Hoppy Brown Ale

This started off as a porter but I decided to not use any roasted barley or black patent. Technically, meets the specs for a robust porter, but I think its more of an American Brown Ale. Anyway, thought I'd post for commentary and criticism:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.30 lb Pilsner Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM) Extract 35.48 %
4.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 43.01 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5.38 %
0.50 lb Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 5.38 %
0.50 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 5.38 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2.69 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.69 %
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.00 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 30.4 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [6.10 %] (30 min) Hops 16.2 IBU
S-05 Yeast

5 gallon batch
Est Original Gravity: 1.057 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Bitterness: 46.6 IBU
Est Color: 25.8 SRM

Keeping the fermentation on the cool side, bubbling away at 62F as we speak. I'm aiming for a mild porter/strong brown ale with a little west coast hop kick.

Appreciate thoughts if anyone has em and will of course post notes as this progresses.

Cheers

Grain bill looks good to me, but I'm honestly not sure if you'll get much of a west coast hop kick. That usually comes from late addition hops (20 min and under) and dry hopping. Since it's already brewed, I'd definitely recommend dry hopping with an oz or so of cascade (or whatever other C hop you want)!

couple more IBUs and this would fit right into the BCJP style of "American-Style India Black Ale" aka Cascadian Dark Ale.

I think dry-hopping with at least two ounces of cascade is in order, maybe two ounces of northern brewer.

Interesting. I've never had a Cascadian Dark Ale. Actually.... I've had a bottle of Bashah - a black IPA that was a BrewDog/Stone collaboration. Wouldn't have thought about it for this beer but then, that's why I posted. Gonna have to grab an ounce or two of cascade and dry hop.

Looks nice, needs finishing hops. 30 minute cascades are not going to do much for you.

1 oz cascade at 10
1 oz cascade at FO

this will give you, just a little hop flair.........you need lots of finishing hops to really make them evident.

alexdagrate said:

couple more IBUs and this would fit right into the BCJP style of "American-Style India Black Ale" aka Cascadian Dark Ale.

I think dry-hopping with at least two ounces of cascade is in order, maybe two ounces of northern brewer.

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Not really. Too much chocolate malt and dark crystal for that style. Most CDAs get the majority of their color with de-husked carafa or sinemar.

wonderbread23 said:

Not really. Too much chocolate malt and dark crystal for that style. Most CDAs get the majority of their color with de-husked carafa or sinemar.

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+1, you have yourself a kick arse American Style India Brown Ale if you hop it enough.....my all time favorite, what should be a recognized style of beer.

I love the grain bill....all it needs are lots of C hops.......chinooks and centennials would fit right in.....and you just can't go wrong with cascades.

wonderbread23 said:

Not really. Too much chocolate malt and dark crystal for that style. Most CDAs get the majority of their color with de-husked carafa or sinemar.

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true, i was just looking at the numbers, but you're right.

cold steeping the chocolate and dark crystal might get it there. But since it's Crystal 120, isn't the color for this more red than brown or black?

Maybe a "big red ale." Imperial Reds that are aggresively hopped are becoming more and more popular and many of them are delicious. Ninkasi Believer is a personal fav.

I have tried St. Rogue Imperial Red and thought it was an excellent beer. Since I've already brewed this and its fermenting away I can't add any more flavor hops (at least, not until I brew version 2 later this fall!). Thinking that it will get a healthy dose of Cascade dry hopping for a few days before bottling.

All the discussion of cascadian dark ale has piqued my curiosity, though. That might be next on-deck. Anyone have a killer recipe?

NYCBrewGuy said:

All the discussion of cascadian dark ale has piqued my curiosity, though. That might be next on-deck. Anyone have a killer recipe?

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I make this style frequently with a recipe like this:

10 lbs Light LME


1 lb Crystal 60L steeped @ 151 F for 30 min
.5 lb Munich steeped @ 151 F for 30 min
.25 Flaked Oats steeped @ 151 F for 30 min
.25 Wheat Malt steeped @ 151 F for 30 min

1 lb De-Bittered Black Malt @ 135 for 10 min (Carafa Special or similar is best, but I've only been able to find BrewCraft brand de-bittered black malt).
.25 lb Roasted Barley @ 135 for 10 min
.25 lb Chocolate Malt @ 135 for 10 min

(lower heat for less time and using de-bittered malt such as Carafa Special or similar will reduce astringency)

You can also cold steep black patent, roasted barley, or "non-special" Carafa to get dark color and subtle roast without the astringency. (That's what Deschutes does for its CDA)

For hops I like to use:

1 oz Columbus @ 60 min

.25 oz Centennial @ 15 min
.25 oz Simcoe @ 15 min
.25 oz Citra @ 15 min

Irish Moss @ 10 min

.25 oz Centennial @ 3 min
.25 oz Simcoe @ 3 min
.25 oz Citra @ 3 min

2 oz Citra Dry Hops

Use an American Ale yeast such as 1056 or S-05

You can either go for an IPA that's basically no different from a normal IPA except black by using Sinamar or cold-steeping a de-bittered black malt.

Me, I like a bit of non-astringent roast to peek through the citrusy hops, so I use a little black patent and some chocolate in my steeping grains.

Been meaning to post a follow up. I ended up getting lazy and never picking up any dry hops so bottled as it was. Cracked a bomber yesterday while watching football with some friends and I'm happy to say this is the first beer that my friends seem to really like - on pay with craft brews they usually drink! It is definitely not hoppy. Has a mellow chocolate flavor, touch of roastiness, and smooth sweet malt that is nicely balanced by the hops. Aroma is sweet malt and chocolate with a touch of dark fruit.

It was a good beer day with a few bottles of my altbier, a growler of Southampton Secret Ale (also an Alt style beer), my brown ale, and then a bottle of Brooklyn Black Ops. This brown ale was definitely the favorite of the bunch.

So, not a hoppy beer but a great one nonetheless. And all the posts here about cascadian dark ale or black IPA or whatever you want to call it have got me geared up to brew one in the near future.

Cheers

I brewed something very similar. It was all Cascade and used a bunch of wet hops. Would these types of brews be BJCP-23-Specialty Beer? I want to enter in an upcoming contest and not sure where this one lands.

You got me.... sure others here have a good answer though.