First Brown Ale help

Eyyyyy :rockin:

I'm looking into brewing my first brown ale. I'm aiming for a smoky American brown, not too bitter, with some nice malt backbone (working with what I have on hand though).

1.5 Gallons
OG: 1.050 ~40 IBU

Briess 2-row pale (80%)
Briess Crystal 20 (5%)
Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt (10%)
Briess Dark Chocolate (5%)
Briess 2-row Black (0.5%)

Yes, it adds up to over 100%. Approximations are fun

Mash at 152 for an hour.

Bittering with 1/4oz nugget for 45 minutes, no other hops since I want the malts to provide most of the flavor.

I've got Nottingham on hand, and I figure it won't overpower the American style I'm gunning for.

Never done this before, so rip me to shreds, guys

 

Shameless self-bump because I have the free time to brew this afternoon

 

I have a smokey brown ale recipe I make a couple times a year.
Personally I would remove the black malt and replace the Crystal 20L with 60L (increased to 10% of the grist). Black malt is typical of English browns.

 

FWIW, nottingham really isnt an english yeast in terms of its flavor and attenuation levels. Much more similar to clean american yeasts

i think itll turn out fine. Ferment in the low 60s if you can

 

Sounds pretty solid to me! if you want more maltiness to come out of there, I'd probably add some 5% of munich or victory for some breadiness that matches perfectly with a brown.
Also it feels like the beer will be a bit dry, I'd bump up the caramel a little bit or mash at about 155 - 156 for some body too.

Nottingham is great too but if you want to be a little more english character, you could try the Windsor or S04

Good luck!

 

I evened it out to 10% Crystal 20 and Smoked malt, and added 5% caramunich. Does that sound about right?

 

Sounds pretty good. A bit more sweetness of the crystal will even out the smokiness I believe. Otherwise the flavor might be a little harsh

 

It's mashing away at 156-158 right now! The wort tastes really interesting. Sort of a mesquite smokiness, which yes, is complimented perfectly with the extra crystal and munich. Can't wait for this one to get funky with the yeasty beasties :rockin:

 

Excellent! glad to hear it. Sounds really interesting indeed

 

Thanks for your help, guys!