Getting "nuttiness" into a brown ale

Hey everyone,

I am piecing together a recipe for a large brown ale. However, I feel I am going to want a pretty nutty beer in order to find the bridge in flavors I am making with the bitter hops and the earthy/woody flavoring hops.

What Malts/grains would you consider best for extracting that "nutty" quality? (this is going to be an extract and "grain bag" recipe)

right now my recipe stands at

5lb dry dark malt extract
4lb dark liquid extract
8oz caramel/crystal 60
4oz chocolate malt (us)
4oz belgian black roast.

60 mins 1.0oz Willamette
30 mins 1.0oz Pride of Ringwood
20 mins 0.75oz Pacific Gem
10 mins 0.25 oz Super Alpha

I don't think the black roast at 4oz will be enough to part that real nutty quality I am looking for. Any other ingredients you all thing I could add to bring this up to snuff? Also, with the IBU of 34.2...do you think I need to boost the hops just a bit (maybe to around 40-42)

oh, btw, according to my calculator, this will end with
OG 1.079
FG 1.020
ABV 7.9%
IBU 34.2

You could always add a Hazelnut extract to it, that's what I did and it turned out real nice.

HBHoss said:

You could always add a Hazelnut extract to it, that's what I did and it turned out real nice.

Click to expand...

I would prefer to not have to resort to that...but if it was do or die...I was hoping maybe a nice roasted caramel malt would do the trick...or something along those lines anyways.

IMO munich malt smells like peanut butter, maybe it tastes like it in large amounts

Victory Malt gives a toasty, nutty flavor. For quantities I'd guess 3-5% of the grist.

Edit: Consequently it requires a Partial Mash

Edit...again: FWIW my version of BeerSmith has C30 as a substitution for extract recipes, but I'd rather someone else chime in who's had experience using it for nuttiness.

Mosher in "Radical Brewing" say's to add some ground roasted pecans to the mash and that it provides a "nuttiness". Haven't tried it though.

Many, many kit recipes call for the use of a cup of brown sugar in a brown ale for a nutty flavor. I think it's the molasses in the brown sugar that provides it.

For my nut brown, I use 2-row, munich, victory, crystal 60, and chocolate. the nuttiness comes though very well, but not too overpowering.