American Amber Beer: A Complete Guide On This Vibrant Beer
American amber beer is one of the most historic brews to come out of the North American continent. Are you interested in finding out the best American amber ale that money can buy?
We’ve spent our time testing and researching some of the best amber beer brands on the market.
And we have presented them to you in this detailed guide.
What is American Amber Beer?
The American amber beer is an alcoholic beverage that uses American grains and hops varieties. Its color ranges between the shades of coffee and hues of red with caramel and malty flavor.
Ingredients
American amber ale is made using two row pale malt as the main ingredient. The beer gets its beautiful shade from crystal malts that create the color and caramel flavor. If you want to know the full list of the ingredients needed to make five liters of amber coloured beer, check the list below:
- 7 ounces Crystal 60°L
- 14 ounces Crystal 10°L
- Fermentables
- 1.75 ounces Black Patent malt
- Hops
- Yeast
- 7 ounces brown cane sugar
- 7 pounds pale ale liquid malt extract (LME)
- 0.6 ounce Centennial 10.6% AA whole, 60 minutes for extract version
- 1.0 ounce Cascade 8.6% AA whole, at flame-out
- 1.0 ounce Cascade 8.6% AA whole, 20 minutes
- Wyeast 1272 American Ale II
Types of American Amber Beer
The types of amber beer are derived from the different brewing systems and methods adopted, the concentration of ingredients, etc. If you’re new to the world of American amber beer, it’s important to note that there are different variants of this beverage. While there are no distinct differences between the types of amber beer, each of them has its unique properties.
The appearance of some American amber variants may range from a light tan to near-black in color. However, their foam will remain off-white. In terms of aroma, your American amber Ale may smell like rich and sweet malts with varying notes of chocolate, caramel, or fruitiness. You may also notice low to moderate citrus hops or low to moderate fruity esters.
If you take a cup of American amber beer, you will get a strong malty flavor balanced with hop components. You should expect a medium to high bitterness from every drop with hoppy flavors in the background.
Top 5 American Amber Beers
It’s quite clear that there are numerous brands of American coloured beer around the world. Each brand offers something different from its competitors but manages to stick to the traditional amber ale mixture.
Below are the top 5 American amber beer:
- Fat Tire Amber Ale
- Flipside Red IPA
- Hop Head Red
- Tröegs Nugget Nectar
- Bell’s Amber Ale
– Fat Tire Amber Ale
The Fat Tire Amber Ale is brewed by New Belgium Brewing. It’s considered by many beer lovers to be the most successful product of the iconic craft beer centerpiece that took over the Belgian countryside.
New Belgium Brewing uses only European ingredients to create this beverage mixture in Colorado. It symbolizes the American spirit of craft and is a brewing specialty coupled with a creative imagination.
When you pour a glass of Fat Tire Amber Ale, you get a burst of subtle malt sweetness, English floral hops, and spicy, fruity notes that will create a balanced but special taste in your mouth. This beverage also has a soothing smell of caramel malts and sweet biscuits. The beer also has a medium body and will excite your taste buds.
– Flipside Red IPA
A product of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Flipside Red IPA is a fascinating American amber beer that is smooth and drinkable. This high-quality beverage comes with an earthy undertone that could be felt in the aroma and initial flavor.
However, you are also bound to get fruity and spicy hops in its aftertaste. An initial sip of Flipside Red IPA will reveal interwoven tropical and citrus notes that are sweet to savor.
This beverage is renowned for being the perfect balance between hops and malts. Flipside Red IPA comes with a bittersweet finish that’s fairly balanced.
What’s more?
The beverage also has a velvety mouthfeel that makes it enjoyable to drink.
– Hop Head Red
The Hop Head Red was initially brewed with an ABV rating of 7% in 2013 by Green Fish Brewing Co. The new amber-colored beer is made using a new recipe that improves the ABV rating to 8.1%.
You’ll be surprised to find out that this beverage is available all year round and is an exciting combination of Red Ale and Double-India Ale. The Hop Head Red produces an appealing smell of hop flavors.
The unique aroma of the Hop Head Red beverage is due to the dry-hopping of Warrior, Amarillo, and Nugget hop. This aroma also contains subtle resin, fruits, and grains. Despite the hop-heavy taste of this beverage, it also has sweet malt and caramel flavors. As a result, the beverage has a light body with a watery feel.
– Tröegs Nugget Nectar
This beer comes from the Tröegs Brewing Company and is released yearly. It has very attractive packaging and includes citrus notes combined with resin and pine. If you’re a lover of this type of beer, you should know that it’ll only be available during the spring when humulus lupulus is harvested.
When you consider the large amounts of hops used during the brewing process, the Nugget Nectar effectively balances the bitter flavor with caramel sweetness and malts which are only half the flavor. Due to the nature of its brewing, the beverage has a bittersweet finish that has a pronounced aftertaste and will keep you longing for more.
– Bell’s Amber Ale
The Bell’s Amber Ale is renowned as the beer that built the riches of the Bell’s Brewery Inc. This beverage is filled with sweet and toasted caramel notes that have been derived from carefully selected malts. Bell’s Amber Ale’s aroma comprises herbal and citrus hop aromas rounded off with a clean bitter taste. When you pour yourself a glass of this beverage, you get a blend of sweetness and caramel with some blended apple in the background.
What’s even better?
You can enjoy Bell’s Amber Ale with any type of food or as a chilled beverage on its own. There’s another great news – this beverage is available all year round. This amber-colored beer is quite balanced and is the type of beverage that will thrill any taste bud. While it maintains a malty feel, its 5.8% ABV content is refreshing.
Conclusion
To wrap up the article here are some of the main points in this piece to help you understand what it’s about without reading it:
- American amber beer is a type of beverage that was made popular by the brewers of California and the Pacific Northwest
- The different variants of amber coloured beer come in different colors and flavors ranging from shades of coffee to hues of red
- More than 10 ingredients are used to brew the American amber ale
- The types of American amber depend on the brewing system, methods and concentration of ingredients
- There are various brands that make American amber beer around the world. We listed the best ones.
When you look at the American amber beers discussed above, you’ll find that they all have impressive individual characteristics. However, our top choice is Bell’s Amber Ale. This beverage is our favorite because of its well-rounded features and enjoyable taste. And if that’s not enough, the beer is available all year round.
