British Brown Ale Fat Squirrel clone

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Subbing the Carabelge for the Caravienne was a stab in the dark. Does anyone have any input on what I might expect out of that, or whether this was a good choice?

I'm not entirely sure, but I think you'll get a darker beer with a more body with the carabelge.

Let us know how it turns out.
 
Going to brew this one up this weekend only i am thinking of adding maple at some point. was thinking about some in secondary and then priming with it.
 
So I brewed this up and tasted it this week. It's good, but a little less malty flavor than Fat Squirrel, I think.

I don't want to start a decoction mash debate, but I read recently that Dan Carey swears by them. Has anyone tried a deocoction with this recipe? I have never tried to do one, but I may just for the fun of it the next time I brew this.
 
I brewed this using the Maris Otter malt instead of the Pilsner malt and it came out great. 4-weeks after brewing I wasn't sure if I liked it but after 6-weeks the chocolate/toffee flavor really started popping.

I haven't tried the real Fat Squirrel so I don't know how it compares... but if you like low IBU brown ales then you should like this one.
 
Brewed this recently. Using the starting recipe here and with comments I 'crafted':

5 lb MO
5 lb Munich
3 lb 2 row
1 lb C20
1 lb flaked barley and oats
0.5 choc malt
0.25 lb cherrywood smoke malt (for fun)

Mashed at 155, FWH chinook and flavored saaz.

I pitched a starter of wlp001 that I probably didn't give long enough- 24 hr; ferment was a nail biter as it didn't start for 40 hours and I almost pitched some 05. But I read the forum that said don't do anything for 72 hours. It's going gangbusters now!

Too much Munich? I was going for MALTY....
 
I really appreciate the starting recipe, sorry to sort of take so much license with it. Regardless, I wanted to share how this beer is evolving. Also, please excuse my lack of Beersmith or other software. Here was my recipe with additional details:

6 gallon batch
5 lb MO
5 lb Munich
3 lb 2 row
1 lb C20
1 lb flaked barley
1 lb flaked oats
0.5 choc malt
0.25 lb cherrywood smoke malt (for fun)

OG 1.065 ; FG 1.016

Mashed at 155,
FWH chinook 1.25 oz
10' Saaz 2 oz

Ferment with WLP001 for a month, primary only (~62F)

I bottled this about ten days ago and broke into one early last night. Even with low carb it has a nice mouthfeel and the smoke malt has died down a lot from my earlier hydrometer tastings (this was worrying me!).

The beer does have a good helping of malt flavor/sweet that blends nicely with the Saaz and finishes just hair of smoke. I'm really looking forward to this beer aging. Cheers!
 
Yooper said:
That sounds really good! I never even thought about adding smoked malt to it.

I've been giving that cherrywood smoke malt the stink eye for quite a while. I'm no huge fan of rauchbier, but was intrigued by just a hint of smoke. Really glad I only went with 4 ounces instead of half a pound!
 
I also just bottled Denny's ryePA using the 1450 yeast. Wow it tastes nice. Cold crashing really cleared it up. Really stoked for this and the ipa i made with the 1450!

Thanks for the tips, Yooper!
 
Gonna brew this tomorrow, excited cause you can't get Fat Squirrel in IL anymore. Last summer a bunch of us FIBS rode out to New Glarus and camped out at the site right across from the brewery. Partied throughout the night (drinking NG throughout) and then in the morning walked over to the brewery for a tour, they where more than generous. And I didn't screw up the grain bill on this one (read recent post). Maybe this is cart before the horse but I would like to thank Yooper for posting so many great recipes. But even if I screw this up, she, like so many of the mods on this site are quick to respond and informative in said responses. Thanks and Cheers!
 
JimTheHick said:
I really appreciate the starting recipe, sorry to sort of take so much license with it. Regardless, I wanted to share how this beer is evolving. Also, please excuse my lack of Beersmith or other software. Here was my recipe with additional details:

6 gallon batch
5 lb MO
5 lb Munich
3 lb 2 row
1 lb C20
1 lb flaked barley
1 lb flaked oats
0.5 choc malt
0.25 lb cherrywood smoke malt (for fun)

OG 1.065 ; FG 1.016

Mashed at 155,
FWH chinook 1.25 oz
10' Saaz 2 oz

Ferment with WLP001 for a month, primary only (~62F)

I bottled this about ten days ago and broke into one early last night. Even with low carb it has a nice mouthfeel and the smoke malt has died down a lot from my earlier hydrometer tastings (this was worrying me!).

The beer does have a good helping of malt flavor/sweet that blends nicely with the Saaz and finishes just hair of smoke. I'm really looking forward to this beer aging. Cheers!

This is getting really good now with some age on the bottles. I'd cut the saaz to just an ounce, in the future and maybe add some chinook at 1'
 
Brewed this 10 days ago - the hydrometer sample tasted extremely hoppy, I'm hoping that mellows out as it ferments. I'll probably transfer to a secondary in 4 days, then take a sample then and see how it's tasting. Did anyone else notice this?
 
Brewed this 10 days ago - the hydrometer sample tasted extremely hoppy, I'm hoping that mellows out as it ferments. I'll probably transfer to a secondary in 4 days, then take a sample then and see how it's tasting. Did anyone else notice this?

Is it hoppy or bitter. Bitterness is usually more prominent in hydro samples. It will mellow as the beer ages.
 
When yeast floc out they take a lot of bitterness with them.

My batch was not bitter, but did have a distinct hop flavor from the saaz.
 
Popped a bottle after 10 days carbing, couldn't help myself.

IMG_8063.jpg


Looks like mud! Tastes great already, but why is it so murky? The specks are on the glass and not floating in the beer by the way. I followed Yooper's recipe exactly and used Nottingham. I also bottled one beer in a clear glass bottle and haven't noticed any change in clarity since bottling. Normally by now the beer is starting to drop mostly clear, but nothing for this one.
 
Popped a bottle after 10 days carbing, couldn't help myself.

Looks like mud! Tastes great already, but why is it so murky? The specks are on the glass and not floating in the beer by the way. I followed Yooper's recipe exactly and used Nottingham. I also bottled one beer in a clear glass bottle and haven't noticed any change in clarity since bottling. Normally by now the beer is starting to drop mostly clear, but nothing for this one.

That's really strange- it looks like yeast but nottingham usually drops clear right away. Did you have clear wort to start with out of the boil kettle? The only thing I can think of besides yeast is that it could be starch from incomplete conversion.
 
That's really strange- it looks like yeast but nottingham usually drops clear right away. Did you have clear wort to start with out of the boil kettle? The only thing I can think of besides yeast is that it could be starch from incomplete conversion.

Wort into and out of the kettle was a bit hazy, but nothing like the picture above. The starch would make sense though. I've since started treating my water and getting much more complete conversions.

Thanks for the troubleshooting!
 
10 Gallons in the primary. My first attempt at a Nut Brown Ale. Excited to see how it turns out. Used a mix of Pilsen and Maris Otter for the base malt. Cara Munich instead of Cara Vienna, because that is what I had on hand. Also threw in a pound of Victory. First time to try to toast the Oats. Tried 20 minutes at 350F. I did not notice much of a change. Hit the mash temp of 154F. Checked PH for the first time. Looked like 5.4 using a strip. I think that is OK? OG is 1.052. All looks good.

Is it the Chocolate malt that provides the nutty taste, or something else?
 
I noticed that the fermentation temperatures listed 62 degrees. Would fermenting a bit higher, say 68 degrees be OK? I just have my bath tub, and wonderful PNW temperatures.

Excited to brew this, just got back from a family reunion in WI and really enjoyed this beer.
 
I noticed that the fermentation temperatures listed 62 degrees. Would fermenting a bit higher, say 68 degrees be OK? I just have my bath tub, and wonderful PNW temperatures.

Excited to brew this, just got back from a family reunion in WI and really enjoyed this beer.

Yes, but then I'd use a "cleaner" yeast strain, say S05 or Wyeast 1056 or WLP001 (same strain, as far as I can tell).
 
Interesting, would the S05 or Wyeast 1056 strains cause a end product that is much different?
 
Thanks to the OP for the recipe! Cheers.

I'm going to brew an 11 gal batch this weekend, splitting into 2 fermenters with different yeasts. My yeast type will be based on what my LBS has in stock. I'll update once I know what I'm using.
 
Brewed 11 gal yesterday. Over shot my OG by 5 points (1.056). Split the batch using Nottingham and S04. I'm a rookie brewer so I wanted to take this opportunity to see the difference in the two yeasts.
 
Brewed 11 gal yesterday. Over shot my OG by 5 points (1.056). Split the batch using Nottingham and S04. I'm a rookie brewer so I wanted to take this opportunity to see the difference in the two yeasts.

I don't think you'll notice much difference between the nottingham and the S04, as they are very similar.
 
I don't think you'll notice much difference between the nottingham and the S04, as they are very similar.

Good to know Yooper. Cheers. I'll report back with the results in about 6 weeks weeks. :)
 
It's cool today, and it's got me thinking of fall beers.

This beer is next up on deck for me. I'll use WLP002 for the yeast for 5 gallons, and then Wyeast 1450 for 5 gallons, and compare the differences in the beers. (I'm making a 10 gallon batch.)
 
It's cool today, and it's got me thinking of fall beers.

This beer is next up on deck for me. I'll use WLP002 for the yeast for 5 gallons, and then Wyeast 1450 for 5 gallons, and compare the differences in the beers. (I'm making a 10 gallon batch.)

This looks like something that needs to be brewed. Great reviews.

Yooper - how did you get my pic as your avatar?
 
I finally made this yesterday! I used Wyeast 1450 for one fermenter, and WLP002 for the other. I was out of saaz hops, but didn't know it until I started brewing, so I subbed with hallertauer mittlefruh and tettnanger. It sure smelled great in my house yesterday!
 
Yooper said:
It has to be a partial mash, because of the oats. So let's see, you'd have to be able to mash 4 pounds of grains at a minimum.

1 pound Caravienne malt
1 pound Munich malt
1 pound flaked Oats
12 ounces flaked barley
4 ounces chocolate malt

4 pounds extra light or light DME should work for 6 pounds pilsner malt.

Bring 8 quarts of water to 168 degrees, and add grains. Use two bags if you need to, to make sure the grains are loose. Stir well, and let sit at 150-158 for 45 minutes. Lift out grain bag and pour 170 degree water over the grains up to your boil volume. Discard grains. Bring to a boil, add the DME and bring to a boil again. Add the hops as directed.

.......................

If following the PM version you created earlier in the thread could you get away with only using a gallon of 170 degree water to "sparge" so as to make for a three gallon boil?

If so, how would you adjust the hopping, if at all?
 
If following the PM version you created earlier in the thread could you get away with only using a gallon of 170 degree water to "sparge" so as to make for a three gallon boil?

If so, how would you adjust the hopping, if at all?

Sure, just sparge up to your boil volume.

I wouldn't change the hops.
 
Brewed the partial mash recipe last weekend. I unfortunately mashed a bit high at 160 but all in all the night went well. Just a half oz of magnum made it quite bitter. I measured an OG of 1.064, which seemed a bit high but maybe the sweetness will counteract the bitterness. Thanks for taking the time to translate the recipe Yooper!
 
So. I brewed the partial mash recipe and added a 1/2 lb. of 6-row to try to get more diastatic power. I ended with an OG of 1.064. That was 13 days ago. Hydro sample today tasted great - very bitter but I was only at a gravity of 1.026. Even if tomorrow's sample is the same should I bottle or give the carboy a swirl and let it sit another week? I think there is a great balance in the beer now and it's already 5% abv just curious
 
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