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fishersfirst · 10-25-2012, 12:40 PM

Doing my first brown ale, here are the numbers, would appreciate some thoughts before I take the plunge:

OG 1.044 FG 1.011 4.3% abv (5gal)
19SRM
30IBU

6 lb Vienna
1.6 lb Munich light
5 oz Flaked oats
3.5 oz Biscuit
3.5 oz Chocolate
3.5 oz crystal 120
1.5 oz roasted barley

Mash 60 min at 154F
Fly sparge

Boil 60 mins

0.75 oz Challenger at 45 mins
1 oz Cascade at 10 mins
0.5 oz Mt Hood at 10 mins
1 oz Cascade at flameout
0.5 oz Mt Hood at flameout

Wyeast Denny's Favourite

Primary ferment at 60-62F for 2 weeks
Bottle condition for 4 weeks

Ive mainly used 2 row as my base malts and I've not used Vienna and Munich in combo before.

Trying to go for a nice malty flavour with good mouthfeel and a clean hop finish.
Any thoughts??

Cheers !

inhousebrew · 10-25-2012, 02:07 PM

Hmm, not sure. Never really ventured beyond the more traditional german brews for vienna and munich. I like Brown's with Maris Otter and I just tried one out with Golden Promise that I think has potential. I'd personally use one of those in place of the Vienna but it's your beer to try. Also, not sure about the necessity of the chocolate and roast barley but I like to simplify whenever I can. Looks like you're shooting for a nice low gravity drinker which I like and have been doing a lot of lately.

WoodlandBrew · 10-25-2012, 02:36 PM

I would be a little afraid the roasted and chocolate may mask the subtle flavor of the biscuit at that level. Personally I would cut back the hops a little So the malt complexity comes through, probably just one type of hop as well, but it's fine the way it is.

johnnytaco · 10-25-2012, 02:48 PM

I agree that using the vienna and munich would be kind of silly. I just made a Brown with Maris Otter(GlenEagle floor-malted) and used Burton Salts and it ended out amazing. If you search Stoned Brown Ale, you'll be able to see my recipe. I just used the hop schedule for Stone's Pale Ale and everyone I had try it has said that it's great. It's all brown ale going in and all stone pale ale to the nose. If you want to go the traditional route, just back the hops off a bit.

Jayhem · 10-25-2012, 02:56 PM

My comment is on the hops. That is an awfully lot of hops for a brown ale. Brown Ale's are typically more malt based, hop only for balancing bitterness. But hey you don't have to stick to style...that's half the beauty of home brewing...experimentation!

**Golddiggie** · 10-25-2012, 03:01 PM

It would help to know which style of brown ale the OP is going after. An American brown will be very different from a Northern English brown ale.

inhousebrew · 10-25-2012, 03:59 PM

The hops are fine if you want a hoppy American Brown Ale but if you want more of a English style you should back off. Either way, it depends on your end goal

**Golddiggie** · 10-25-2012, 04:21 PM

BTW, plugging this into BeerSmith, you're going to be light for an American Brown Ale. Both in color (below style range at 16.3) and ABV (at style minimum). I would seriously reconsider using the flaked oats in this recipe.

fishersfirst · 10-25-2012, 08:10 PM

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm aiming for a drinkable session ale. American Brown Ale.
Ideally looking to keep it to 4.5% max.
I take on board the Vienna/Munich mix. Maybe sub the Vienna for MO.
likewise the choc.

I tasted a brown recently which I was trying to copy that had a nice clean hop aromas to start, without being bitter, then allowed the malty flavour to follow. This was the idea with hopping this one late. I think I might cut it back a tiny bit too.

Interested to know why not to go with the flaked oats?
Any thoughts on the yeast?
Thanks, might be onto a winner soon:-)

**Golddiggie** · 10-25-2012, 08:16 PM

The oats will produce haze in the brew. Since they're normally used in porters and stouts (far darker brews) it's not visible. In your brew, it would be visible.

If the brown you tried is a commercial brew, look to see if there's a clone recipe floating around. If it's from another home brewer, see if you can get the recipe from him/her.

As for getting more flavor with hops, without high bitterness, look into hop bursting. You do your hop additions starting at 20 minutes form the end of the boil, and move forward. I've had excellent results with recipes that use this method. Lots of hop flavor/aroma without high bitterness. Those batches also use more hops than any others. Normally around 7oz (or more) for my batch size (I started off with 2oz of hops for most batches). That's for 6.75-7 gallons going to primary.

I hope you know what flavors you'll get from all the malts you have in the brew. If you don't understand how they will combine, then you're really rolling the dice.