Accidental Brown Ale

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Brewkowski

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
1,343
Reaction score
28
Location
Chicago area
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Wyeast 1056
Yeast Starter
NO
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
NO
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.049
Final Gravity
1.013
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
36
Color
21
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
25 days @ 55-59
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 days @ 55
Tasting Notes
After tasting while transfer to secondary, malts seemed hidden, pretty hoppy
6.6 lb Pale LME
.5 lb Caramel 40
.5 lb Flaked Wheat
.4 lb Chocolate Malt
.25 Biscuit Malt
.25 Honey Malt
1 oz Fuggles 4.5% 60 Min
.9 oz Phoenix 10% 45 Min
1. oz Fuggles 4.5% 3 Min
1 Whirlflock Tablet
1 Wyeast Nutrient Pack for
Wyeast 1056 American Ale

First thing first, the Fuggle early addition was a mistake, It should have only had the Phoenix that early. I did add the Phoenix because in the middle of everything I didn't have time to recalculate everything to figure out exactly how high my IBU's were going to be. The goal was to have a nice Nut Brown Ale. So I held off on the Phoenix for a bit and then added it, then through the remaining Fuggles in just for aroma/flavor.
I just sampled it putting it into secondary and it is hoppier than planned (as expected), but I wonder if the hops bitterness will mellow over time to uncover more of the malt and grain characteristics I was going for. I was reallly pleased with the taste, color, and clarity of the brew so far, just not quite as malty as I hoped.
On the other hand, it was my first use of a Nutrient Pack and I think it really affected my fermentation. I was doing this at a friends house on a Saturday and by Sunday morning it had taken off nicely, so much so, that on the ride home I watched for 3 hours as my carboy spit up in the back of my suv. I've never had a fermentation so strong and so active. Pretty cool way to pass the time on a drive, and well worth the clean up.

--Well to update, although the beer has taken over a month to carb, I'd say the core recipe was a good one. Without the mess up on the hops, I think it would have been a really good batch. It's good now, but it seems the hops covers the toasty/biscuity flavors. I will definitely try this again when I'm not doing two batches at once. i'm for sure keeping the biscuit/choc./honey malt combo.

--Another update, so apparently one one or two bottles carbed well. I'm still having a problem with a lot of them being flat and somewhat yeasty. I don't think the yeast pooped out, but who knows. I've had it around 70 or so for almost 2 months and still no bubbles (unless i pour it from over my head). I think the recipe is good, but i screwed something up along the way.
 

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