British Brown Ale Nut Brown AG

[Sticks_brew]

This brew is just one of several batches I am making for a large birthday party (about 50-75 people). I had a decent schedule for when to start each brew to finish in time for the party (April 30), but I messed up my first attempt at this brew (see my earlier post about accidentally adding 4 oz of 60 min hops). I had to rebrew later than I wanted and feel like this will not be optimal by the time of the party. I bottle carb and here is my schedule, below; does anyone here bottle and have feedback on this beer's development based on a similar timeline?

Brewed 3/12/16:
Primary for 2 Weeks at 62 ramped up to 68.
Cold crash for 3 days
Bottled 3/30/16:
Bottle carb for 4 Weeks @ 66F
Cold crash for 3 days
Party!

Is this too rushed of a schedule for this beer, or would anyone change the timing at this point (carb for 3 weeks, cold crash longer)? If this is going to be too young to drink, I have no problem buying beer for the party and enjoying this later next month, but I need to plan accordingly, and hoping some people out there have gone G2G this fast or faster with good results.

BTW, my initial taste results with bottling dregs was very watery and lacking any real roastiness. I know this develops with time, I'm just hoping I have enough time.

Troglodyte,

I bottle conditioned for 2 weeks and put one bottle in the fridge one night and was drinking it the next night. Tasted very good. Now once I got to the last few bottles 4 weeks had past and it tasted just fine. So your time limit should be fine.

 

[Likefully]

Troglodyte,

I bottle conditioned for 2 weeks and put one bottle in the fridge one night and was drinking it the next night. Tasted very good. Now once I got to the last few bottles 4 weeks had past and it tasted just fine. So your time limit should be fine.

I agree. I have made this beer once and it did well in a competition. My only disappointment about this beer is that it didn't age well beyond 7-8 months, which really surprised me. I think at 4-5 weeks it will be good. According to the BJCP guidelines this sort of beer should be moderately hopped - those flavours will be just right around 4 weeks in this malty type of beer.

 

[troglodytes]

I bottle conditioned for 2 weeks and put one bottle in the fridge one night and was drinking it the next night. Tasted very good. Now once I got to the last few bottles 4 weeks had past and it tasted just fine. So your time limit should be fine.

I think at 4-5 weeks it will be good. According to the BJCP guidelines this sort of beer should be moderately hopped - those flavours will be just right around 4 weeks in this malty type of beer.

Thanks guys you eased my mind. Now to go find a way to cold crash 7 cases at once.

Edit: Just tried the first one (4/23/16) 6 weeks after pitching and it is not ready at all. This one needs time if you want to drink anything other than brown tinted yeast water.

Edit: (4/28/16) The change in such a short time never ceases to amaze me. 7 Weeks is when this bad boy started to turn in the right direction for me. At this rate it will be perfect next week, but in just 7 days time since my last taste, the malt and roast flavor really developed well.

 

[Redtab78]

Question....

If I upped the grain bill slightly on this to:

9.50 lbs Pale Malt 2 row
1.25 lbs Caramel/crystal malt 60L
1.25 lbs Oats flaked
.75 lbs Victory malt
.25 lbs Chocolate malt

same hop schedule of fuggles and east kent...Single mash at 158 (until the iodine test is clear) would this give me the same beer but at a higher ABV? or would that little bit extra throw it all off?

 

[Redtab78]

and I will use Safale US-05....with the above bill

 

[jbb3]

Question....

If I upped the grain bill slightly on this to:

9.50 lbs Pale Malt 2 row
1.25 lbs Caramel/crystal malt 60L
1.25 lbs Oats flaked
.75 lbs Victory malt
.25 lbs Chocolate malt

same hop schedule of fuggles and east kent...Single mash at 158 (until the iodine test is clear) would this give me the same beer but at a higher ABV? or would that little bit extra throw it all off?

If your goal is for higher abv, the increased grain bill is being negated by the increased mash temp your showing. Anything over 156 is going to produce less fermentable wort that attenuates less/finishes at a higher FG. It will create more body, but finish higher.

Drop the mash temp back down to the 154 the OP posted and that should give you a medium bodied beer around around 5.6% abv assuming 70% efficiency.

 

[jbb3]

Has anyone substituted the Maris Otter for the 2 Row in this recipe? What were your thoughts??

 

[rhys333]

Has anyone substituted the Maris Otter for the 2 Row in this recipe? What were your thoughts??

Yes, I did. Post #997 one page back. I subbed MO and 4% pale chocolate. Tastes great.

 

[jbb3]

Yes, I did. Post #997 one page back. I subbed MO and 4% pale chocolate. Tastes great.

Thanks. Would be interested in your comparative notes if/when you brew the original recipe.

 

[rhys333]

Thanks. Would be interested in your comparative notes if/when you brew the original recipe.

It might be a while before I get to that, but I'm guessing with all the specialty malts the difference with domestic 2 Row will be very subtle if noticeable all. You should have a damn fine brew either way.

 

[kangabrew]

I bottled this last week! I used biscuit malt instead of victory malt. Excited to test it

 

[MrFeltimo]

and I will use Safale US-05....with the above bill

i would advise against 05, i think its to characterful for the style, it a pretty delicate beer, stick with the notty.
just my opinion
good luck

 

[Redtab78]

Just had to share this....amazing, deliciousness!! I stuck to op original recipe, except I dry hopped with 1oz tettnauger for 10 days in secondary...this is 9 days after botteling...

VERY GOOD BEER!!!

 

[danzz1234]

what is the ideal fermentation temperature for this one? i'll be using nottingham.

 

[scottywags]

I just brewed this up today...only my 2nd AG. Ill update once Im drinking

 

[scottywags]

Does this look right? I just put this in the car boy on Sat and it was getting a nice thick foam on top...then today I opened the cooler to find this...(sorry it was kinda hard to get a good pic) Any ideas to why it looks like it stopped fermenting?

 

[str1p3s]

I brewed this earlier this year and it's the best beer I've made (out of 10 batches). I'm brewing it again on Friday so it is ready for my fantasy football draft.

 

[Redtab78]

Just took a 4th place win with a variation of this!!

 

[Electrake]

Brewing this presently... added 6 lbs of baked acorn squash to the mash. We will see what happens...

 

[rebrandsoftware]

Does this look right? I just put this in the car boy on Sat and it was getting a nice thick foam on top...then today I opened the cooler to find this...(sorry it was kinda hard to get a good pic) Any ideas to why it looks like it stopped fermenting?

Nothing looks particularly wrong with it that I can see from the picture. Did you take a gravity reading?

P.S. Just brewed this tonight. Stuck to the original recipe 100%. I came out a little under the predicted gravity but nothing major. Maybe I will remember to post how it turned out, but maybe not. Only time will tell!

 

[loovenator]

Hey guys,

First time playing around with water adjustments. Can someone sprinkle their eyes over this to see if it looks ok for this recipe. I've tried to go with a relatively balanced Chloride/Sulphate ratio but more towards the malty side if anything.

Ca: 161ppm
Mg: 19ppm
Na: 4ppm
Cl: 199ppm
SO4: 153ppm
Cl to SO4 Ratio: 1.30

I used the EZ Water Spreadsheet for this and will be adding 2g of Gypsum, 7g of Calcium Chloride and 3g of Epsom Salts to get the above result.
The spreadsheet gives me a Mash PH of 5.53 and a Residual Alkalinity of -70.
The Residual Alkalinity is the thing that's worrying me as I understand that a low RA (-60 - 0) is good for Pale beers, which this obviously isn't. How do I go about fixing that?

Cheers!

 

[makisupapolice14]

Anybody hAve a tried and true northern English brown water profile to follow? Thanks!

 

[Electrake]

I made this about 4 weeks ago, and added acorn squash to the mash. Came out pretty amazing

 

[thenorthwesthammer]

I'm a newer home brewer and I made this beer and it is amazing!!! It's probably one of the best nut browns i've ever had. It was so good even while doing gravity checks I made a second batch before the first was ready. This will likely be a regular for me.

 

[joshb]

I brewed this one today with the exact recipe posted. My OG is 1.055 so looks like I'm point with the recipe. I've not used the Nottingham yeast before. Looking forward to a good fall brown ale! This was done in my Grainfather.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Might need to try this one.

 

[jbedell2]

Any thoughts on using WY1318 for this? I have a bunch on hand.

Also, I too would be interested in a suggested water profile for this beer.

Thanks!

 

[Rauland04]

I just bottled my first attempt at this beer. The gravity check samples were awesome so I can hardly wait to taste it once it is carbonated. Followed the recipe exactly except that I used US-05.

 

[str1p3s]

I did this recipe but had to sub S-04 and one of the specialty gains because of what my lhbs had available. It turned out great so I wanted to make it again but use Nottingham and the original grain bill and it turned out tasting like cold bubbly pond water.... Not sure what I did wrong.

 

[christyle]

I think I did the same thing. First attempt was, I think, with s-04 out of availability and it was wonderfully nutty. Just re-brewed with Notty and it tastes somewhat bland, fruity and sweet, with minimal grain character.

 

[Gravity]

Brewed this about a month ago and kegged it yesterday; made a couple substitutions and omissions , however I kept the backbone of the beer.

Wishing that I used oats to help the structure an body, but oh well, just didn't have them on hand. Toasted malt and mild chocolate/sweet flavor with slight biscuit flavor. Not much body and mouthfeel - probably because of lack of oats - however, I'll give it a couple days at about 10 psi, then bring it to 4psi, then hopefully it will have mellowed by then

Feedback on the recipe is welcomed

24 lbs 5.7 oz Pale Malt (Weyermann) 83.%
2 lbs 11.3 oz Caramunich I (Weyermann) 9.3 %
1 lbs 5.7 oz Toasted Malt 4.7 %
10.8 oz Carafa I (337.0 SRM) 2.3 %
2.50 oz Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min 4.2 IBUs
2.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
2.50 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] 7.8 IBUs
3.0 pkg British Ale Yeast (Mangrove Jack's #M07) Yeast

 

[maverick14]

I brewed this last night but changed the hops to all fuggles and added a 5min addition, I also changed the yeast MJ36 Liberty Bell.

The wort smelt incredible going into the fermenter.

 

[inchrisin]

and I will use Safale US-05....with the above bill

..

I've brewed about 40 gallons of this recipe--some with just random yeasts I had laying around the house. It's the best Nut Brown you can make as is and is great year-round. I find that US05 or 1056 (same strain) is generally a little drier and a little flatter. I say this with disclosure that I don't love Notty yeast. It's a little too Pellegrino mineral watery for me. But, with this recipe it just hums. It's worth buying a satchel of this yeast and just making it a house recipe.

That said, the US05 Wyeast 1056 isn't bad. As it's heading into fall and winter, I'd suggest a mineral English yeast or a low-attenuating yeast. They all come out very drinkable, but the Notty yeast really works here.

 

[jturman35]

I plan to brew this for my first BIAB. Is there any reason to change up this recipe any? This will be my 3rd brew and first attempt at AG! I couldn't find a Samuel Smith Nut brown Ale but this sure looks good!

 

[griffi]

I plan to brew this for my first BIAB. Is there any reason to change up this recipe any? This will be my 3rd brew and first attempt at AG! I couldn't find a Samuel Smith Nut brown Ale but this sure looks good!

If you like Samuel smith NB, just brew the recipe as indicated on page 1 with Nottingham - you will not be disappointed!

 

[joshb]

Just tapped a keg of this exact recipe yesterday. No need to change anything if your efficiency is decent. Have made it multiple times. Nottingham is awesome for this.

 

[blacklabel8829]

This will be my second AG BIAB and second time building my water. How does this water profile look?

Calcium - 65ppm
Magnesium - 9ppm
Sodium - 21ppm
Sulfate - 33ppm
Chloride - 61ppm

 

[jturman35]

Hey guys I bought all my grains today to hopefully boil this weekend. I put the recipe in Brewers friend and I'm coming up with OG 1.027 FG 1.007 2.65%abv

I was hoping for around 5% abv

Am I doing something wrong?

Edit: I realized after I posted this the efficiency was set at 30% by default. I changed it to 70% and now it shows 5.3abv. This will be my first BIAB/AG so have no idea what to expect for efficiency.


Edit:

I came in at 1.060 SG

View attachment IMG_6661.jpg

 

[jturman35]

Getting ready to keg this what’s the best pressure to carb at? Also should I Age keg at room temp to make drinkable faster? I’d like to cold crash but I have other beers in the fermenter that need to go longer st 68.

 

[Miraculix]

Yes. I think the oats add a a smooth creamy mouthfeel. They actually add a nice touch in a lot of different kinds of recipes. They can also help in head retention.

Do you think flaked barley might also do the trick?

Edit: wow... On page 102 now and I quote from page one