American ale

American Amber Ale

BJCP 19A

A pale ale with caramel malt behind it. The balance can lean either way, but the American hop character has to survive the extra malt.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.045 - 1.060

Final gravity

1.010 - 1.015

Bitterness

25 IBU - 40 IBU

Colour

10 SRM - 17 SRM

Alcohol

4.5% - 6.2%

Colour also 20-33 EBC

What goes wrong

Crystal malt overload, which leaves a sticky sweetness the hops cannot cut through.

Commercial examples

Anderson Valley Boont Amber AleBell's Amber AleFull Sail AmberNorth Coast Red Seal AleTröegs Hopback Amber Ale

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Checked against the published guidelines.

Brew it

A recipe on this site brewed to this style

Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.

American Amber

OG 1.058 · 5.7% · 31 IBU

The rest of the american ale family

Blonde Ale

3.8-5.5% · 15-28 IBU

American Pale Ale

4.5-6.2% · 30-50 IBU

California Common

4.5-5.5% · 30-45 IBU

American Brown Ale

4.3-6.2% · 20-30 IBU

Plan a batch to these numbers.