Make Your Best: American Amber Ale & Schwarzbier

Going beyond the simple question of “what” and instead exploring the “why” will help you understand how to design and brew better beers.

American Amber Ale

For me, choosing a favorite style is akin to choosing a favorite child—i can’t. However, ask a more substantive question—what style showcases lots of beer ingredients without overwhelming you?—and I’ll make the case for American amber ale.

Style: There are a lot of paths to the top of this mountain, but you still ought to make sure you’re brewing an American amber—easier said than done. You want something darker and maltier than a pale but not as dark and malty as a brown. You want noticeable hop flavor and bitterness—stopping short of IPA, while also showcasing significant malt depth. And you want to take all of the above with a grain of salt because judicious touches of any of these—hops, alcohol, even roast—are totally acceptable. This style has substantial range; while some versions are simply American pales-plus-caramel, those aren’t the best of them. Ambers are a real playground for brewers who like to get creative. Ingredients: An OG of about 1.060 ensures a reasonable amount of alcohol that won’t be too big a player. Grist is more complicated than usual, since it’s going to compete with hops, but I also want the subtler malt flavors to come through. I start with a Maris Otter base and add equal parts (about 8 percent each) of Munich and light crystal—these ensure a healthy backdrop of bread, toffee, and caramel. I then add (again, about 8 percent) some darker crystal— Briess Special or Extra Special Roast are favorites, though Special B or Crystal 120/150 are fine, too—for some darker fruity flavors. The last 1 percent is pale chocolate, for a chocolate hint and slight drying effect on the finish. Don’t go any darker, though—most other chocolate malts will distract from the hops.

You don’t need crazy IBUS, but you want significant hop flavor. I recommend adding no early boil bittering hops at all. Instead, I do late additions of Citra, Amarillo, and Equinox to get 30-plus IBUS and a ton of tropical-citrus flavors and aromas. No need to dry hop here; trust your kettle hops.

For yeast, nothing too complicated. Chico strain works, but I like a touch of fruity ester, so

I go with Wyeast 1007 German Ale.

Process: Ferment as you would any regular ale. For me, that means seven to 10 days in primary, a slight temperature rise at the end to help clean up diacetyl or remaining sugars, then a cold-crash to clear it before packaging.

Be prepared to brew this a few times before locking in your recipe. There’s significant room for interpretation in the style, and the ingredients give you a lot of choices. You should end up with a beer that’s as good on a hot day in August as it is by the fire in January.