Amber malt in Pale Ale?

[Middo]

I'm planning on brewing up an American Pale Ale over the weekend and want to get a noticeable biscuity flavour but not so much that its presence detracts from the hops. I've heard Amber malt is well suited for this, so I was thinking of the following grain bill (for a 23L brew length):

Maris Otter: 3kg
Amber Malt: 300g
Crystal Malt: 200g
Torrefied Wheat: 200g

Is 8% a decent enough proportion of Amber malt or I should I aim higher?

I'll be using Centennial and Cascade hops (35g bittering, 10g late, 5g post-boil, 5g dry-hop).

[Stonechat]

Just my 4p worth, but I would not go any higher with the amber malt.

The Oakham Ales recipe for Hunky Dory in Marc Ollosson's book uses a 91% Pale Malt to 9% Amber malt ratio in the grain bill.

I've done variations of this recipe several times using the original Challenger and Cascade hop combination and also with just Cascade. The 9% of amber malt gives a massive biscuity almost going into coffee flavour.

You also have crystal and torrefied wheat to amend the malt notes. I'd stick at 8% unless you really, really like the amber biscuit notes a lot.

[mysterio]

Yeah I agree with Stonechat, my preference would be to drop it down to 5%. I got a kind of toasted sesame seed flavour from high amounts which you can get sick of when it dominates.

[Middo]

Thanks for the advice, I'll drop it down to 5% and see how it turns out

[Middo]

Right, I reworked the recipe as follows:

Maris Otter: 3kg
Crystal Malt: 280g
Torrefied Wheat: 200g
Amber Malt: 170g
Dark Muscovado Sugar: 200g

Centennial (11.7% AA): 15g for 70 mins
Cascade (7.6% AA): 12g for 70 mins
Centennial: 10g for 10 mins

OG was 1.045 and final volume was 20L. Just need to work out how much to add for dry hopping. I was thinking about 5g of each?

[Barley Water]

Do it, you won't be sorry (assuming of course you like the taste of amber malt). I made an American IPA late last year that had a little amber malt with the rest of the grist being American two row. It turned out just great, I will for sure make it again. Of course with an American IPA, you don't want the sweetness or mouthfeel that the crystal malt is going to give you and with an O.G. of around 1.060, it was big enough as it was. I was really trying to dry the beer out as much as possible to showcase the hops (but I also wanted just a little interesting action going with the malt). My disclaimer here is that I am a big fan of Amber malt so I guess I would have to say use restraint with you first attempt and then increase or decrease as your preferences dictate.