Brown Ale - Recipe Thoughts?

[DayMoonBrewing]

Hello -

New brewer, new to the board, and first time posting. Wanted to get some feedback on a brown ale recipe I've been tinkering with. I brewed it once and was happy, but figured there's always room for improvement.

Maris Otter - 8lbs
80L - 1 lbs
Brown Malt - 0.5 lbs
Victory - 0.5 lbs
Chocolate Rye - 0.25lbs

Liberty - FWH
1 oz Willamette - 25 min
1 oz Willamette - 5 min

Irish Moss
Wyeast 1272

Thanks!

 

[corax]

As discussed in several recent threads, Brown Malt imparts a dry, roasty flavor usually associated with Porter or Stout. It won't make your beer terrible, but it might make it more roasty than you really want. I would leave it out entirely for a Brown Ale.

For my tastes, that's too much crystal malt. I would drop it to 0.5 lbs or less.

 

[DayMoonBrewing]

As discussed in several recent threads, Brown Malt imparts a dry, roasty flavor usually associated with Porter or Stout. It won't make your beer terrible, but it might make it more roasty than you really want. I would leave it out entirely for a Brown Ale.

For my tastes, that's too much crystal malt. I would drop it to 0.5 lbs or less.

Thanks corax for the insight! Good to know about the brown malt.

 

[jturman35]

A lot like the brown Ale I made back in May. This was Lil Sparky’s Nut Brown recipe that I tweaked. I’m not sure what the Vienna brought to the table. I thought the beer was good. Very malty with no bitterness. I think this beer would be better if it was Imperialized to at least 8%. This was my first attempt to alter a recipe and I felt like it was a step in the right direction. Not a show stopper but still a good beer!

8lbs Maris Otter
2lbs Vienna
1lb Crystal 60L
.5 victory
6oz chocolate malt

1oz Fuggle 60mins
1oz Golding 15mins
Nottingham

 

[rhys333]

Hello -

New brewer, new to the board, and first time posting. Wanted to get some feedback on a brown ale recipe I've been tinkering with. I brewed it once and was happy, but figured there's always room for improvement.

Maris Otter - 8lbs
80L - 1 lbs
Brown Malt - 0.5 lbs
Victory - 0.5 lbs
Chocolate Rye - 0.25lbs

Liberty - FWH
1 oz Willamette - 25 min
1 oz Willamette - 5 min

Irish Moss
Wyeast 1272

Thanks!

It is more on the flavorful side of what I'd call a brown ale, but could be nice. As above, brown malt isn't used often in brown ales, but the 5% you have isn't overkill. Also, I find C80 doesn't come across as sweet and cloying in higher amounts, and works quite well in brown ales. It just depends where you want to take this beer. Light and dry or full-bodied and full-flavored.

 

[dmtaylor]

Gosh, that recipe sounds excellent. If you like it the way it is, I wouldn't change it at all.

Cheers!

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

A lot like the brown Ale I made back in May. This was Lil Sparky’s Nut Brown recipe that I tweaked. I’m not sure what the Vienna brought to the table. I thought the beer was good. Very malty with no bitterness. I think this beer would be better if it was Imperialized to at least 8%. This was my first attempt to alter a recipe and I felt like it was a step in the right direction. Not a show stopper but still a good beer!

8lbs Maris Otter
2lbs Vienna
1lb Crystal 60L
.5 victory
6oz chocolate malt

1oz Fuggle 60mins
1oz Golding 15mins
Nottingham

I made a brown ale that looked a lot like this except without the Vienna and both additions were Fuggles and my second addition was at flame out. I really liked this beer. I think using 80L instead of 60L might make it nuttier.

 

[dmtaylor]

I made a brown ale that looked a lot like this except without the Vienna and both additions were Fuggles and my second addition was at flame out. I really liked this beer. I think using 80L instead of 60L might make it nuttier.

If you or anyone likes nutty, toast a few ounces of Maris Otter in a 375 F oven for 15 minutes. Nut City.

 

[DayMoonBrewing]

It is more on the flavorful side of what I'd call a brown ale, but could be nice. As above, brown malt isn't used often in brown ales, but the 5% you have isn't overkill. Also, I find C80 doesn't come across as sweet and cloying in higher amounts, and works quite well in brown ales. It just depends where you want to take this beer. Light and dry or full-bodied and full-flavored.

Thanks for the great insight! I actually was going for something on the full-bodied and full-flavored side of the spectrum!

 

[jturman35]

A lot like the brown Ale I made back in May. This was Lil Sparky’s Nut Brown recipe that I tweaked. I’m not sure what the Vienna brought to the table. I thought the beer was good. Very malty with no bitterness. I think this beer would be better if it was Imperialized to at least 8%. This was my first attempt to alter a recipe and I felt like it was a step in the right direction. Not a show stopper but still a good beer!

8lbs Maris Otter
2lbs Vienna
1lb Crystal 60L
.5 victory
6oz chocolate malt

1oz Fuggle 60mins
1oz Golding 15mins
Nottingham

Update: entered the above recipe into a local competition with 2 other beers I brewed and scored 38. I personally didn’t think it was a 38 beer but off to a good start!

 

[dmtaylor]

Update: entered the above recipe into a local competition with 2 other beers I brewed and scored 38. I personally didn’t think it was a 38 beer but off to a good start!

Recipe is being entered into my database. Cheers!

 

[applescrap]

Sounds like that beer came out great! If you love brown ales, give the colonial brown a try. I dont know what it is but I love this beer. I think its been too long for me and I need to brew it to.

 

[jturman35]

Recipe is being entered into my database. Cheers!

I would bump the abv up to at least 7-8% at least that’s what I’m doing on my next batch. I felt it was too malty for the abv which was around 5.5%.