Favorite Brown Ale Recipe?

[Beerwildered]

Some friends of mine are not hop fans and they’ve asked me to do a Brown Ale for them. Since I aim to please, I’m wondering what your favorite Brown Ale recipe is?

I brew 10 gallon batches on a BrewEasy. Hit me with your best!

 

[ratinator]

Some friends of mine are not hop fans and they’ve asked me to do a Brown Ale for them. Since I aim to please, I’m wondering what your favorite Brown Ale recipe is?

I brew 10 gallon batches on a BrewEasy. Hit me with your best!

I am a fan of american honey browns and just brewed this, it's just carbing in keg prolly pour first glass tomorrow. Looks and smells great.

7lbs - Pale Malt 2-Row (70%)
1lb - Honey Malt (10%)
4oz - Chocolate Malt (2.5%)
4oz - Special Roast (2.5%)
4oz - Special B (2.5%)
4oz - Victory Malt (2.5%)

1oz Cluster (60mins) 26 IBU
1lb Honey (Flameout) 10%

Wyeast American Ale #1056

 

[TallDan]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/tap-room-american-brown-ale-45-50-gold-medal.204500/

 

[Beerwildered]

I am a fan of american honey browns and just brewed this, it's just carbing in keg prolly pour first glass tomorrow. Looks and smells great.

7lbs - Pale Malt 2-Row (70%)
1lb - Honey Malt (10%)
4oz - Chocolate Malt (2.5%)
4oz - Special Roast (2.5%)
4oz - Special B (2.5%)
4oz - Victory Malt (2.5%)

1oz Cluster (60mins) 26 IBU
1lb Honey (Flameout) 10%

Wyeast American Ale #1056

This sounds amazing!

Here’s my confession: I’ve been brewing for about 8 years - but I’ve been lazy. For the longest time, I’d simply double the five gallon grain bill - but now I’m learning that this isn’t always right.

I’m seeing recipes (like yours) with percentages - what do I do with those? How do I calculate what my total grain bill should be for a 10 gallon batch and then apply the percentages?

 

[Soulshine2]

This sounds amazing!

Here’s my confession: I’ve been brewing for about 8 years - but I’ve been lazy. For the longest time, I’d simply double the five gallon grain bill - but now I’m learning that this isn’t always right.

I’m seeing recipes (like yours) with percentages - what do I do with those? How do I calculate what my total grain bill should be for a 10 gallon batch and then apply the percentages?

It does sound good , in fact, Im going to copy this and brew it sometime .
Find a brewing calculator app to figure water:grain amounts. Something to play with anyway.

 

[Soulshine2]

I am a fan of american honey browns and just brewed this, it's just carbing in keg prolly pour first glass tomorrow. Looks and smells great.

7lbs - Pale Malt 2-Row (70%)
1lb - Honey Malt (10%)
4oz - Chocolate Malt (2.5%)
4oz - Special Roast (2.5%)
4oz - Special B (2.5%)
4oz - Victory Malt (2.5%)

1oz Cluster (60mins) 26 IBU
1lb Honey (Flameout) 10%

Wyeast American Ale #1056

these actual weights you list, are they for a 5 or 10 gallon batch? Looks tasty, whats the abv?

 

[ratinator]

OG is around 1.054 which leaves it around 5.5%. I use beersmith, its a couple bucks but once you have your profiles set it does all the work for water and %. This is for a 5 gallon batch. Simply doubling doesn't exactly work perfect as all your boiloff, deadspace and trub losses will be very similar to a 5 gallon which will leave you with extra beer

If anyone makes my recipe, let me know what you think

 

[Beerwildered]

OG is around 1.054 which leaves it around 5.5%. I use beersmith, its a couple bucks but once you have your profiles set it does all the work for water and %. This is for a 5 gallon batch. Simply doubling doesn't exactly work perfect as all your boiloff, deadspace and trub losses will be very similar to a 5 gallon which will leave you with extra beer

If anyone makes my recipe, let me know what you think

Hey! I learned something. Thank you - I plugged this into beersmith and poof! Scaled up. I’ll let you know how it goes - I’ve got this planned for February.

 

[applescrap]

I really like Colonial Brown ales. The recipe I have calls for near 50% Brown malt. I love the taste of a brown ale like this. I see all of these recipes that don't even have brown malt in them. Am I missing something? There was a time when brown malt was used 100% of the Grain Bill if I am correct.

 

[ratinator]

I don't think so...it's a speciality malt and your usually not suppose to have more than 20%. I made a brown ale with brown malt and didn't care for it too much personally. I would say a brown ale your basically looking for a malt forward beer that is brown in color and has lots of biscuit flavor with spicy/neutral hops. As stated above I am an american honey brown fan

 

[applescrap]

In actual fact its an incredibly under used base malt. And at one time beer was made expectedly with 100 percent. My recipe iirc, is 8 pounds 2 row, 7 pounds brown, and 1 pound biscuit. It has 2 Oz hops, one at 60 and one at 5 or whatever. Its exceptional, imo, and I would make it more often, but since I dont buy brown malt in bulk its a little more expense to make. I have 7 pounds golden promise left, so I may just make this as my next batch. I get the honey brown too, sounds great. This is a rich delicious, chocolaty brown beer that is something special. It is the beer that also really made me love home brewing, the beer, not the brewing that is.

 

[TallDan]

Historically, brown malt was a base malt, but not anymore.

https://byo.com/article/brown-malt/

 

[applescrap]

Historically, brown malt was a base malt, but not anymore.

https://byo.com/article/brown-malt/

What a great article. See, the hydrometer ruined things . A lust for more extraction per pound and the French. Haha. This article conveys really well what I was saying, this stuff is tasty! Now I see why 6 row should be considered. I had a 6 row version and it was awesome. He won an award with this recipe, not sure what competition, and sadly his lhbs went under.

 

[Miraculix]

What a great article. See, the hydrometer ruined things . A lust for more extraction per pound and the French. Haha. This article conveys really well what I was saying, this stuff is tasty! Now I see why 6 row should be considered. I had a 6 row version and it was awesome. He won an award with this recipe, not sure what competition, and sadly his lhbs went under.

I made a 10% modern brown malt test batch once with the rest base malt.

It was very astringent and bitter from the brown malt... After about 6 months it was nice, up until then, undrinkable.

 

[Miraculix]

I am a fan of american honey browns and just brewed this, it's just carbing in keg prolly pour first glass tomorrow. Looks and smells great.

7lbs - Pale Malt 2-Row (70%)
1lb - Honey Malt (10%)
4oz - Chocolate Malt (2.5%)
4oz - Special Roast (2.5%)
4oz - Special B (2.5%)
4oz - Victory Malt (2.5%)

1oz Cluster (60mins) 26 IBU
1lb Honey (Flameout) 10%

Wyeast American Ale #1056

This sounds very interesting. I might try it.

 

[HTH1975]

You can get diastic amber malt - that isn’t massively dissimilar to brown malt. That would be the best way to go if you wanted to make a historic beer with the base malt being dark.

 

[applescrap]

I made a 10% modern brown malt test batch once with the rest base malt.

It was very astringent and bitter from the brown malt... After about 6 months it was nice, up until then, undrinkable.

Thats odd, I have drank near 20 g of that recipe above and I dont recall astringent as a flavor. Roasty, chocolaty, rich and flavorful is how I would describe it. That recipe is 43 percent brown malt.

 

[Miraculix]

Thats odd, I have drank near 20 g of that recipe above and I dont recall astringent as a flavor. Roasty, chocolaty, rich and flavorful is how I would describe it. That recipe is 43 percent brown malt.

I think brown malt is not equal to brown malt. I heard that it differs heavily from maltster to maltster. I got British one, but don't remember the maltster. I think I would like your version better.

 

[catdaddy66]

British nut brown ale

10# pale malt/2 row
1# carabrown malt
1# Biscuit malt
3oz chocolate malt
3oz black patent malt

1oz EKG @ fwh
1oz EKG @ 30

wlp007

Mashed at 154° for 60', then sparge with 188° for 15'. Boil 60' for 5.25 gal.

 

[Beerwildered]

Finally going to brew this Honey Brown. Can’t wait.

 

[ratinator]

View attachment 611231

Finally going to brew this Honey Brown. Can’t wait.

I am currently drinking this recipe. Only thing that was different is I did a partial mash and subbed some dark lme as I was waiting for my robobrew preorder. The dark dme will cause for a darker color so yours should be lighter, but mine still has a great dark brown hue to it

 

[Beerwildered]

I am currently drinking this recipe. Only thing that was different is I did a partial mash and subbed some dark lme as I was waiting for my robobrew preorder. The dark dme will cause for a darker color so yours should be lighter, but mine still has a great dark brown hue to itView attachment 611248

In the fermenter now. I’ll post what I pour.

 

[rhys333]

I am currently drinking this recipe. Only thing that was different is I did a partial mash and subbed some dark lme as I was waiting for my robobrew preorder. The dark dme will cause for a darker color so yours should be lighter, but mine still has a great dark brown hue to itView attachment 611248

How is the honey malt character coming across? It's powerful stuff and anything above 5% has been too much for my tastes.

 

[McKnuckle]

Here's another one that I call an oatmeal brown - it has some similar ingredients to @ratinator's recipe. Nice caramel and tangy flavors, plus yeast character at your discretion:

UK pale malt 65%
Crisp brown malt 12.5%
Flaked oats 7.5%
Crystal 80 7%
Victory 5%
Special Roast 3%

Mash at 154 for 60 min
Use RO or distilled water, and add calcium chloride and baking soda to achieve Ca 60, Cl 105, Na 20. Mash pH 5.4.

One 60 minute bittering addition of any English hops to 30 IBU. Ferment with your favorite English yeast (WLP002, WY1469, etc.). I actually brewed it as a lager once, and it was smooth and delicious.

OG 1.054, FG 1.013 (5.4% ABV), SRM 18

 

[SanPancho]

Holy christ. What kind of brown you using? I do about 25% and it’s definitely dominant. I cant imagine it at 40%. Although to be honest, once it dominates the flavor im not sure theres much difference between 25 and 40. Mhaybe its not a big difference at all. I only seem to be able to find crisp or fawcett brown.

 

[jturman35]

My favorite Brown Ale which I built off of Lil Sparky’s recipe and tweaked it. Scored a 38 in my first ever competition and can’t wait to brew this again. This Brown Ale is more on the malty side but the dryness leaves a very good flavor. I added 6oz D45 sugar at flameout.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have a fantasy brewing competition coming up soon. All of the participants "drafted" ingredients and have to create and brew a batch.

I am seeing an American brown ale from my list, of which I can use no fewer than 6 of the 8 ingredients.

Belgian pale malt (base)
Spelt malt
Crystal 60
Pale chocolate malt
Molasses
Mosaic/Cascade/Centennial
American yeast

Spelt might get dropped but I have all of the other things. I will post my recipe in a moment but it will not be anything other than speculation at this point.

 

[catdaddy66]

10# pale malt
1# crystal 60
.5# pale chocolate
.25# molasses

.5oz mosaic @ 45 min
1oz each Cascade/centennial @ 5 min
.5oz each Cascade/centennial/mosaic at 10 days dry hopped

1250ml wy1450 (Denny's Fave)

Expected OG/FG: 1.060/1.015
SRM 23; IBU 36; ABV% 5.9

 

[jturman35]

10# pale malt
1# crystal 60
.5# pale chocolate
.25# molasses

.5oz mosaic @ 45 min
1oz each Cascade/centennial @ 5 min
.5oz each Cascade/centennial/mosaic at 10 days dry hopped

1250ml wy1450 (Denny's Fave)

Expected OG/FG: 1.060/1.015
SRM 23; IBU 36; ABV% 5.9

Send me a bottle! I will PM you my address, lol.

 

[Beerwildered]

Done. It’s a bit undercarbed at the moment, but tomorrow it’ll be perfect!!