber malt.

The colour is great. Where the glass focuses the light at its base it is bright cherry red.

It is pretty bright already. I just poured this glass badly.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Brewed this beer at the weekend. It's turned out to be something like a bastardised American English amber ale. American hopping rates but using English hops on an amber ale base.

I was aiming for a slightly darker bitter but this is much more in the amber/brown territory. The colour prediction in Brewer's Friend sucks.

I went pretty heavy on the crystal malt and used Weyermans aromatic malt for the first time. I think I like it. It's given me the malty toasted character that I have looked for but found missing from recent use of amber malt.

Title: Last Hope Ale

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Best Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 26 liters (fermentor volume)
Efficiency: 83% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.045
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (alternate): 4.48%
IBU (tinseth): 32.32
SRM (ebcmorey): 24.2

FERMENTABLES:
3.5 kg - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (77.8%)
0.2 kg - United Kingdom - Crystal 60L (4.4%)
0.3 kg - German - Munich Light (6.7%)
0.2 kg - German - CaraAroma (4.4%)
0.1 kg - United Kingdom - Crystal 140L (2.2%)
0.2 kg - Torrified Wheat (4.4%)

HOPS:
15 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Boil for 75 min, IBU: 18.16
20 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 8.4
20 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 5.01
10 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Whirlpool for 15 min at 98 °C, IBU: 0.4
15 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Whirlpool for 15 min at 98 °C, IBU: 0.36
15 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Whirlpool for 20 min at 75 °C
15 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Whirlpool for 20 min at 75 °C
30 g - Pilgrim, Type: Pellet, AA: 10.4, Use: Dry Hop for 5 days
40 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.2, Use: Dry Hop for 5 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 65C, Time: 60 min, Amount: 24 L

YEAST:
White Labs - Essex Ale Yeast WLP022
Attenuation (avg): 73.5%

The yeast was one my girlfriend attempted to kill by leaving my Homebrew Company delivery sat against a radiator for 12 hours. The yeast was about 40°C when I took it out of the box. I made a starter after discovering that and then it sat in the fridge for a week or so.

I woke it up with a mini starter when I started brewing at the weekend. Let's just say it was getting lively by the time I was ready to pitch. This was before it erupted out of the top of the flask.

JMHO...your starter shouldnt be acting like that. It looks as though its actually fermenting. With a starter all you want is the yeast cells to multiply, not to start fermenting