American Amber Ale hops?

[beer gut]

Hi all I am going to brew a American Amber Ale for a competition and I can't decide which hops to use. I am going to use Amarillo for bitterness but I am not sure what to use at the finish. I think Amarillo is to strong at the finish for a beer that should lean towards malt. I have thought about crystal, Liberty even Australian hop Summer which I have in stock but I know the purists won't like the use of Australian hops in a American ale so I am a little stuck, I don't want to use the every day hops I want something else, that's why I thought of Summer it is delicate with soft fruits not to strong to let the malt through. I used Amarillo in the past it has fantastic soft bitterness but very strong aroma. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[jimp2003]

I have used cluster in the past and have got nice berry fruit from it which goes really well with malt character.

For some reason they seem to get a bad rep but I think this is because a lot of people can't get past the fact they are not citrussy or piney which are the common features of the modern US hops.

More info can be found HERE

[legion]

American Ambers although malty can be highly hopped. I brewed the following last monday which is based on a recipe by Jamil which I have scaled down from starting gravity of 1067 to 1044. Im using Falconer's Flight for the hops which is a blend of 7 american hops. I orginally tried wilkos gervin yeast but it did not work and pitched a packet of US-05 24 hours later. Its tasting great out of the fermenter.

American Amber FF (English IPA)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.044 (°P): 11.0
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009 (°P): 2.3
Alcohol (ABV): 4.55 %
Colour (SRM): 12.6 (EBC): 24.9
Bitterness (IBU): 38.7 (Average)

75% Pale Malt
8% Crystal 30
8% Munich II
4% Biscuit
4% Crystal 120
1% Chocolate

0.5 g/L Columbus (17% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Falconers Flight (11.4% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Falconers Flight (11.4% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma)
1.7 g/L Falconers Flight (11.4% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop)


Single step Infusion at 67°C for 90 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 20°C with Safale US-05

I also split a third of the wort 45 mins into the boil to make a weaker UK amber

English Amber (English IPA)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.034 (°P): 8.5
Final Gravity (FG): 1.009 (°P): 2.3
Alcohol (ABV): 3.34 %
Colour (SRM): 10.6 (EBC): 20.8
Bitterness (IBU): 27.0 (Average)

75% Pale Malt
8% Crystal 30
8% Munich II
4% Biscuit
4% Crystal 120
1% Chocolate

0.4 g/L Columbus (16% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1.4 g/L East Kent Golding (6.24% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1.4 g/L East Kent Golding (6.24% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma)


Single step Infusion at 67°C for 90 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes

Fermented at 20°C with WLP002 - English Ale


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

[Rookie]

Last year I brewed an amber using simcoe, summit (not summer) and saphir that turned out great.

[Matt12398]

I've not brewed it yet but I've got one planned with centennial and galaxy. Like your idea it's not a true American because galaxy are Australian but I think whilst aiming for a style is good, I don't think there's anything wrong with doing something a bit different.

[beer gut]

Those recipes sound very interesting I have had my eye on cluster a few times but never took the plunge. I have seen the Falconers flight on the American brew pages but can't get it in England. I have seen on the Malt Miller some new American hops to try. I was looking at Ebu's at 30 which sounds a little high compared to the recipes shown. I like the sound of Galaxy which is alot like Citra so it would blend well with American hops.

[Fuggled Mind]

I read that the American 'C' hops go best in an American amber ale so anything piney and citrussy should work.
I've only brewed one American amber ale and I bittered with Nugget and all aroma and flavour additions came from cascade. Quite simple but very effective. I was very happy with the results.
I keep promising myself that I'll brew another batch using a combination of Simcoe and cascade but never get around to it.
Good luck with the brew and keep us informed how it turns out.

Cheers
Jason

[plot2pot]

I recently brewed and American Amber and used Citra, Simcoe and Cascade and I was very pleased with it

[Paddy Bubbles]

Last year I brewed an amber using simcoe, summit (not summer) and saphir that turned out great.

Rookie, what do you mean by "not summer"?

[critch]

im assuming he means he used summit hops not summer hops..........

[Rookie]

im assuming he means he used summit hops not summer hops..........

Yes. I've not seen summer hops available in the States, but do see them refered to on this forum.