Seeking midstrength golden/amber ale extract or all grain recipes

[Andrewbarnes83]

Hi,

I would like to brew a 3-3.5 percent beer for when I have to drive and for the old man who is a midstrength drinker.

I have brewed Dr Smurto's golden ale extract version and that was nice and my best effort to date.
Does anyone have any ideas about how this recipe might be adapted so that the alcohol is lower, yet much of the flavour and colour is maintained?

Amber Ale recipes that are lower in alcohol are also welcome.

Thanks

 

[Nizmoose]

Have a look at this one it looks okay and has had some good comments

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/1153-golden-ale/

Also definitely have a play around with IanH's spreadsheet to fine tune anything you like really, you could start with a LME that suits and go as modest or as crazy as you like. I'm new myself however so I'm sure someone will have more comprehensive advice as well as probably a killer recipe

 

[technobabble66]

I'm looking at trying this myself soon:

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/69618-recipedb-dark-mild/

It's an AG recipe by Manticle - meant to be very good. Not sure what an extract version would be, but i'm sure you could work something out on the spreadsheet Nizmoose mentioned. Maybe contact manticle - he might be able to help convert the recipe.

Edit: part of the secret i believe is the complexity brought about from the various spec malts used - so a rough guide might be to mix a variety of crystals (light + med + dark, & maybe some of the weyermann crystals - carahell/carabohemian/caraAroma/caraRed) plus some other darker ones light chocolate malt, roasted barley, etc. The darker ones i'm not sure if you'd have to mash or if you may get away with steeping - you'll need to check with more experienced brewers. Maybe combine the spec malts with a tin of Amber LME & 0.5kg of Light or Amber DME... But check all that in the spreadsheet to fiddle the numbers correctly. Good luck

 

[manticle]

The recipe Techno linked is quite dark but I have brewed as described without the roast malts for a pale version. Secret is mostly the short, high temperature mash.

Not sure how to replicate that as an extract brew exactly but it sounds as if you are set up for AG?

 

[technobabble66]

Haha - oh yeah. Mash temp/schedule - I forgot about that minor technicality. Kinda critical for a mild

 

[hwall95]

I haven't really had my experience in brewing lighter beers but I brewed a nice amber ale based off Tony's Recipe a month or two ago:

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/14897-james-squire-amber-ale-clone/

It came out as 3.9% (Topped to 23L) and is still full of flavour and overall a solid beer. You could drop some LME out to lower it more. Also if you're worried about the flavour and body, maybe add another speciality grain for a boost

 

[paulmclaren11]

My standard AG house session beer is this - those who try it never pick it as a lighter beer.

Mid APA (American Pale Ale)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.039 (°P): 9.8
Final Gravity (FG): 1.010 (°P): 2.6
Alcohol (ABV): 3.83 %
Colour (SRM): 7.5 (EBC): 14.7
Bitterness (IBU): 30.0 (Average)

50.24% Pale Ale Malt
30.3% Munich I
13.64% Wheat Malt
5.82% Caramunich II

1.4 g/L Centennial (9.6% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1 g/L Amarillo (10.1% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
1.1 g/L Simcoe (12.6% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
0.6 g/L Amarillo (8.6% Alpha) @ 5 Days (Dry Hop)
0.8 g/L Simcoe (12.2% Alpha) @ 5 Days (Dry Hop)

0.5 g/L Whirlfloc Tablet @ 15 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 68°C for 60 Minutes.

 

[Andrewbarnes83]

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions, I will give one of them a go

 

[pk.sax]

You could try cutting down the fermentables in your used to recipe and use a light crystal malt like carapils to add some body and caraaroma to add some colour. Use caraaroma sparingly - about 50g in 20l will give a nice amber colour, 200 grams will nearly turn it brown, 100g probably darker red. It also adds a rich toffee character that is beautiful but a personal preference thing if you load up on it.