British Brown Ale Aberdeen Brown Ale (NewCastle Clone) AG

[Poobah58]

Has anyone tried some C-120? I'm thinking of going with something like this:

14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) 70.89 %
2 lbs Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) 10.13 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel Pilsen (12.0 SRM) 7.59 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) 6.33 %
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt, Pale (225.0 SRM) 2.53 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) 1.27 %
4.0 oz Special B (147.5 SRM) 1.27 % 1.00 oz Target [10.00 %] (60 min) 20.4 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (15 min) 1.2 IBU
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)
1 Pkgs Whitbread Ale (Wyeast Labs #1099)

Original Gravity: 1.044 SG
Bitterness: 21.6 IBU
Color: 15.0 SRM

 

[BWRIGHT]

I'd like to brew this up tonight. Would it be possible to use the Whitbread without a starter? Or does anyone have any suitable substitues for a yeast?

 

[BierMuncher]

I'd like to brew this up tonight. Would it be possible to use the Whitbread without a starter? Or does anyone have any suitable substitues for a yeast?

Yes. It will take longer to get off the ground. Make sure to properly aerate to avoid any stress on the yeast.

 

[BWRIGHT]

They had the smack pack anyway. Thanks though. BM that Centennial ended up a lot better than it started. The Sorachi's took a while to settle down. That's a good beer in this IN heat.

 

[BWRIGHT]

How crucial is the 90 min boil on this brew? I have some time constraints. What would be the difference in a 60min compared to a 90?

 

[BierMuncher]

How crucial is the 90 min boil on this brew? I have some time constraints. What would be the difference in a 60min compared to a 90?

I like a 90 minute boil for a cleaner beer...but it you're not using Pilsner malt as your base...a 60 minute boil should be fine.

I'm always a little paranoid about DMS.

 

[BWRIGHT]

BM am I reading your fermentation schedule right? You fermented at 69 for a week. Kegged and cooled to 37 for 5 days. Then, you warmed it back up to 69 for a week. Why the flip flop. Why not primary for a week, secondary with gelatin for a week, then crash to 37? I'm a little confused. Also, I brewed this up the other night and got an OG of 1.042 at about 4.75 gallons. But, my efficency was only 60%? Doesn't make sense to me but I can't complain.

 

[strohs]

How much would using Nottingham's yeast mess up this recipe?
I always get nervous ordering liquid yeast online, so I try to use Nottingham for everything

 

[BierMuncher]

How much would using Nottingham's yeast mess up this recipe?
I always get nervous ordering liquid yeast online, so I try to use Nottingham for everything

If you want to use a dry yeast...go with the safale-04. It attenuates a little less and leave a smoother (slightly sweeter) finish.

 

[hammacks]

Has anyone tried using something like S-04, and then -05 or Notty to clean it up late in fermentation? I wanted to use a whitbread but maintain higher attenuation.

 

[strohs]

If you want to use a dry yeast...go with the safale-04. It attenuates a little less and leave a smoother (slightly sweeter) finish.

Sounds good, I will give it a try. Thanks!

 

[BWRIGHT]

BM, I just pulled my first pint of this. I've got a few questions. The extra roast flavor you mention in your OP is definitely present in mine. The weird part is that I cut out the the roasted barley altogether. I cut the recipe in half. Lowered the IBU's down a bit and mashed around 160. I was shooting for about 158, just overshot a little. Now this is pretty good for sure. And it definitely fits the profile. I'm just wondering where that roasted flavor is coming from. Also, the plum-like taste that is present in New Castle is not in my version here. One last thing. I did screw one thing up. I forgot to add the flaked maize at the beginning of the mash so I just added it later. Because of this I mashed the corn about 30 mins and everything else about 75. All in all, its pretty damn good. Northern browns are one of my favorites. Just trying to figure out how to mellow this out a little.

 

[strohs]

I just brewed a variation of this today and everything went great.
I cant wait for this one to finish, it was the best tasting wort I have made to date.

I finished with an OG of 1.047, so my efficiency was a little too good.

I also have been thinking about dry hopping with an ounce of east kent goldings, does that sound like a good idea with this brew?

 

[strohs]

Just tasted this after only 2 days in the keg and wow, great beer.
Its definitly a little heavy, which was probably due to my high SG and FG (1.047 and 1.012) but it tastes great.
It has a malty flavor, full mouthfeel, with great chocolate hints to it.
I cant wait to brew this one again, but hopefully get much closer to the recipe's 1.038!

 

[kornbread]

Hey BierMuncher,

Thanks for all the great recipes.

I've been trying to incorporate all of the info in this thread into a 5 gal recipe using brew calculus.

How does this sound for a 5.5 Gal. Batch?

6 lb 4 oz American 2 row pale
1 lb Flaked Corn
8 oz Cara pils/ dextrine
6 oz Crystal 60L
6 oz Crystal 80L
6 oz Crystal 20L
4 oz Chocolate Malt
2 oz Special B

Would 2 oz of Special B be enough to make any difference or should I just go with the original recipe?

 

[BierMuncher]

Hey BierMuncher,

Thanks for all the great recipes.

I've been trying to incorporate all of the info in this thread into a 5 gal recipe using brew calculus.

How does this sound for a 5.5 Gal. Batch?

6 lb 4 oz American 2 row pale
1 lb Flaked Corn
8 oz Cara pils/ dextrine
6 oz Crystal 60L
6 oz Crystal 80L
6 oz Crystal 20L
4 oz Chocolate Malt
2 oz Special B

Would 2 oz of Special B be enough to make any difference or should I just go with the original recipe?

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.

 

[strohs]

This beer turned out fantastic. An absolute hit. It was a sad day when the keg ran dry for sure

I will definitely be making this one again!

 

[planenut]

My son and I brewed this one last weekend. First brew for him. My first starter. I just took a sample and it tastes great.. Somehow I ended up with a high OG of 1.061 and after 7 days it seems finished but is still 1.022. My pale ale brewed a couple days before shows 1.010 so the hydrometer seems ok. Do you think the higher FG is from mashing at 158 or maybe the small starter. I boiled 750 ml for the starter but ended up with just about 600 ml after evaporation and small boilover.. It fermented like crazy for a day and a half and then just seemed like it was done..

It does taste great though!

I had to make a few substitutions as my LHBS did not have the exact ingredients..

Marris Otter 7lb
CaraPils .5 8 oz
Crystal 20L .5 8 oz
Crystal 60L 1.0 16 oz
Chocolate Malt .25 4 oz
Roasted Barley .10 2 oz
Extra Special .25 4 oz
East kent Goldings .75 (60)
East Kent Goldings .25 (15)
Wyeast 1098 w/starter

 

[BierMuncher]

...I ended up with a high OG of 1.061 and after 7 days it seems finished but is still 1.022. ...Do you think the higher FG is from mashing at 158 or maybe the small starter.

Seems a bit high...but I'd imagine another week or so at 70-71 degrees might whittle that down a bit.

A 22 Brown Ale will be on the malty side...but the New Castle has a nice sweetness to it anyway.

I'd say give it another 7-10 days a warmer temps and then proceed as usual. No need to pitch extra yeast.

 

[planenut]

Sounds like a plan.. Thanks!

 

[burton178]

I'm getting ready to brew this recipe this weekend... It will be my first AG! I like Newcastle and I'm excited at the prospect of keeping this brew going and trying small variations.

I'll be brewing the recipe as BM wrote it (but as a 5 gallon) with fuggles instead of Target, because of lack of availability.

I'll post back later!

 

[Bjornbrewer]

After a quick surf through this thread I didn't see anyone ask, so I will...why the Flacked Corn? If it's there to just add fermentables with no real flavor/body/head retention, then why not just bump up the base a little? Just not sure why it's there.

I'm looking to brew an 8 gallon batch soon. looks like a hit!

Thanks!

 

[BierMuncher]

After a quick surf through this thread I didn't see anyone ask, so I will...why the Flacked Corn? If it's there to just add fermentables with no real flavor/body/head retention, then why not just bump up the base a little? Just not sure why it's there.

I'm looking to brew an 8 gallon batch soon. looks like a hit!

Thanks!

The corn lightens the body without a lot of extra maltiness. Simply upping the base grain will give you an excess of "flavor/body/head retention". It's all about balance.

 

[burton178]

Well.. I JUST finished this as my first all grain and everything went great! SLOW, but great.
I just really took my time and tried to get things right instead of rushing and making a lot of mistakes.

I did a batch sparge (in two parts) and got about a 65% efficiency... which actually leads me to two questions about the initial post.

1. At the top of the post, BM says OG=1.038... then later in the recipe it says expected OG= 1.043...

2. It also says "brewhouse efficiency" of 70%... I just used the tastybrew calculator and it says that even 1.043 would only be 66% efficiency.

I did 5.5 gallons and got 1.041 (which I'm very pleased with) and was just trying to get an accurate efficiency.

Thanks BM for the great recipe... I'll post back in a few weeks when I get a taste after primary!

 

[Flyin' Lion]

BM am I reading your fermentation schedule right? You fermented at 69 for a week. Kegged and cooled to 37 for 5 days. Then, you warmed it back up to 69 for a week. Why the flip flop. Why not primary for a week, secondary with gelatin for a week, then crash to 37? I'm a little confused.

Bumping this question because I'm curious about it too. I brewed this as a PM last weekend and only got 1.036, but I need to work on some brewhouse-specific issues.

 

[BierMuncher]

BM am I reading your fermentation schedule right? You fermented at 69 for a week. Kegged and cooled to 37 for 5 days. Then, you warmed it back up to 69 for a week. Why the flip flop. Why not primary for a week, secondary with gelatin for a week, then crash to 37? I'm a little confused. Also, I brewed this up the other night and got an OG of 1.042 at about 4.75 gallons. But, my efficency was only 60%? Doesn't make sense to me but I can't complain.

uh.....actually.....

I musta fat fingered my entry. Those secondary and keg entries are flip flopped. Sorry

 

[Sudz]

BierMuncher, looks like you've started quite a following here. I'm going to join the crowd and give this a shot this weekend.

I'm following "kornbread's" 5.5 gal AG recipe and incorporating your notes for the higher mash temp and shorter time.

The only AG method I've used is the continuous sparge approach and my system gives me about a 77% efficiency. Anything I should be aware of when using continuous sparge vs batch?

I'm also a bit confused on your previous post. What is the correct target OG for this recipe?

Thanks. It's guys like you and the time you take to share your knowledge that makes this such a fun hobby!

...Sudz

 

[BierMuncher]

BierMuncher, looks like you've started quite a following here. I'm going to join the crowd and give this a shot this weekend.

I'm following "kornbread's" 5.5 gal AG recipe and incorporating your notes for the higher mash temp and shorter time.

The only AG method I've used is the continuous sparge approach and my system gives me about a 77% efficiency. Anything I should be aware of when using continuous sparge vs batch?

I'm also a bit confused on your previous post. What is the correct target OG for this recipe?

Thanks. It's guys like you and the time you take to share your knowledge that makes this such a fun hobby!

...Sudz

I actually quoted the wrong post. Fixed.

Shoot for a 1.040 or lower on your OG.

 

[mrburnsbud]

Going for my first ever home brew either this weekend or next. Very excited to say the least. The liquor barn is the closest LHBS. They had all kinds of hops but not Kent East Goldings.

So this is what I got

1 oz. Target Pellets (8.0%)
1 oz. Williamette Leaf Hops (4.3%)
Dry Yeast Safale S-04
And all the grains described in original recipe

I noticed the AA percentages are lower. I would like to get a result close to your recipe. Would you suggest adding more of the williamette in place of the Kent East Goldings? Say the hole oz instead of a 1/2oz. Or possibly use another hop substitute or just keep as is with original recipe amounts
:fro:

 

[BierMuncher]

Going for my first ever home brew either this weekend or next. Very excited to say the least. The liquor barn is the closest LHBS. They had all kinds of hops but not Kent East Goldings.

So this is what I got

1 oz. Target Pellets (8.0%)
1 oz. Williamette Leaf Hops (4.3%)
Dry Yeast Safale S-04
And all the grains described in original recipe

I noticed the AA percentages are lower. I would like to get a result close to your recipe. Would you suggest adding more of the williamette in place of the Kent East Goldings? Say the hole oz instead of a 1/2oz. Or possibly use another hop substitute or just keep as is with original recipe amounts
:fro:

If you have more of each of the above, the math is simple.

TARGET
My AA% was 11% on the target. Yours is 8%
11/8 = 1.375 so add approximately 1.4 ounces of target.

EKG
My AA% was 5% on the target. Yours is 4.3
5/4.3 = 1.163 so add approximately 1.4 ounces of EKG.