American Amber Recipe
The American Amber Ale is a craft beer staple that balances caramel malty flavors with moderate hoppy aromas. The American Amber Ale style originated in CA & The Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s and is a favorite here at Grouse Malt House.
The Grouse quality team has crafted this recipe to showcase our specialty and roasted malts in this renowned style and offer brewers a relatively simple and delicious recipe to try.
Happy Brewing!
Malt Bill
Please note that all malts used in this recipe are Grouse Malt House malt offerings; you can purchase our products for homebrewing from www.glutenfreehomebrewing.com . Please email info@grousemalthouse.com if you are interested in purchasing commercial quantities.
| Malt | Percentage | Weight Used |
| Pale Millet Malt- MI1001 | ~50% | 34lbs |
| Pale Buckwheat Malt – BK1001 | ~17% | 12lbs |
| Red Wing Millet Malt – MI1040 | ~10% | 7lbs |
| Pale Oat Malt – OA1001 | ~6% | 4lbs 8oz |
| Munich Millet Malt – MI1010 | ~6% | 4lbs 8oz |
| Chocolate Roasted Millet Malt – MI1250 | ~5% | 3lbs 12oz |
| Dark Munich Millet Malt – MI1010-D | ~5% | 3lbs 12oz |
The BJCP guidelines suggest an OG range of 1.045-1.060 SG and a FG range of 1.010-1.015 SG for an American Amber. This recipe was tested on a 32 gallon system and achieved an original gravity of 1.064 and a finishing gravity of 1.014. This results in an ABV of 6.6% and an apparent attenuation of 77%.
Estimated SRM – 14.5
Hop Additions
| Hops | Time | IBU |
| Centennial | 90 minutes | 5 |
| Nugget | 90 minutes | 10 |
| Centennial | 45 minutes | 3 |
| Nugget | 45 minutes | 7 |
| Centennial | Whirlpool | 3 |
| Nugget | Whirlpool | 2 |
Estimated IBU – 30
Hops could be substituted as the style calls for American or New World hop varieties that support citrus, floral, pine and fruit aromas. Hop character overall should be low to moderate.
Yeast Recommendation – US-05 or a similar strain. A neutral yeast strain that produced crisp and clean ales. Fermentations should be held below 70°F as ester characteristics should be moderate to none.
Recommended Mash Regime – Rising Step Mash utilizing Ceremix and/or Ondea Pro: Hold at 125°F for twenty minutes, adding enzymes at mash in. Rise to 175°F over one hour and rest at 175°F for 45 minutes. For more details on mashing, we encourage you to check out our blog post about mashing and enzyme us here.
Tasting notes: Amber in color with sweet caramel and some light toasty aromas. Medium body with a smooth mouthfeel. Chocolate and other roast characteristics should be very light to non-existent. By adding hops throughout the boil and whirlpool the hop characteristics should be well balanced and not present with a sharp bitterness or strong aroma.
This recipe showcases how our specialty malts such as Red Wing and Dark Munich can be used to bring out more character in a recipe. We hope that this offers some insight into recipe development with Grouse gluten-free malt and inspires experimentation with malt varieties and styles you haven’t tried before!