First Brown Ale All Grain Recipe

[bryancorbett2]

Hello All! First off this is my very first post. I have used this website many times but never actually written anything myself so I just want to say thanks to everyone who have posted and have helped me in the past!

As my title states this is my first brown ale recipe. We have been brewing all grain for a little over a year now and love it!

Recipe:
Grain Bill
68%-8 lb - Maris Otter
13%-1.5 lb - English Crystal 50-60L
9%-1 lb - Victory Malt
9%-1 lb - Munich Malt II (weyermann)
2% 4 oz. - 2 Row-Chocolate Malt

Hop Schedule:
60 minute - .5 oz Warrior
30 minute - 1 oz UK Fuggle
1 minute - 1 oz UK Fuggle

Yeast: Denny's Favorite 50 WYeast

Any tips, hints, or suggestions with this recipe?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to look at this!

Bryan

 

[sptaylor70]

I ran your ingredients through TastyBrew, and got, for a 5.5 gallon batch, OG = 1057, FG = 1014, IBU = 43, SRM = 18. That's a pretty heavy and very hoppy brown ale, which might be exactly what you're going for.

Grain - Yooper (administrator for this site) has stated that 8% biscuit malt, like Victory, is a very generous, very noticeable amount, and I've come round to agreeing with her. Unless you already know that you want a lot of biscuit, I'd cut that down to no more than 8 oz., which will still be contributing, but not overpowering. For my personal taste, your crystal malt percentage is also high. If you're looking for sweetness, as in a southern-style brown ale, then that might be fine. For a northern-style it's probably excessive. Newcastle clone recipes that I've seen put the crystal and chocolate malts at 1-4% each.

Hops - It looks, as I said, excessively hoppy, unless that's what you want. Balanced would be something closer to 25-30 IBU for that OG.

Yeast - Lots of people, including me, like 1450. Good choice, especially if you've used it before. Use Mr Malty to see whether you need a starter, and how big to make it if you do.

When you're done, post how it turned out.

 

[forstmeister]

I like more simplicity in a brown ale, especially an English brown. Maris Otter, a bit of dark crystal, and your good. If you want that biscuity flavor, then I agree with the post above that a little goes a long way. Maybe 5% max on either Vienna or Munich, 5-10% crystal and the rest Maris Otter.

Also, English ale yeast makes a good brown ale. I have not used Denny's Favorite though.

For hops, again, I prefer English hops like Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. One ounce at 60 minutes and maybe an ounce at 15 and an ounce at flameout.

 

[bryancorbett2]

Thanks for the quick responses. I am going to tweak the recipe tomorrow definitely both using both of your suggestions. I will post the updated recipe probably around 8-10 am central time. I had a feeling i was throwing too much at that grain bill but it was my first go at it so I expected some changes.

Thanks again!

 

[daksin]

I think the grist sounds good, but I would cut the victory down to half a pound. It's a very prominent flavor that could be too much.

 

[bryancorbett2]

Thanks for the tips everyone. They all make a lot of sense.

Here is an updated recipe:

79% - 9lb - Maris Otter
9% - 1 lb - English Crystal - 50-60 L
9% - 1 lb - Caramunich II - Weyermann
3% - 6 oz. - 2-Row Chocolate Malt

Hop Schedule:
60 minute - .25 oz - Warrior
30 minute - 1 oz - Fuggle
1 minute - 1 oz - Fuggle

Yeast - Dennys Favorite 50

STATS: 1.060 OG, 1.015 FG, 26 IBU, 5.8% ABV, color 22 SRM

What do you all think?

Thanks again!

 

[forstmeister]

New recipe looks pretty tasty. Are you doing a yeast starter? With an OG that high I would suspect a 2L starter is in order.

 

[bryancorbett2]

Thanks! And on the yeast starter, no I have never done that before. I have thought about it.

 

[forstmeister]

Thanks! And on the yeast starter, no I have never done that before. I have thought about it.

It really is a simple way to make good beer into great beer. Get yourself a 2L erlenmeyer flask for about $20. Spend $40 or so and get a Pyrex brand if you want to boil in it.

Do a 10:1 ratio of water to DME to make a "mini-beer." Simply put: measure out 200 grams of DME (slightly less than 8 oz) and add water up to the 2L mark. Boil it for just a few minutes to sanitize it. If you are using Wyeast, you should have smacked it already to activate it. Cool your wort to pitching temp and pitch your yeast. Cover the opening loosely with sanitized aluminum foil to allow CO2 to escape.

Don't have a stir plate? No problem...just swirl the flask every time you walk by for about a day. Refrigerate overnight to crash the yeast. On brew day, pull the flask out of the fridge and decant the beer off the yeast and leave the flask out to warm up. Then just pitch the yeast into your wort after you're done brewing.

Use a site like www.mrmalty.com to determine pitching rates based on the type of yeast and the OG of the beer. Bam! Done.

 

[bryancorbett2]

Thanks a lot! We will probably be starting to do yeast starters soon.

 

[bryancorbett2]

So I decided to finally brew this beer (brewing in two days), but I tweaked the recipe of course.

Here is what we got:
5 Gallon Batch - predicted stats: 1060 OG, 1015 FG, 26 IBU, 5.9% ABV, 21 SRM

Grain Bill

Maris Otter 82% 11.0 lb.
Eng. Medium Crystal (50-60L) 9 % 1.25 lb
Victory Malt 5% .75 lb
2-Row Chocolate 2% 5.0 oz

Hop Schedule

60 min Fuggle 1 oz 5% AA
20 min Fuggle 1 oz 5% AA

Dennys Favorite Wyeast 1450

How we looking?

 

[bryancorbett2]

I brewed the Brown Ale on Saturday and everything seemed to go well. My OG reading was 1.061. Hopefully it tastes good!