American Amber Review

I thought I'd do some quick notes on my American Amber - which was brewed on 3rd March and I now pronounce as ready. This was brewed from my Altbier book - Altbier by Horst Dornbusch. It was supposed to be a classic Dusseldorf Alt (although that style (even in the city itself) is a broad church). Actually, due to me messing up, it became something else! The recipe was actually contributed by the head brewery of Schumacher Alt Brewpub in Dusseldorf - which is the oldest alt brewery in the world. The recipe is unusual in that there are just two ingredients: Munich Malt and one type of hops. The plan was to use Mt. Hood (American hops) in place of the Hallertau Mittelfruh called for. In fact I messed up and used Target instead for the bittering - which gives a load of extra bitterness. In tune with what Herr Dronbusch called for I did a full 4 step mash. See earlier post for full details. Anyway, the result:

Opening: This has loads of carbonation. Served at 10c it began to froth slightly in the bottle and needed to be poured fast.

Colour: Surprised by how light it came out for an all Munich brew. It's the colour of an English bitter and a bit lighter than a typical alt (see Schumacher's page!). It has a nice red hue I like.

Pouring: Pours nicely but need to go slow - this has a lot of head. Not quite as much as say a Heffeweiss but more than any UK beer I've tried or brewed. Deep head (see above) lasted half an hour or more.

Aroma: Uncompelling to be honest. The original hop choice would have given something better maybe?

Flavour: It has loads of body and a super-silky texture. Powerful malt flavour balanced by a big load of hop bitterness, flavour and aroma - but not excessive. More than an English bitter but not as much as an American IPA. Target is not a classic craft brew hop but this works for me. The hops balance the maltiness to give a strong impression. 

All in all I'm really pleased with this. It's maybe something like a bitter, much fuller version of Alaskan Amber (from what I remember of drinking it in the US)...