British Brown Ale Aberdeen Brown Ale (NewCastle Clone) AG

[HalfPint]

Just bottled this bad boy. Our OG came in way high: 1.050. FG was 1.011, which should give us about 5.3% ABV after bottle carbing.
First time I ever tried the gelatin trick, and I gotta say, I have never made beer this clear before. Amazingly clear. Awesome.
Took a few sips from the graduated cylinder -- tasted a bit overly-malty, but I think there was some of that sweetness that was trying to come through. Hoping bottle conditioning will mellow it out and make it reasonably close to original Newcastle.

Holy crap man. Mine was with a lot of the other people at around 3.8%.

I'm thinking about making this again, but as a winter type beer. I will add 2 lbs of 2-row jacking up the OG.

 

[knappster]

Bottled tonight. It tasted a little roastier than I anticipated since I omitted the roasted barley, but otherwise it was yummy. I'll check on it again after 3 weeks in the bottle.

It's been in the bottle for 5 weeks now and that roastiness is still kind of overpowering. This is only the 2nd partial mash I have done, and each of them had .25 lb of pale chocolate malt. I guess I'll have to get some real newcastle to compare them side by side but I think if I make this again I might have to cut down on the chocolate malt even more or cut it out completely. Or did I just use the wrong type of chocolate malt?

 

[dunnright00]

I've been drinking this the past week and it is mighty tasty! I think the ABV is a little higher than I read, but I've never been good at getting accurate readings.

Looking at my glass the other night I commented to my wife I think this is one of the best beers I've made.

I'm not a big Newcastle fan, but this has a bit more flavor. Definitely going to be in the upcoming rotation!

 

[paint_it_black]

Mine's been bottled for almost a month now, and I jsut cracked one. Verrry tasty, not far off from Newcastle. Maybe a slightly more malty, as was the idea behind the recipe. Very satisfied.

 

[BierMuncher]

...Verrry tasty,...Very satisfied.

You're making me thirsty.

 

[knappster]

It's been in the bottle for 5 weeks now and that roastiness is still kind of overpowering. This is only the 2nd partial mash I have done, and each of them had .25 lb of pale chocolate malt. I guess I'll have to get some real newcastle to compare them side by side but I think if I make this again I might have to cut down on the chocolate malt even more or cut it out completely. Or did I just use the wrong type of chocolate malt?

At 10ish weeks this has improved quite a bit. The roastiness is no longer overpowering. I would still probably try a different chocolate malt next time but certainly not leave it out. I have tried my partial mash brew next to the real Newcastle and I would say that mine is not nearly as sweet. Still pretty good though.

 

[staggerlee]

Brewed a variation on this yesterday, closest I could with the materials at hand.

My LHBS didn't receive their yeast order Thursday like they said they were going to, so I had to rethink the whole brew day based on what few yeasts they had available and what hops I had available, thus:

Sunderland Brown Ale

6.5 lbs. 2-row
1 lb. polenta (to sub for flaked corn)
1 lb. carapils (they had no crystal 20)
0.5 lbs. crystal 50/60
0.5 lbs. crystal 70/80
0.25 lbs. chocolate malt
omitted roasted barley at BM's suggestion.

mashed at 156º for 1 hour, sparged at 170º to yield pre-boil target of 26L wort. Didn't quite get there, probably could have sparged some more (grains retained a little sweetness when sampled as I tossed them into the compost). O.G. 10 pints higher than target of 1.038. This is part of the process I haven't quite got down yet.

90 minute boil, not quite as vigorous as I'd like. I think there's a heatstick in my future.

1 oz. Northern Brewer 8.3% @ 60 min.
1 oz. Mt. Hood 5.3% @ 60 min
both these pellet hops quite old and degraded; estimated 50% AA remaining

0.5 oz. Willamette 4.7% fresh whole leaf @ 15 min.
2 tsp. Irish Moss @ 15 min.

Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale. Packet 3 months old, no discernible activity 4 hours after smacking pack. Dumped into 500ml starter with yeast nutrient, no activity until just before bed, when some CO2 is being produced. Pitched @ 68º. Nice krausen by about 18 hours.

Will ferment two weeks @ 68º, plan to add gelatin after 1 week.

Won't be a clone, but just as Sunderland's accent is thicker than Newcastle's ... so will this beer be thicker than Newkie Brown.

Thanks for the recipe & the thread, BM. You saved Brew Day!

 

[bad coffee]

I'm brewing this right now! A friend wants it for the "His" keg at the wedding party. "Hers" is C3C with a couple of pounds of ginger. I'm almost thinking I should invite BM to the party!

B

 

[bmckee56]

Just kicked the third batch of this brew. Not the original form, somewhat changed , but it was born of the original recipe taken from this post.

Darn good and getting brewed again soon.

Salute!

 

[BierMuncher]

I'm brewing this right now! A friend wants it for the "His" keg at the wedding party. "Hers" is C3C with a couple of pounds of ginger. I'm almost thinking I should invite BM to the party!

B

I'm there....

 

[paint_it_black]

Hey, so I brewed this up a few months ago. Really enjoyed it a lot, but it was far too malty and not really much like Newcastle at all. I ended up wayyy overshooting the OG (I think the mill at the shop might have ground the grains too fine). Do you think if I ground the grains properly, thereby hitting the target OG, and mashed at a lower temp (say 150-153), I might get something more comparable to Newcastle?

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I am looking to brew a Newcastle Clone this weekend and this recipe looks good. I am a bit concerned with the amount of Cara-malts in there though. I also like the idea of adding a dash of Special B. What do you guys think of this?

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item
13.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 90L (90.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Special B
0.50 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
0.10 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Challenger (60 min)
1.00 oz Argentinian Cascade (60 min)
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (15 min)

Fermented with 1098

Leave everything else the same and mash at 152 degF. I like the dry/thin mouthfeel of Newcastle and am looking for that to quench my thirst in the upcoming hot months. Do you think this will be farther from the original or a little closer?

Thanks for the help,
Justin

EDIT: I had to tweak my recipe a bit on the fly because of availability. I didn't note the AA on my bittering hops, but I balanced the IBU's to the original recipe.

This turned out to be a good brew. Probably farther from NC that BierMuncher's Aberdeen but it was in style for a Northern Brown. In review, this beer was brilliantly clear with an initial one-finger meringue textured foam that settled nicely to a thin but persistent foam layer. Color was a burnt amber/orange that is more orange/red than a NC. Lacing was constant with occasional crusty splotches. Mouthfeel was crisp in the start and finish with a round middle. The taste was reminiscent of salted sweet bread with notes of mandarin, biscuit, and rich earthy soil. Some notes of dark cocoa were present in the aftertaste.

I was very happy with this beer, but would make a few changes if I brewed it again. Mainly I would take out the Crystal 90 and drop the Special B down to 0.25 lbs. Hops were very good.

My friend stopped by last night with a surprise... he had saved two bottles of this beer form just over two years ago.

It was still great and had mellowed over time. Much to my surprise, I actually think it was better than I remember. I think we will have to brew up another iteration this summer.

 

[InYerMouth]

I brewed the recipe as is and won 2nd at a comp a couple weeks back. I dont see anything wrong with the original recipe.

 

[Krrazy]

Newcastle is one of my favorites -- I think this one is next on the docket. Thank you for sharing!

 

[bad coffee]

This keg is on the gas, carbing. I believe (without my notes) I brewed it as the original recipe, maybe subbing hops.

After a 2 weeks on the gas at 12#, this beer "May just be the best you've ever made" from The Lady.

I think it's in my top 5. Kinda wish I had time before the party to brew another batch. I don't think this 4 gallons will last. I had to disconnect the tap until the party!

B

 

[ekjohns]

i know people talked about using US-04 instead of Whitbread Ale. What would be the major difference in taste between the 2? My LHBS has US-04 and some of the white labs. I could take an extra trip to another store that i am not to fond of to try and get the wyeast Whitbread Ale. Is this yeast worth the effort for the taste?

 

[Eluna]

just tried mine at 1 week cause i got a little antsy and it was Great I used Danstar Windsor and it turned out a little bit darker and was a bit roasty but hopefully with another week of aging the roastiness will mellow a bit but over all GREAT BEER

 

[sideshow_ben]

Earlier in this thread, someone(s) suggested leaving the wurt in the primary for 3 weeks before racking it to the secondary (or bottling). Is it really a good idea to leave beer on the trub for that long?

 

[camiller]

Earlier in this thread, someone(s) suggested leaving the wurt in the primary for 3 weeks before racking it to the secondary (or bottling). Is it really a good idea to leave beer on the trub for that long?

I have made some pretty good beer leaving the beer on the trub for two months. Almost all of my beers go four weeks. Three weeks should be no problem.

 

[HalfPint]

i know people talked about using US-04 instead of Whitbread Ale. What would be the major difference in taste between the 2? My LHBS has US-04 and some of the white labs. I could take an extra trip to another store that i am not to fond of to try and get the wyeast Whitbread Ale. Is this yeast worth the effort for the taste?

I'd just use the US-04. I bought and used the Whitbread for this recipe, and I think next time I'll just go with the dry yeast.

 

[dunnright00]

Just had a taste of my second batch of this the other night, this time a Partial Mash. I said it before and I'll say it again, one of the best, tastiest beers I've ever brewed.

I've entered it into a comp later this month, I'll post back here the results.

 

[knappster]

Just had a taste of my second batch of this the other night, this time a Partial Mash. I said it before and I'll say it again, one of the best, tastiest beers I've ever brewed.

I've entered it into a comp later this month, I'll post back here the results.

What was your partial mash recipe? I posted mine earlier in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/ab...astle-clone-ag-36912/index11.html#post1597367

and I will probably brew this again soon and would like to know how your PM recipe compares.

 

[dunnright00]

What was your partial mash recipe? I posted mine earlier in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/ab...astle-clone-ag-36912/index11.html#post1597367

and I will probably brew this again soon and would like to know how your PM recipe compares.

Here's mine:
-----------------
4 lbs Pale LME
2 lbs 2-row
1/2 lb. Carapils
1/2 lb.Crystal 20L
1/2 lb.Crystal 60L
1/2 lb.Crystal 80L
1/2 lb.Chocolate

1/2 oz. Goldings hops (60 min boil)
1/2 oz. Cascade (45 min boil)
1/2 oz. Goldings hops (15 min boil)
1 tsp. Irish Moss (15 min boil)
1/2 oz. Cascade hops (5 min boil)

White Labs WLP005
---------------

I know I kind of went off the path with the hops and the yeast, but it tastes surprisingly similar.

Mind you, it's only been about a week and a half in the bottle...

 

[ipatch]

Hello, BierMuncher, I recently did my first AG brew using this recipe. You can view pictures of all the steps I performed here I have two questions about the brew after pitching the yeast.

1) How long should it ferment for? I used an iphone app called brewpal and according to that, I am suppose to let the brew ferment for two weeks (14 days). So far it has been 8days.

2) What kind of force carbonation did you perform on the brew? I am using 5 gal corny kegs.

cheers
-Chris

 

[sideshow_ben]

I too used this (with tiny mods) as my first AG brew yesterday. Hit the OG spot on but pitched the yeast a little too soon (90F). It's bubbling away now. Can't wait to taste it in a month.

 

[ipatch]

I too used this (with tiny mods) as my first AG brew yesterday. Hit the OG spot on but pitched the yeast a little too soon (90F). It's bubbling away now. Can't wait to taste it in a month.

Why did you use three different types of fermentation?

 

[Brandx40]

I just got the ingrediants for Kornbread's 5.5 gal version. LHBS didn't have Target so I settled on Willamette. I'll use 1.5 oz of it since the AA% is 4.5%. I'm pretty pumped about it. I'll y'all know how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe!!

 

[ipatch]

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7 at 69 degrees
Additional Fermentation: Kegged and chilled to 37 degrees for 5 days
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 at 69 with gelatin

Hey, I have had my brew in primary for 8 days now, and was wondering when you did the Additional Fermentation: kegged and chilled to 37 degress for 5 days did you force carb your brew? and if you did, did you add any additional sugar or what not? Then after those 5 days did you just let it chill at 69-70 for 5 days still carbed in the keg?

Also this is the original gravity I had before I pitched the yeast.

and here is the gravity I measured today.

cheers
-Chris

 

[ekjohns]

i think he just put it in wrong i think it was primary then secondary then keg. I am not possitive on this.

I brewed this yesterday hit the OG on the button. even after the boil i could taste the new castle in it keep up the good work

 

[Brandx40]

Brewed this up today. Pretty good brew day except for the boil over. AARRG! Need a bigger kettle.
OG ended up at 1.048. Bit higher than I thought I'd get but not a big deal I guess. Looking forward to this one. Color looks to be pretty close.

 

[Brandx40]

I like it. Go with what you have there. If I were going to do this recipe again, I would mash this at the 158-160 range. I did this most recently on my 10der & Mild Brown ale and it was pleasantly malty. Also, a shorter mash time (say, 45 minutes) will preserve some dextrins and give you some slight sweetness.

Hey Biermuncher,

I brewed up Kornbread's version of your recipe last week. Came out great. My efficiency was a little too good OG came out at about 1.048. Anyway, its been bubbling away for a week and last sample I took was 1.019. I mashed at 158 F. I am curious to know what your final gravity came to when you tried this recipe with the higher mash temp? Mine seems about done so I don't think its coming down much further. I roused the yeast a little so we'll see. The samples are really good so I don't think it matters much. Just curious.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

NBA is one of my favorite beers right now. I am going to give kornbread's recipe a try but scale back the chocolate malt from 4oz to 3oz.

Also I am going with 3oz (rather than 2oz) of Special B.

 

[Brandx40]

Hey Biermuncher,

I brewed up Kornbread's version of your recipe last week. Came out great. My efficiency was a little too good OG came out at about 1.048. Anyway, its been bubbling away for a week and last sample I took was 1.019. I mashed at 158 F. I am curious to know what your final gravity came to when you tried this recipe with the higher mash temp? Mine seems about done so I don't think its coming down much further. I roused the yeast a little so we'll see. The samples are really good so I don't think it matters much. Just curious.

UPDATE: fermentation is complete and came in a 1.017. Samples are great! I was worried it would be too sweet but its deliscious. I wished I had a kegging system set up so I could drink it sooner!

 

[TheDrunkenRancor]

Mediocre brewer here, new member to HBT.

I've always brewed with friends, but recently invested in AG equipment of my own and chose this recipe, along with Brandon O's Graff as my first batches. Throughout the brewing process, we ended up making some changes both incidental and accidental. And I'm having a problem, so we'll see what you all can come up with.

First of all, we made a 5.5 gallon batch instead of 11.Also, I used US-04 instead of the liquid yeast. For the Roasted Barley, I used double the amount. Lastly, we accidentally left the flaked corn out, and when we measured our OG, we were down in the low 30s. This was somewhat expected though because most of our grains weren't even crushed because apparently the worker didn't double. At this point we didn't realize we left the corn out, and we had a bag of 1lb light DME for the graff. We poured the DME right into the BB (I know, I know, ridiculous) and then added our yeast. Started bubbling away nicely, put it in my chiller, and left it alone.

The next day, I check and my Graff has a nice krausen going, but the brown is almost completely stagnant. There's a nice krausen residue up high, and yet within 24 hours it's almost nill. I waited another 24 hours, attempted swirling, heating, chilling, everything and still nothing. So today I went and bought another pack of S-04 to repitch, and more than 8 hours later there's still almost no activity.

The only possibility I could think of is it already fermented, which is why I'm going to taste it tomorrow. But I'm also very new to this, so I've probably done something very wrong. Any ideas HBT?

 

[bad coffee]

What did your hydrometer say? What was your fermentation temp?

 

[ekjohns]

As far as yeast i used US-04 and its about to be kegged but it tastes amazing! the extra roasted barely should give you a darker more burnt flavor but im not to good with recipes yet. I would think it would be okay, not the best but still drinkable. Did you stir the dme extremely well once you added it? It does a very good job at clumbing and not disolving so you may not have added as much as you think cause its just clumped up at the bottom which being in the low 30s may have made the ferm. go super fast. You said there was a nice krausen ring which means that you had a good ferm. but it probably went super fast cause of the low starting OG. Sounds to me like you will have a nice light brown (assuming the fermentation temp was not 80 which would also make it go real fast)

 

[TheDrunkenRancor]

What did your hydrometer say? What was your fermentation temp?

Before we added the DME, our OG was 1.035. After the DME, beersmith puts it at 1.043.

Our initial ferm temp was between 68-70, possibly lower but only by maybe five degrees. I don't exactly have the best chilling setup, just a big tupperware with water and ice.

I just siphoned off a bit, taste tested, and while it's a little wattery for my taste, it tastes and smells like beer. I guess I somehow ran a full fermentation in 8 hours, maybe because my temps were high and my OG was low?

 

[HalfPint]

Last night we had some family over and since I didn't have any "dark" ales on tap that were requested, I pulled a few of these out of the closet. Let me say this, I brewed them last October (10/09), and they were not exactly "great" (probably my process or something), but now they are fantastic! We drank two, that I'd put into the fridge for about a half hour, and then just drank another two at room temp.

Great recipe as usual BM,
J

 

[kuips]

brewed this up yesterday, it was my first all grain brew. Everything went smoothly, hit gravity perfect and its bubbling away nicely.

I did not have target for used all EKG and used S-04 yeast instead, cant wait!

 

[Bdogg]

I had been thinking about doing this one for awhile.

Then today I was by the LHBS and for some reason they had a packet of #1099 (abnormal for them to have anything other than a few varieties).

I figure it's an omen from Jesus or Santa or something so I picked up the other odds and ends too and I'm weighing them out right now. Looks like a winner to me!