100% Munich?

[worlddivides]

Why?

I was wondering the same thing. Using nothing but dark Munich malt to get a 1.045 OG results in 10.5 SRM. Taking it to 1.060 with 100% Munich Type II (Dark Munich malt) results in 12.8 SRM. The BJCP OG range for American Brown Ale is 1.045 to 1.060, so at the lowest range, it's 10.5 SRM and at the highest range, it's 12.8 SRM. But the color range given by the BJCP for American Brown Ale is 18 SRM to 35 SRM. And as far as I can tell, you couldn't reach 18 SRM with solely Munich Type II unless you brought the OG to around 1.100 for an ABV of around 11%.

And if you just used Munich Type I, then it'd just be 7 SRM at 1.045 and 8.9 SRM at 1.060.

 

[Witherby]

How about a 95 to 98% Munich malt with some crystal and roast malts to get you to the right color? All I’m saying is that if I had a bunch of Munich malt to use up and I wanted to make an APA-ish style beer, I’d be inclined to use it to make a American brown ale instead of an APA.

I actually do have a bunch of IREKS Munich malt to use up, but I will be using it for my homebrew club Dunkel competition in November. I will try to recreate the Franconian Dunkel (a little drier and more bitter than southern Bavarian Dunkels) that got me a first round blue ribbon in the NHC a few years back. That beer with the same malts but with an ale yeast and new world hops might have made a nice American brown ale.

 

[worlddivides]

How about a 95 to 98% Munich malt with some crystal and roast malts to get you to the right color? All I’m saying is that if I had a bunch of Munich malt to use up and I wanted to make an APA-ish style beer, I’d be inclined to use it to make a American brown ale instead of an APA.

If I was going for an APA-ish style beer but I wanted it darker, I'd be more likely to go for an American Amber Ale than an American Brown Ale. I thought that just because the flavor profile of an American Amber Ale is much closer to an American Pale Ale than to an American Brown Ale, but the color actually fits perfectly too.

BJCP SRM values:
American Pale Ale: 5 - 10
American Amber Ale: 10 - 17
American Brown Ale: 18 - 35

Although I do enjoy American Brown Ales, my opinion on this might also be influenced by how I tend to prefer English Brown Ales, which tend to not be at all hoppy.