Wednesday, March 7, 2007

"Fat Tire Amber Ale" - recipe

So, I grew up in Nebraska, right next door to Colorado, and when I discovered Fat Tire Amber Ale, and all the other New Belgium Brewing Co. brews, I fell in love! So, the Amber Ale recipe that I stumbled upon made me giddy! I can't wait to try this one!

From "Beer Captured," by Tess and Mark Szamatulski:


Fat Tire Amber Ale by New Belgium Brewing Co.,
Fort Collins, Colorado

Heat one gallon of water to 160 degrees F.

Add:
8 oz. US 80 degree L Crystal Malt
6 oz. German Munich Malt
4 oz. US Victory Malt
3 oz. Belgian Biscuit Malt

Remove the pot from heat and steep at 150 degree F for 30 minutes.
Strain the grain water (tisane) into the brew pot.

Sparge the grains (pour water through the strainer of grains) with 1 gallon of 150 degree F water.
Bring water to boil, remove from heat, and add:
4 lb. Alexanders Pale Malt Extract Syrup
2.5 lb M&F Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
1/3 oz. Yakima Magnum @ 15% AA (5 HBU) (bittering hop)

Add water until the total volume in the brew pot is 2.5 gallons.
Boil for 45 minutes.

Add:
1/2 oz. German Hallertau Hersbrucker (flavor hop)
1 tsp. Irish Moss

Boil for 10 minutes.
Add:
1/4 oz. Willamette (aroma hop)

Boil for 5 minutes.
Remove pot from stove and chill wort for 20 minutes.
Strain cooled wort into primary fermenter (6 gallon plastic bucket) and add cold water until the total volume is 5-1/8 gallons.

When the wort temperature is below 80 degrees F, pitch the yeast:
1st choice: Wyeast 1762 Belgian Abbey II
(ferment at 70-72 degrees F)
2nd choice: Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale
(ferment at 70-72 degrees F)

Ferment for 7 days or until fermentation slows.
Siphon into secondary fermenter (5 gallon glass carboy).

Keg, or bottle, when fermentation is complete, target gravity is reached and beer has cleared (approximately 3 weeks).
If bottling, mix with:
1-1/4 cup M&F Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
that has been boiled for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water.

Let prime at 70 degrees F for approximately 3 weeks until carbonated, then store at cellar temperature.

Yield: 5 gallons
Starting Specific Gravity: 1.048-1.050
Final S.G.: 1.010-1.013
SRM = 13 (Amber color)
IBU = 21
Alcohol by volume: 4.8%

SRM = Standard Research Method scale of color.
IBU = International Bittering Units = (oz) x (% alpha acid of hop) (roughly)

Helpful Hints:
Belgian yeast strains are very temperature sensitive. You must keep the fermenting beer above 65 degrees F to avoid a stuck fermentation. This beer peaks between 1 and 4 months after it is carbonated, but will last for up to 8 months at cellar temperatures.

Serving suggestions:
48-50 degrees F in a footed goblet glass
Onion soup with grilled French bread, caramelized onions, roasted garlic and Gruyere cheese.

6 comments:

J. Gots said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J. Gots said...

I'm in the process of brewing this beer right now. Thanks for the recipe! Couldn't get the 8 oz of 80 degree crystal, so I substituted 6oz of 90 and 2 of 60. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Calyx Ann said...

Great! I haven't had a chance to try this one yet...Definitely let me know how it comes out!

J. Gots said...

Will do. We made one major error/stroke of genius(?) by adding the full 5 lbs of liquid malt extract rather than the 4 that the recipe called for. What will ensue? A higher alcohol beer? A sweeter beer? We do not know.

More breaking news as it breaks.

J. Gots said...

It came out absolutely delicious--the (accidentally) added sugar seems to have made it a slightly bigger beer than it would otherwise have been. It has great character, nice hop balance, and beautiful color. Thanks for the recipe!

AustinBeerFest said...

Waiting to hear how it came out, you may want to check out local festivals as well. We help bring micro breweries to condensers at our event in Austin, Texas look us up sometime. Wish you the best on your endeavors.

Our web address should you care to look us up or in the area. www.theaustinbeerfest.com

-ABF