American Brown Ale BBD Brown Biscuit

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ChshreCat

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
Messages
11,516
Reaction score
589
Location
Camano Island
Recipe Type
Partial Mash
Yeast
US-04
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.058
Final Gravity
1.015
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
21.7
Color
23.7
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7
Tasting Notes
A good brown. Little biscuit coming through with nice notes from the special B.
This was my first recipe and I think I can be proud of it. It's a very easy, simple brown ale. The flavor is fantastic. Just a bit from the biscuit malt with some dried fruit flavor coming out from the special B. It's malty and a little sweet, but in a good way. My craft brew drinking friends and my BMC drinking friends both love it. This was my first, but it's going to be a regular recipe in my house. Call it my house brown.

I didn't set out to do a clone brew, but I think this is very close to Deschutes Buzzsaw Brown seasonal. I'd have trouble telling them apart if I didn't know better. If you're looking for a Buzzsaw clone, or just a good brown, give it a shot.

Yes, this is the recipe from https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/time-83712/.

Brown-Biscuit.jpg

BBD Brown Biscuit
Brew Type: Partial Mash
Style: American Brown Ale
Brewer: BBD Brewing
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min



Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.00 lb Amber Liquid Extract (12.5 SRM) Extract 73.68 %
1.00 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 10.53 %
0.50 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 5.26 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.26 %
0.50 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.26 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (45 min) Hops 14.1 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 7.6 IBU
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.058 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Color: 23.7 SRM
Bitterness: 21.7 IBU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.65 %
 
I am going to make this soon, with a few minor differences.

Based on 80% efficiency, here's where I'm at (AG).

8 lbs pale malt
1 lb munich
1 lb special b
.5 lb biscuit
.5 lb flaked barley instead of carapils

1oz Williamette @ 50 min.
1 oz Williamette @15 min.

Wyeast English Ale (An LHBS sent me a $3 discount birthday card)

OG 1.057
IBU 23
SRM 21

I'm thinking of mashing at 155* for body.
Thanks for the inspiration!
 
It is in the fermenter, waiting for my silly 1098 Wyeast to swell. OG was 1.060. Sample is tasty!

Scratch that, the yeast is now busy!
 
Excellent. Your recipe looks like it should come out pretty close in flavor to my PM. The hops are pretty close. The bulk amber extract I use is a little higher in unfermentables than some others so the munich is a nice touch. Hope you like it!
 
Brewed on Sat. Double pitched yeast, don't ask, the story has been posted. Anyhow, I think the vigorous fermentation is over. I sampled for the heck of it (I was in a sampling mood; I racked my blackberry wine over to a new carboy, then racked my oatmeal stout into the just-vacated and cleaned wine carboy, after dumping in .5 lb of coffee grounds and 6 oz of cocoa powder). The Brown Biscuit is very good so far! FG is 1.016, or close. That's what I was hoping for; I didn't want it too dry.
 
I really enjoy this beer. I have been "sampling" it over the last couple of weeks. It is good and getting better with age! I will make this again. Thanks for the recipe!!
 
So I slacked off and ended up buying fresh grains and I brewed your BBD Brown Biscuit (partial) ~5 weeks ago. I think I made some steeping mistakes (time or temp) and should have done a yeast starter (I decided to try the sprinkle method - I won't do that again), but regardless the samples I took tasted quite promising regardless. If the real deal tastes as I expect, I will be brewing it again to correct my mistakes.

I just kegged it a few nights ago, and I will be getting my first real taste on Christmas day :) That'l be a nice present, along with 6 month aged Ed Wort's Apfelwein completing at the same time.

I will let you know how the first pour is :)
 
Thanks!

btw... a starter isn't needed for dry yeast. Either sprinkle it on or just rehydrate it in a little water while you're cooling your wort. Starters are only for liquid yeast.

This one doesn't use a ton of grains, so being a little off on temp or time won't make that big of a difference. Probably won't even be noticeable.
 
Ah - my bad on the terminology. I meant rehydrate, done according to Palmer's How To Brew. My first three brews, I rehydrated, but this time I tried just sprinkling it direct from the packet. I'm not sure what accounts for the big difference I am seeing - could it be that my basement was colder, due to it being winter, so the yeast were less active? It should have still been mid 60's during active fermentation.

My OG was 1.053 I believe, FG 1.022. By my calculations that means my ABV% is ~4.0% - a pretty big difference from 5.65% - my other brews were all pretty close to the reference numbers of their respective recipes.
 
It might have finished high, but that can happen with some extracts. Since you kegged, it's not much of a worry. Might be a little sweeter is all. Fermenting cooler will make th yeast work slower and more gently, but it also helps keep down off flavors.

I started rehydrating my dry yeasts after a few batches when I learned it's better for the yeast, but all the batches I sprinkled on came out just fine. I figured rehydrating just helps stack the odds a little more in your favor, so why not do it.
 
You will like this beer. Myself, I would rather this particular finish high than low. Enjoy it, I sure do!! As do others that have tried it. Thanks again 'Cat!
 
Thanks for the recipe, ChshreCat! I let mine sit in the fermenter 5 weeks and bottled about 4 days ago. I tried one tonight, even though I new it wouldn't be fully carbed - I couldn't wait. It was PHENOMENAL!! Great recipe, I recommend it to everyone! This is my best brew to date.
 
+1 from me. I brewed this 10 days ago, it's still in the primary but the hydro sample tastes great! I'll be bottling this weekend.

I can foresee "Cheshire Cat Brown Ale" becoming a regular here.
 
Thanks! I think you're gonna like it. I'd suggest giving it another week past this weekend before bottling it, though.
 
BrianTheBrewer:

I tried to reply to your PM about this recipe, but it said you either aren't allowed to receive private messages or you have it turned off in your settings.
 
So a couple nights ago, I cracked a bottle of this which is now two weeks in the bottle. Still a little young, but wow it was great. A little sweet, an understated hops flavor with good malt. Definitely a success.

Then yesterday, SWMBO picked up a 6-pack of pick-your-own at the store, two of them being the New Belgium 1554. Damn if it didn't taste a lot like the BBD. I'm going to have to do a side-by-side with these.
 
1554? Really? I have a six pack of that sitting in my fridge along side a couple bottles of BBD and I'll give that a shot. I thought it was pretty close to Deschutes' Buzzsaw Brown, but never really thought about 1554. They're really different kinds of beers. I'll crack one of each tonight and see what I think. Could just be your batch that came out like that. If not... then it'd be kinda cool. :D
 
Gosh Cat, don't take my word for anything. All I can really say is, I liked them both a lot. At this stage, my tastes aren't discriminating enough, which is why I need to do more research. In fact, I've got some research in the fridge right now. :mug:
 
Ok. Just had a 1554 and a Brown Biscuit back to back and I can kind of see where you're coming from. There's definitely a flavor in there common between the two, but there was definitely some things missing between the two. But the bottle of Biscuit I was drinking was most of a year old so it might have lost a few things over time. :D
 
This beer has changed a lot (for the better) in the last week and a half. Gone is the alcohol sharpness that made me think "home-made". Now it is smoooth, tasty, and (finally) well-carbonated with a lasting head. I served this at a family gathering yesterday, and the wine-snob BIL (a very nice guy, actually) immediately asked if I could provide a case for his upcoming party. I'm probably going to turn him down, but it was nice to get props anyway.
 
Brewed on 9/13/09 with very slight differences in grain and hops (Kent Goldings to finish). Kegged after 16 days in the primary (9/26/09). Tasted after a month in the keg (10/30/09). Tasted OUTSTANDING! Drank very slowly over the winter months. Got better with age. Will brew again and again.... Thanks for a great recipe Cat! BROWN ALES RULE!
 
Over the past six months, I’ve done a Brown Biscuit, an IPA, a cherry wheat, an Irish Stout, a Haus Pale Ale, a Centennial Blonde, and Yooper’s hopped-up amber (just bottled). My fanbase is now clamoring for – drumroll please – Brown Biscuit!

There was a lot of competition for the next spot in line. Many worthy contenders, including the ever-present “Something New”. But I like to keep the crowd happy, and right now that means Brown Biscuit. Something New will just have to wait.

I’m going to try an all-grain recipe here, using 2-row with some 60L Crystal in place of the amber extract. Stylistically, this recipe seems to be somewhere between an English Brown and a Robust Porter. I’m not sure what yeast I’ll use. I just tried Denny’s Fav on my last batch, and may try that again. But there was nothing wrong with the S-04 last time. Decisions, decisions.
 
OK, I’ve been sampling my second batch of this brew. It’s great, really. But it’s also different from my first batch, so now I don’t really know what it’s supposed to be like.

Batch #1 was my first non-Mr. Beer batch. So yeah, I was a rookie. The recipe was scaled down to 2 gallons (so it could fit into Mr. Beer). It was dark like a stout, richly flavored but with a twang that either said “extract twang” or “high ferment temps.” I’m guessing the latter. At any rate, it was popular enough that I had to brew it again.

The current batch was converted to all-grain. According to the Briess website, they use 2-row, Munich, and crystal 60L in their amber DME. So I pulled some numbers out of thin air, and went with 6 lbs 2-row; 3 lbs light Munich, and 1 lb C60L, along with the other specialty grains.

It came out much lighter, like a Newcastle or thereabouts. At this point, “whatever” seems like the appropriate response, because it’s a beautiful color and flavor.

I used Wyeast 2450 (Denny’s Favorite 50) instead of the S-04. Why? I had just finished doing Yooper’s Hopped-Up Amber, in which she sang its praises as a malt-forward yeast. That recipe turned out fantastic, so I wanted to give Denny’s another try. I was able to keep the ferment temps to around 65 throughout.

The result here was a smashing victory for the good guys. I can really taste the Special B and the Biscuit malt – imagine taking a homemade cherry pie out of the oven, and some of the filling has oozed out onto the crust and caramelized. That’s what it tastes like – minus the cherry, of course. I wouldn’t say it’s a sweet beer (even though it finished a bit high at 1.017) – definitely malty though.

I’m trying to set up a malty – hoppy – malty – hoppy rhythm to my beerflix queue. This will probably fight with O’Flannagain’s Stout for the “malty” slots. Maybe I just need more Better Bottles, huh?
 
Sounds like you hit it the second time. This is definitely a brown and not anything dark like a stout. Biscuity, fruity, malty, yep... that's the beer. Love the pie crust analogy. If there was such a think as raisin pie, that would probably be spot on. heheh
 
I'd really like to try this but have a question. You say to use 6 row pale malt. Northernbrewer has 2 row pale malt and 6 row malt. Is 6 row malt a pale malt?
Thanks
 
This was my first one, so I added it early on. I've also added it late and it doesn't make much of a difference.
 
Nice looking recipe with some great feedback! I'm looking for a good brown ale recipe with a solid malty backbone to use in my own version of GRAFF (beer and apple cider mixed). I intend to use about 2 parts beer to 3 parts cider. The beer component provides the unfermentable sugars, and head retention, and some color. Hopefully not much bitterness, which is why this recipe sounds perfect.

My question is...how do you forsee the special B malt mixing with the tartness of the apple? I've not brewed with it yet, so I'm unsure of the results. From what I read, it's mainly a Belgian malt used in Dubbles and Abbey Ales. If used without the belgian yeast, can I assume it won't have that distinct belgian ale flavor/aroma?

Again, thanks for sharing what looks like a great recipe!
 
I think special B would work pretty well in a graff. It gives you a sorty of raisiny flavor to it. I think that'd work alright with a tart apple flavor.
 

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