Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: California ale
Yeast Starter: 2L
Batch Size (Gallons): 11
Original Gravity: 1.057
Final Gravity: 1.012
IBU: 35
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 21
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): don't do it
Tasting Notes: A very balanced hoppy/toasty ale great any time of the year.

This is the recipe for the highest scoring American Brown in the first (annual?) HBT BJCP competition. It tied CheschreCat's APA for first place in points in the American Ale category, but he beat me out with his intangibles and went on to place in the BOS round, congratulations CheschreCat! Yooper said that this beer was very well liked in the BOS round but didn't quite beat out the Intergalactic Porter for third place. This is my favorite hoppy ale to make and is always well received by drinkers and judges alike. This particular batch also won 3rd overall at a local comp and first place for all brown ales at the MBO 2009 competition.

It can easily be scaled down by cutting the quantities in half, but I would recommend against just using a pound of 60L crystal malt even if it does leave the color the same. The mixture of the 40L and the 80L give a bit of malt complexity in an otherwise very simple grain bill. You can increase or decrease the level of hops but I HIGHLY recommend sticking to the 3:1 Cascade:Willamette ratio as it is the heart of this beer and is a match made in heaven. I had never had Brooklyn Brown until about a month ago, and it actually reminded me of this ale a lot. So if you like Brooklyn Brown give this one a shot, you won't be disappointed.

Brushfire Brown
10C American Brown Ale

Type: All Grain
Date: 5/24/2009
Batch Size: 11.00 gal
Brewer: Kyle Alberda
Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
20.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 83.33 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
1.00 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
1.00 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 6 days) Hops -
3.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 6 days) Hops -
2.00 oz Centennial [7.13 %] (60 min) Hops 22.1 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (30 min) Hops 6.4 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (15 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [4.50 %] (10 min) Hops 1.3 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (5 min) Hops 0.8 IBU
2 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [Starter 2000 ml] Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.058 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.057 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.87 %
Bitterness: 34.8 IBU
Calories: 254 cal/pint
Est Color: 21.4 SRM

Single Infusion
60 min Mash at 156.0 F

Ferment for 14 days at 68F adding the dry hops 6 days before transfer.