American Brown Ale

[Monky_Business]

I'm planning on starting up an American brown next Sunday. Does anyone have any recommendations on hops? I'd like to try dry hopping this one. I haven't quite decided what I want to do for my grain base and yeast, but it will probably be this:

5lb white wheat
3lb Munich malt
2lb Marris Otter
1lb biscuit malt
1lb caramel 40L
.5lb black patent
1lb honey
some type of Belgian yeast (probably wit - works well w/ grain base)

or this:

3lb Munich malt
3lb Marris Otter
3lb pils malt
1lb biscuit malt
1lb caramel 40L
1lb flaked corn
1lb honey
California steam beer yeast

 

[stpug]

The second would not be a brown ale. English bitter maybe??? Hybridized american pale ale???

The first seems like it would lack the rounded roast characteristics of a brown ale. I feel like it would end up in the 'mild' realm of flavors (i.e. light-weight porter flavors). I don't think that black patent is going to get you where you need to be.... granted the beer WILL be brown . I'm feeling like there's some chocolate and dark crystal missing, and that's A LOT of wheat malt for a non-wheat beer...... but that's just me.

 

[nukebrewer]

If you're aiming to be within the style guidelines, you're going to need to make some adjustments to your recipe. American brown is typically a base of American 2-row with specialty malts for flavor and color. The American brown I brew that my wife raves about is mostly US 2-row with some brown malt, biscuit malt and a little chocolate malt. I know you didn't specifically ask for grain bill recommendations, but I thought I would throw that out there anyway. For hops, mine uses Glacier for bittering and Columbus for a small flavor addition and another shot of Columbus for a little aroma. I can give you the full recipe if you'd like. I don't dry hop mine, but I don't think a modest dry hop addition would make it out of style. Also, your first choice would not make an American brown. I don't know what it would make, but it wouldn't be an American brown. American ale styles typically use a clean fermenting American strain like WLP001 or Safale US-05, but one of the cleaner English strains would also work. The steam beer yeast might also be OK, but I've never used it so I can't say. Sorry to rip your recipe apart, but I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were planning to brew and how it differed from the style you said you wanted to brew. Cheers!

 

[LLBeanJ]

Also, your first choice would not make an American brown. I don't know what it would make, but it wouldn't be an American brown.

It would be a Belgian ale. I think any brew fermented with Belgian yeast would automatically become a Belgian beer, though it may not necessarily fall within any particular Belgian style.

 

[chickypad]

I agree with all the comments so far, especially about the yeast - I can't think of anything that would make it more off target than a Belgian strain. I could see the first grainbill working as a brown if you change all the base to MO or pale, swap out the black for chocolate, and back down on the OG. The honey will likely just up the gravity and dry it out. If you're looking for honey flavor you might want to go with a little honey malt.

For hops nuke's suggestions sound good. This is one American style where I'm not as crazy about using too many citrusy/fruity hops, although they would be to style. I might be more likely to use something like northern brewer or willamette.

 

[C-Rider]

Lets see, you want to make an American Brown using these:
3lb Munich malt
2lb Marris Otter
1lb biscuit malt

Munich is a German style
Marris Otter is British
Biscuit is Belgian.

and then there is the Belgian yeast?

Do I see something wrong w/the plan?

 

[bajaedition]

for an American brown try

8 # 2 row
4 oz 60l chrystal
3 oz chocolate

mash on the high side for malty taste and good body

low hops additions, want that malt taste up front about 20 to 26 IBU

Pacific yeast (white labs)

 

[brokebucket]

Honestly, it looks like you are trying to make mud. In my (limited) experience, the recipes that come out with the most interesting flavor profiles have very simple grain bills. People who design these recipes put thought into what they want each ingredient to add to the final beer.

 

[bajaedition]

doing your own recipes is not easy, you learn how by copying established recipes. I would not go doing a web search for recipes either as you will get 2 bad recipes for every one that is close to style.
Clone Brews is a good book with a ton of recipes of just about every style out there. While going through it you will start to see just how simple recipes are.
get a book with recipes of different styles, to make the recipes your own just tweak them a bit. You see most recipes for a style are going be close so that they can be that style. There is not a lot of room before it becomes something else. And with complicated grain bills you get busy beers that just, well, taste like mud. Nothing comes out. everything fights. And with an American style, which are cleaner than other styles, that is not good.
You need a target, and then you try to get that taste, being a bit off is what makes the different examples of that style. Just adding everything possible only makes a spot on the floor, not a line to a style.
good luck

 

[moski]

If you havn't brewed an american brown before try as suggested above and brew from a clone and tweak it your taste. I started with NB's Moose Drool clone and gradually made it my own as they publish the recipe and grain bill. You could also try one gallon batches to have a go at several recipes and you're only stuck with small amounts of the ones that, in your opinion, suck.

Another five batches of my favorites and it's small batch Saison gauntlet time.

 

[MikeInMKE]

Start with this:

Can You Brew It Recipe for Big Sky Moose Drool

 

[Gumbo]

I'm drinking my extract version of Janet's Brown Ale right now. Best brown ale I've ever tasted. Northern Brewer and Centennial hops.
http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/359302/janets-brown-ale

 

[Milan37]

I like simple grain bills--using Daniels' Designing Great Beers I got to this one:

11# Maris Otter
1.5# C60
.5# Chocolate

You can do an awful lot with 2-3 ingredient grain bills.

I think it's silly to get hung up on the 'country of origin' stuff with the ingredients. For many beers it doesn't matter, especially if you're not trying to brew exactly to style. The BJCP guidelines for American Brown Ale say "Well-modified pale malt, either American or Continental".

Also "American hops are typical, but UK or noble hops can also be used."

So don't get too hung up on the indigenous ingredient thing--I think the more important part is the overall impression: "Can be considered a bigger, maltier, hoppier interpretation of Northern English brown ale or a hoppier, less malty Brown Porter, often including the citrus-accented hop presence that is characteristic of American hop varieties." Shoot for that and you'll have a fine American Brown Ale.

 

[DSmith]

I'm drinking my extract version of Janet's Brown Ale right now. Best brown ale I've ever tasted. Northern Brewer and Centennial hops.
http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/359302/janets-brown-ale

Janet's Brown is the beer I've brewed the most, always have skipped the dryhopping though. Here's the Imperial version recipe:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/recipe/beer-recipe-of-the-week-janets-brown-ale/

The 1.066 OG recipe is in Brewing Classic Styles and is also good.