Brown Ale Recipe Critque

Hey guys, so I'm trying to formulate my first recipe from scratch. I'm looking to make a hoppy brown ale, but more along the lines of a brown pale ale than an india brown ale, if that makes sense. I want it to have good malt character, but not too roasted. I also want to use only a single hop, preferably one I haven't used before (getting tired of using Cascade and Centennial all the time). I was thinking about going with Ahtanum, since I've heard it has a nice fruity/floral note, which is what I'm going for. So here it is from tasty brew:

Batch Size: 5.5 gal
Boil Vol.: 3 gal
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.012
IBU: 40
SRM: 15
ABV: 5.4%

6# Light DME
12oz Carapils
12oz Crystal 80L
12oz Crystal 40L
2oz Black Malt

.5oz Ahtanum @ 60
1oz @ 30
1oz @15
1oz @5
1.5oz Dry Hop

WLP001 California Ale

Thoughts?

bump

I'd swap the carapils for munich or victory, and the black malt for chocolate malt.

Too much crystal. Cut it so your total is no more than 1lb total max. Light DME is usually made with a significant amount of carapils anyway, (check the manufacturer's website) so you can leave it out. The other crystal malts will still contribute to mouthfeel and head.

Ok thanks. So keeping the hop schedule the same...

Batch Size: 5.5 gal
Boil Vol.: 3 gal
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.012
IBU: 41
SRM: 15
ABV: 5.3%

6# Light DME
12oz Victory
8oz Crystal 80L
8oz Crystal 40L
4oz Chocolate Malt

Boleslaus said:

Ok thanks. So keeping the hop schedule the same...

Batch Size: 5.5 gal
Boil Vol.: 3 gal
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.012
IBU: 41
SRM: 15
ABV: 5.3%

6# Light DME
12oz Victory
8oz Crystal 80L
8oz Crystal 40L
4oz Chocolate Malt

Click to expand...

Looks good. You can up the chocolate a little if you want (up to 1/2 lb), but you don't have to.

Oh wait, just noticed - is this a PM? It needs to be, if you want the Victory to do anything. If so, I'd recommend swapping a lb or two of the DME for 2-Row, so that the Victory can convert.

Well it was just going to be an extract. I've read on here that you can just steep victory.

From Revvy's Old Bog Road Brown Ale

Note, this can be done either as a Partial Mash or an extract with special grains, as the victory can be either mashed or steeped.

Click to expand...

Ah, ok. Sounds good then. I was going by Palmer (http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-1.html), but he could be wrong.

IIRC, most accounts say it needs to be mashed, but I suggested it for flavor/color which you'll get thru steeping. I've seen listed DP's ranging from 0-50 for it

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Victory_Malt
http://www.brews.com/tag/victory-malt/

Yea, regardless of its DP, it should give some nice flavor.

What are your guys' thoughts about the straight Ahtanum hop schedule? I've never used them (thats why I chose them). Will it clash with the flavors of a brown ale? Should I use a stronger/different bittering hop and just use them for late additions?

I've never used Ahtanum, so I can't comment on it specifically. I don't think you're going to have a problem with them "clashing" - hops,generally speaking, don't clash with malt. Your schedule looks fine to me, although Daniels says American browns can be hopped quite heavily, so you could stand to add even more hops and bring your IBUs up to 50 if you want.

Thanks for all the help so far guys. I think I'm going to keep the IBU's around 40. I want it to be more like a Pale Ale in terms of bitterness and hop flavor/aroma. I also upped the chocolate malt a tad to give it more flavor and color. So here it is updated. Should be making this in the next few days.

Batch Size: 5.5 gal
Boil Vol.: 3 gal
OG: 1.053
FG: 1.012
IBU: 42
SRM: 18
ABV: 5.3%

6# Light DME
12oz Victory
8oz Crystal 80L
8oz Crystal 40L
6oz Chocolate Malt

1oz Ahtanum @ 60
1oz @ 30
.5oz @15
.5oz @5
1oz Dry Hop

WLP001 California Ale