American Strong Ale
by the numbers
OG: 1.062-1.090
FG:1.014-1.024
SRM:7-19
IBU:50-100
ABV:6.3-10
Beer styles are a funny thing. Some people claim they don’t exist, while others think they should never change. Fortunately, both groups are wrong. If you worry less about what a set of similar beers is called and how it may have changed over time, the whole problem becomes much simpler — just focus on the key elements of the style and how it differs from related styles.
Take American strong ale, for instance. It’s a new style in the 2015 Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines, included in category 22 (Strong American Ale), along with double IPA and American barleywine. It’s a modern craft beer creation, and is probably best thought of as a grouping of beers with a similar balance and profile rather than a distinct style. Many craft examples are called some variation of a strong red ale, such as imperial red ale or double red ale — in fact, the Brewers Association has separate categories for each of those as part of their Great American Beer Festival (GABF) guidelines. Other examples, such as Stone Brewing Co.’s Arrogant Bastard, are presented as unique beers. Many craft IPAs with too much crystal malt are probably a better fit for this category as well.
While this style emerged in the 1990s, there is a very similar historical style from America’s history – stock ale. Created as a keeping or provision beer in the English tradition, it was a strong, malty, and bitter beer that could age well in the pre-Prohibition days. Stronger, more bitter beers could withstand extended aging without going off (turning sour) so they could be kept in stock for a longer time, served by themselves or blended with fresher beer. However, this type of beer mostly died out along with much of ale production after World War II. Perhaps they were replaced with the strong, adjunct-laden lager, malt liquor.
So why not just call the style stock ale? Well, to many a stock ale can imply age effects, and can be used as a synonym for old ale. The American strong ale style is meant for fresh beer without age effects. So even if the name could be justified, it might lead to misinterpretations. Using the imperial red ale name also can lead to problems, since the style covers beers with a range wider than red. However, it would be correct to say that imperial red ales are a subset of American strong ales.
Sensory Profile
So far all we’ve said is that an American strong ale is malty, bitter, and strong. But that is too generic a description since it can cover many styles. To really understand where American strong ales fit, we need to look at their nearest style neighbors, American barleywine, double IPA, and red IPA. American strong ale fits into the spaces where those styles don’t reach. It’s hard to describe just using style parameters, since the balance is most important.
From a strength standpoint, an American strong ale is in the 6.3 to 10% ABV range, although 7.5 to 8.7% is probably most common. Barleywines can be stronger, but have a bigger body and maltiness, and often a higher residual sweetness. The hop balance tends to be lower (although there are extreme examples) to allow the maltiness to be more evident.
Double IPAs can overlap American strong ales in alcohol, but tend to be lighter in body and more emphasizing the hop flavor and aroma. Many modern IPAs don’t use much crystal malt, and can use sugar to lighten the body. The balance in IPAs is more towards bitterness and hops in general, where American strong ales tend to be more equally balanced.
Red IPAs are lighter in body than American strong ales, but often share some of the same malt flavors. The alcohol is generally lower (unless it’s an imperial red IPA), but the malt flavors are more restrained. The balance is more bitter and hoppy in the IPA.
The color of an American strong ale can be medium amber to deep copper or light brown. Reddish highlights are frequently found, but are not required.
The aroma and flavor has malt and hop intensities that are medium to strong, but balanced with each other. The malt often has a caramelly, toasty, or bready character, while the hops can cover a wide range from the classic citrusy or resiny to the more modern tropical or stone fruit qualities. Some yeast-derived esters can also be present, as can noticeable alcohol, but the fermentation profile is fairly clean.
Roasted flavors, if present, are typically restrained and never burned. The finish can be fairly dry to somewhat sweet, but shouldn’t be syrupy and heavy. Some commercial examples are described as “sticky” but that’s not how they’re perceived and shouldn’t be taken as a target. High residual sweetness can make these beers difficult to drink.
At the last GABF, I judged the imperial red ale category and tried some interesting examples. Unfortunately, I also encountered several common problems that should be avoided. The first is to basically make a young barleywine. If the beer tastes boozy, sweet, and under-attenuated, then it’s missing the style. It should taste fermented and finished, not raw and burning. Another common problem is clashing flavors, typically of crystal malts and hops. If the flavor combinations are not enjoyable, the beer won’t drink well. Finally, there were some examples that overdid the dark malts (or dark crystals) adding too much roasted flavor. Those ingredients can add to the impression of bitterness and make the beer seem harsh.
Remember that this style has some range and that individual beers do not completely capture the style. If you want three completely different commercial beers that fit the style, pick up a Great Lakes Nosferatu, an Oskar Blues G’Knight, and a Stone Arrogant Bastard. The Great Lakes is reddish, leaner in body, and more in the tradition of a stock ale. The Oskar Blues is amber, fruity, caramelly, and somewhat malty. I particularly like their fruity-malty balance. The Stone beer is aggressive, darker brownish, and has rougher flavors. But they all have a similar malt-hop balance and general alcohol level.
Brewing Ingredients and Methods
Traditional American ale production methods work fine for this beer style. Single infusion mash programs work well since the goal isn’t to have a highly attenuated beer, and the specialty grains can do their part to add additional body. As with barleywines, a lower mash temperature may work best to restrain the sweetness since the amount of malt and the use of crystal malts will add enough on their own.
A base of American 2-row is appropriate, although Pilsner malt could probably be used just as well. I would avoid too much English base malt as the added biscuity flavors might make the beer too rich and heavy, or clash with the other flavors. Crystal malts in the 40 to 80 Lovibond range can add caramel or toffee flavors as well as some darker fruit flavors, depending on the source. The percentage of crystal and specialty malts in the grist is often in the 10-15% range.
Character malts (like biscuit, Victory®, Special Roast, brown, chocolate, or more heavily kilned malts) to provide some additional toasty or rich flavors are optional, but should complement the more dominant crystal malt flavors if present.
The hop choices are wide open, but I think the most important choice is balancing the flavors of the specialty malts with the flavor of the hops. Some combinations will clash, while others will have complementary flavors. I think some of the modern hops with stone fruit flavors (like Amarillo®) or tropical fruit flavors (like Galaxy® or Citra®) pair nicely with the mid-range crystal malts, as do some of the more classic American hops like Cascade and Centennial. Hops that have too much of a sharp flavor can fight with the crystal malt, just as they do in IPAs.
There isn’t much to say about water and yeast, except that they should generally be unobtrusive. Low mineral additions are fine as the style doesn’t have a noticeable mineral flavor. American or English yeast is appropriate, with a relatively clean strain working well. A yeast that produces a light fruit character can also be used, but care should be taken in balancing the yeast esters with those derived from the malt and hops.
Homebrew Example
My first introduction to the style was in the late 1990s when I tried a Great Lakes Nosferatu. That has to be one of the all-time best names for a blood red autumn seasonal beer, by the way. They described the beer as a stock ale until recently when they started calling it an imperial red ale. Perhaps they are responding to more market awareness. My recipe for American Strong Ale on page 31 is inspired by this classic, although it isn’t a direct clone.
The Great Lakes website gives specific information regarding the style parameters and grain and hop varieties. I tried to stick to their ingredients, although I couldn’t resist swapping in some Vienna malt for a portion of 2-row. I think that adds a little more toasty and malty flavor that works well in this style.
I don’t often name specific malts, but in this case I’m using Crisp Crystal (77 °L) malt, which has a rich caramelly flavor. It’s available online if your local shop doesn’t carry it. I’m also using Briess Special Roast because the brewery uses it. I add a touch of a debittered dark malt to add some reddish hues (I find that a touch of a black colored malt gives true red color, but you have to be careful to not pick up flavor as well).
The beer uses Simcoe® and Cascade hops as Great Lakes uses in brewing Nosferatu, with Simcoe® for bittering and Cascade for flavor and aroma. I’m dry hopping it heavily as this was a common traditional stock ale practice. I know the brewery uses Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) as their house yeast, so that’s why I chose it. You could substitute White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) if you desire.
The rest of the recipe is fairly straight-forward. I’m mashing on the low side since it isn’t a sweet beer, and I’m using a fair amount of crystal malt. The beer should be well-hopped but also have a supporting backbone of malt and caramel flavors to balance. The color should be a deep reddish-copper. I like to age this beer, but it can also be enjoyed young.
American Strong Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.014
IBU = 67 SRM = 19 ABV = 7.9%
This recipe is inspired by Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s Nosferatu, which is in the tradition of a stock ale.
Ingredients
11 lbs. (5 kg) US 2-row malt
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) German Vienna malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) UK crystal malt (77 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) Briess Special Roast malt (40 °L)
1 oz. (28 g) Carafa® Special III malt
4.5 AAU Cascade hops (first wort hop) (1 oz./28 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
13 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.)
(1 oz./28 g at 13% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (10 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (5 min.)
3 oz. (85 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Two or three days before brew day, make a 2-qt. (2-L) yeast starter, aerating the wort thoroughly (preferably with oxygen) before pitching the yeast.
On brew day, prepare your ingredients; mill the grain, measure your hops, and prepare your water. This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Add 1⁄4 tsp. 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons (19 L) of brewing water, or until water measures pH 5.5 at room temperature. Add 0.5 tsp. calcium chloride (CaCl2) and 0.5 tsp calcium sulfate (CaSO4) to the mash.
This recipe uses a single-step mash with a mashout. On brew day, mash in the 2-row, Vienna, and Special Roast at 149 °F (50 °C) in 5 gallons (19 L) of water and hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Add the crystal and Carafa® grains. Raise the temperature by infusion or direct heating to 168 °F (76 °C) for 15 minutes to mashout, recirculating. Fly sparge with 168 °F (76 °C) water until 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort is collected. Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding the hops at times indicated in the recipe. Chill to 68 °F (20 °C).
Oxygenate, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) until fermentation is complete. Rack the beer and dry hop for 5 days. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate to 2.5 volumes.
American Strong Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.014
IBU = 67 SRM = 19 ABV = 7.9%
Ingredients
7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) light liquid malt extract
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) German Vienna malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) UK crystal malt (77 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) Briess Special Roast malt (40 °L)
1 oz. (28 g) Carafa® Special III malt
4.5 AAU Cascade hops (first wort hop) (1 oz./28 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
13 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.)
(1 oz./28 g at 13% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (10 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (5 min.)
3 oz. (85 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1.5 gallons (6 L) of water in a pot to 162 °F (72 °C). Mash the crushed Vienna and Special Roast in a large muslin bag for 60 minutes. Add the crystal and roasted malts to the bag and soak for 15 minutes. Remove the bag and place in a large colander. Slowly wash the grains with 1 gallon (4 L) hot water. Top off to 6 gallons (23 L) and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and add the malt extract and stir thoroughly.
You do not want to feel liquid extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Turn the heat back on and boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Pitch the yeast, ferment, and carbonate in the same manor as in the all-grain version of this recipe.
American Strong Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.014
IBU = 67 SRM = 19 ABV = 7.9%
Ingredients
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) light liquid malt extract
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) UK crystal malt (77 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) Briess Special Roast malt (40 °L)
1 oz. (28 g) Carafa® Special III malt
4.5 AAU Cascade hops (first wort hop) (1 oz./28 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
13 AAU Simcoe® hops (60 min.)
(1 oz./28 g at 13% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (10 min.)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (5 min.)
3 oz. (85 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP013 (London Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Use 6 gallons (23 L) of water in the brew kettle and heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Steep the crystal and roasted malts for 30 minutes in a mesh bag. Drain and remove grains. Turn off heat and add the malt extract and stir thoroughly. Turn the heat back on and boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the times indicated in the recipe. The remainder of this recipe is the same as the all-grain version.
