worlddivides
Well-Known Member
Kinda going for something Northern English style along the lines of a Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale kind of thing. Not a clone or anything remotely like that, of course. Just as a general idea of the ballpark I'm going for. It's been quite a few years since the last time I brewed a brown ale, but they've always been among my favorite beers I've brewed. I think the areas I'd most want advice on are water chemistry. I briefly considered also using EKG, but I'm thinking just Northern Brewer at 60 and Fuggles at 15 minutes should be fine. Since I'm not really going for an American brown ale style, I prefer just one or two hop additions. Also, I originally considered adding 2% Crystal 150L, but I thought it probably wasn't worth it. Also considered maybe adding flaked oats, and that does sound tempting, but I'm not so sure. I also considered maybe using Windsor instead of S-04, but I think Windsor might make it a bit too sweet and have too high of an FG, especially since I'm already mashing at 68C, but I could be convinced otherwise. On the other hand, Nottingham might dry it out more than I want. S-04 is not the most characteristic English ale yeast, but I've always enjoyed it as an all-rounder for stouts, brown ales, and certain kinds of IPAs. Also, probably won't brew this for another month or so, but I wanted some feedback since it's been on my mind.
Water Chemistry Adjustments (added before mash):
Half a Campden tablet
2 grams calcium chloride (dihydrate)
2.7 grams gypsum (calcium sulfate)
5 grams baking soda
Grain bill:
2.4kg of Maris Otter malt (80%)
300g of Crystal 60L (10%)
150g of amber malt (5%)
150g of chocolate malt (5%)
Mashed at: 68C for about 1 hour (add grains at 71C)
Total Water Volume: 19.5 liters
Hops:
8 grams of Northern Brewer hops (pellet – 10.7% AA) for 60 minutes
10 grams of Fuggle hops (pellet – 4.5% AA) for 15 minutes
Other:
Servomyces - add last 10 minutes of boil
Whirlfloc - add last 5 minutes of boil
Fermentation:
Fermented with Safale S-04 at 17-19C for 2 weeks
Kegged, then carbonated to 2.25 CO2 levels.
(I normally put gelatin in all of my beers when I keg them, but there have been a few stouts where I've just cold crashed and kegged without gelatin because it's too dark to really tell anyway. So still thinking about that on this one too).
Estimated results of:
SRM: 25
IBUs: 24
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV: 4.88%
Water Chemistry Adjustments (added before mash):
Half a Campden tablet
2 grams calcium chloride (dihydrate)
2.7 grams gypsum (calcium sulfate)
5 grams baking soda
Grain bill:
2.4kg of Maris Otter malt (80%)
300g of Crystal 60L (10%)
150g of amber malt (5%)
150g of chocolate malt (5%)
Mashed at: 68C for about 1 hour (add grains at 71C)
Total Water Volume: 19.5 liters
Hops:
8 grams of Northern Brewer hops (pellet – 10.7% AA) for 60 minutes
10 grams of Fuggle hops (pellet – 4.5% AA) for 15 minutes
Other:
Servomyces - add last 10 minutes of boil
Whirlfloc - add last 5 minutes of boil
Fermentation:
Fermented with Safale S-04 at 17-19C for 2 weeks
Kegged, then carbonated to 2.25 CO2 levels.
(I normally put gelatin in all of my beers when I keg them, but there have been a few stouts where I've just cold crashed and kegged without gelatin because it's too dark to really tell anyway. So still thinking about that on this one too).
Estimated results of:
SRM: 25
IBUs: 24
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV: 4.88%