AG#9 - Amber Otter w/Celeia Hops

[WishboneBrewery]

Something with Amber Malt and Celeia Hops Part 1 of a 3 Part Malt and hops experiment 'Mild Otter' and 'Brown Otter' to follow in future brewdays.

Amber Otter

Fermentables:
Maris Otter 1800g
Amber Malt 520g
Torrefied Wheat 100g

Hops:
Celeia 60 mins 27g
Celeia 15 mins 16g
Celeia 0 mins 11g
Protafloc Tablet 20 mins

Final Volume: 12 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.044
Final Gravity: 1.010
Alcohol Content: 4.4% ABV
Mash Efficiency: 75 %
Bitterness: 36 EBU
Colour: 38 EBC

Going to Pitch Safale us-05 so I get a full appreciation of the malt and hops

The Grains, Maris Otter, Amber Malt and Torrefied Wheat:

Mash paddle I made at work:

Mashing with my new spoon, no more floppy spoon syndrome:

Looks pretty damn good for pH:

Celeia Hops:

First batch sparge wort, tasting interesting... quite dry but sweet if you know what I mean:

First Batch goes on to warm up with FWH and 1Tsp Gypsum:

Coming to the Boil:

Cold Break:

Nice Clear Wort:

Hit around OG1042 @ 23 Deg C so that will do


Next malt Experiment will be using Brown Malt.

[adm]

Have fun!

I love the spoon.....don't you just hate it when it goes all floppy?

[WishboneBrewery]

When it goes floppy when you haven't finished using it... yeah... nightmare!

Slightly sticky first sparge, needed some spoon poking.

[chris_reboot]

looking nice!
I can smell it from here over the hills..

[WishboneBrewery]

I'm hoping this will be pretty different from the other things I've brewed so far
Cooler is in now and the steeping hops

[WishboneBrewery]

Less than 24 hours and its fermenting well:

[WishboneBrewery]

Think I'm lacking a bit of yeast in my bottling...
Tasting alright quite soon but not enough fizz!

[WishboneBrewery]

Just having a pint of this...
Not bad, the lack of fizz isn't spoiling it, the hops are surprisingly subtle, the Amber malt being the main focus, smooth bitterness... you get a good nose of the Amber too.
Very handpulled in its lack of sparkle.

[6470zzy]

I am liking the sounds of that beer............I haven't seen those hops before, they sound nice and "nobel" How many weeks has the beer been in the bottle? I had the same situation a couple of weeks ago with a beer having little fizz and now 2 weeks later its great.

[kevthebootboy]

Nice one, sounds good!

[WishboneBrewery]

Bottled 23rd Oct ‘09, maybe a week to go before maturation really... a couple more weeks might improve it more.

[6470zzy]

Bottled 23rd Oct ‘09, maybe a week to go before maturation really... a couple more weeks might improve it more.

That's the spirit, more time in the bottle....now where's my bottle opener?

[farmhousekeg]

How would you describe the flavour and/or aroma you're getting from the Amber malt? You mentioned "smooth bitterness" and the "nose" from the Amber but what are you actually sensing? I've seen it described in different places as both "buiscuity" and as a "mild coffee" flavour!!! These seem a bit different to me! I used some once in a brew which I had to ditch for other reasons cos it tasted yuuuuuk, so I still have over half a kilo in stock but I am a bit wary of using it until I know a bit more.

Hope you can shed some light on this! Thanks.

[WishboneBrewery]

I'll try give you a fuller explanation later, its not drinking time yet!!
It might be better waiting for a week or so until this is matured more, and the snotty cold I've got has gone, my senses are rather dulled at the moment!

[farmhousekeg]

I'll try give you a fuller explanation later, its not drinking time yet!!
It might be better waiting for a week or so until this is matured more, and the snotty cold I've got has gone, my senses are rather dulled at the moment!

Thanks, that'll be fine. No hurry on this one, lots of other brews in mind in the meantime