British Brown Ale Nut Brown AG

[jlpred55]

Yeah me too- it isn't the recipe obviously. There is nothing, besides the yeast that I can think of that would have killed it. I have used this yeast a number of times and never really had this experience. It always was a very clean yeast that let malt and hops come through. I always thought of the yeast an under used yeast by most people because it always seemed to work so well for me. Perhaps I need to english it up a little with another strain.

I am going to try to brew this again later and change up the yeast and pull my water even more towards the malt side. Unless the recipe got screwed up by the LHBS putting something else in there instead of the correct grains, but again hard to figure that since the thing is right on in color. It is a funny beer really- its one of those that you give to people and they cannot believe something with color being so balanced and almost flavorless. Obviously something I did wrong somewhere that caused this. Live but apparently not learn because I have no clue really what caused it. I drank another one last night and must have had this stupid look on my face..LOL

 

[adamjab19]

Just put this together last night. What fermentation temp. did you use?

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Brewed this about a month ago but pitched 1099. Man, it's fruity. I wouldn't pitch that strain again.
I split the batch with a friend. He pitched 1028, and though I have not tried it, he says it turned out very well.

This is my second time with this recipe. Save for my pitching error, it is a very good recipe.

Thanks Lil'Spark

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Thanks for the feedback on the yeast, guys. I usually stick to tried-and-true strains for most of my brews. I wish I brewed more often to try some different yeasts, but I just don't.

 

[JohnnyO]

Pulled my first pint off of the keg of this tonight. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!!

 

[adamjab19]

Mine is all carbed up been sitting 9 weeks. It is a pretty beer to look at that is for sure. Clear and a nice deep color with a dense creamy head and great lacing. Smell is unmistakably nut brown- then I taste it and I get a whole lot of nothing. It is a super clean beer (no off flavors) and very balanced leaning toward the sweet end. But what is up with getting very little flavor? I get the flavor right at the end and it is subtle, so subtle you have to really look for it. The mouthfeel is great however. I've had many people taste the beer in a ceramic mug to give me there impression (without seeing the color). Most had no clue it was a nut brown ale. Everyone loved it, but they all were shocked when it came back as a nut brown ale. What could I have done wrong? Color is right on so I assume the LHBS didn't screw up the order. The yeast was WY1335 fermented mid to low 60's. Finished at 1.016. Modified my water. Hit all my temps, got the usual efficiency. I only changed the original recipe to include williamette hops and the yeast as stated before. Could my yeast have given me such a bland beer? Any suggestions or tips?

I got the same thing going at the two week mark. Obviously still young so we shall see. Tastes great, like a mild right now though.

I can't think of anything wrong either. In fact one of the few 'nailed it' AG brew sessions. Is there a pH issue with dark malts not giving out the proper flavor? Maybe not a good crush? Different systems, different results? Otherwise maybe it's a taste vs. expectation thing. Will have to see how this develops. If nothing changes, next time I am going to up the victory or change to crystal 80.

 

[HABIT]

This thread was started on 5-22-2007 and still going strong. With all the great reviews I'm going to have to give the Partial a shot. This being only my 6th batch ever I'm not sure I'm ready to do my first AG just yet. But it could be the second time around if its as good as everyone says it is . . .
Thanks for everyone sharing a ton of great info.

 

[andysim]

Mine is all carbed up been sitting 9 weeks. It is a pretty beer to look at that is for sure. Clear and a nice deep color with a dense creamy head and great lacing. Smell is unmistakably nut brown- then I taste it and I get a whole lot of nothing. It is a super clean beer (no off flavors) and very balanced leaning toward the sweet end. But what is up with getting very little flavor? I get the flavor right at the end and it is subtle, so subtle you have to really look for it. The mouthfeel is great however. I've had many people taste the beer in a ceramic mug to give me there impression (without seeing the color). Most had no clue it was a nut brown ale. Everyone loved it, but they all were shocked when it came back as a nut brown ale. What could I have done wrong? Color is right on so I assume the LHBS didn't screw up the order. The yeast was WY1335 fermented mid to low 60's. Finished at 1.016. Modified my water. Hit all my temps, got the usual efficiency. I only changed the original recipe to include williamette hops and the yeast as stated before. Could my yeast have given me such a bland beer? Any suggestions or tips?

Mine also has very little taste. I get a little nut brown taste right at the end.

I used barley flakes instead of oat and Safale 05 yeast instead of Notty. OG was 1.055 and FG was 1.018. Fermented at about 65 degrees. Mash temp was same as recipe.

It's been in the keg for about three weeks.

It looks good, smells good, but not much flavor. It has the same exact description as above.

 

[KevinW]

Brewed on the 2nd and pulled 6 gallons at 1.060. Pithched Nottingham dry with a 1 quart starter. Fermenting at about 70°. Had to put a blowoff tube on it by the next morning, it went nuts! Thanks so much for the recipe, can't wait to taste this in about a month, well, month and a half if I can make it

 

[jlpred55]

Mine also has very little taste. I get a little nut brown taste right at the end.

I used barley flakes instead of oat and Safale 05 yeast instead of Notty. OG was 1.055 and FG was 1.018. Fermented at about 65 degrees. Mash temp was same as recipe.

It's been in the keg for about three weeks.

It looks good, smells good, but not much flavor. It has the same exact description as above.

Thanks for the info Andy. Mine is now around 16 weeks old (i think) and has changed very little other than being a little more malty now since the hop balance is fading with the age. Still very clean so no issue with infection or anything else so far as I can tell. I can detect no off flavors or weird esters. It has a little more taste now than before but not much. It is very very subtle. I actually could drink it all night but it still doesn't hit my idea of a nut brown. I am wondering if a pound or so of brown malt might take it there for me? I still am not faulting the recipe if anyone is getting that indication- it just confounds me that mine appears to be left of center with others results.

 

[adamjab19]

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[Reelale]

This was my first AG brew. I kegged mine at 38 degrees. Carbed at about 1.8 voumes. I've found that serving at this temperature leaves a lot to be desired for flavor. Try a pull, let it warm to around 50 degrees, or a good "cellar" temperature, and serve. It made a world of difference in taste for me.

 

[jaginger]

just threw one in the fermenter. it was my first AG, so I added an extra pound of base malt to be sure. Well, I hit 1.066 OG, oops. So it's going to be a little potent; hope that doesn't wreck the choice flavor everyone is raving about.

 

[Schwoopty]

I just brewed this today. Did an 11 gal batch so I doubled the recipe and split the wort into two fermenters. I am very excited for this beer as the hydrometer sample tasted great. The first sip was a little harsh but I imagine that it mellows out with a few weeks of age.

Btw, I have never used the Nottingham yeast before. I'm fermenting at 66 for 8 days. I figure it's good enough but suggestions would be welcome.

Also, how long did you guys age this for before it balanced out. I'm planning on letting mine sit for 2 weeks or so, after it's been kegged, to taste it.

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Donner]

when i first brewed this it started out very harsh. Since i was brewing a lot i let it sit in a closet for a while. After a month or two i found a bottle and chilled it. Even the wife liked it and she doesn't drink beer. It took a bit for the harshness of the hops to mellow but once that happened it was great.

 

[jaginger]

I thought mine hydrometer sample tasted great too, but the hop smell coming from the fermenter seemed very strong for the small amount of hops in the brew. I used a hop sock and therefore didn't leave any material in the fermenter.

i was a llittle surprised by that, but hopefully they mellow as donner mentioned.

 

[adamjab19]

This was one of the weirder conditionings I have had with a beer. At first I thought something had gone wrong but after about 6 weeks it's really a good beer. Still maybe want it a bit more chunky next time, but still this is a beer worth making!

But well balanced, with some roastiness in the back.

 

[gtpro]

Just brewed this up as my first AG recipe. I got 70% efficiency but missed the OG with a 1.050 since my electric stove didnt cause enough boil-off, so I ended up with like 6 gallons in the fermentor. . .I'm not complaining.

 

[duffman2]

ten987654321

Cha-ching!:rockin:

 

[JohnnyO]

Duff Man says Oh Yeah!!!

I'm about a pint away from kicking my keg of this wonderful wonderful beer. I'll need to brew it again real soon!!

 

[Schwoopty]

I just racked this from primary to the keg after 9 days on the yeast. It attenuated perfectly, nailed the FG at 1.011 and my OG was 1.054. The hydrometer sample tasted a bit odd but I'm notching that up to the temp at 66 and the EKG still being more promenent since it is young. The aroma was wonderful and exactly what I had expected. Color, perfect. I can't wait a month or two before it mellows out. I'll probably pull one off in 2 weeks and see where it's at. Thanks for the recipe, it's going to be great.

Oh, I plan on putting this into a few bottles to enter it into our club only competition. I'll keep you posted on the results!

 

[jaginger]

Cool, I just kegged mine tonight as well. It's my first beer ever. I am impressed, what a great recipe. I think I am going to get a very nice response to this on Super Sunday!

 

[duffman2]

So, is there a consensus yet on the best liquid yeast to try? 1028 maybe? I'm only looking at using liquid because I think I'm gonna wash the yeast and reuse to make this beer many many many times

Thanks!

 

[jlpred55]

So, is there a consensus yet on the best liquid yeast to try? 1028 maybe? I'm only looking at using liquid because I think I'm gonna wash the yeast and reuse to make this beer many many many times

Thanks!

Don't use WY1335- I did not like the result.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

So, is there a consensus yet on the best liquid yeast to try? 1028 maybe? I'm only looking at using liquid because I think I'm gonna wash the yeast and reuse to make this beer many many many times

Thanks!

I've used Notty, 1099, and 1028. I would not use 1099 again. 1028 was pretty good, but my fav. was Notty. It really accentuated the "nutty-ness" of the beer. Notty would be my preference when I brew this one again.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

And Nottingham is cheap enough that you don't have to worry about washing the yeast. Of course, you can always just throw a new batch on the yeast cake - even with dry yeast.

 

[duffman2]

And Nottingham is cheap enough that you don't have to worry about washing the yeast. Of course, you can always just throw a new batch on the yeast cake - even with dry yeast.

Good call Sparks,

If it's notty that makes the beer good, then notty it is!

 

[gtpro]

I actually used English 2-row as my base malt for this one. Just tasted my hydrometer sample yesterday, soo yummy! Its amazing what putting certain malts together will produce, as far as I can tell, great recipe.

 

[flyerwire]

lil sparky, how did it work out with some munich in there?

and i see hugh said not to use 1099, i have a bunch stored that i use on my american brown that i like, any reason to stay away from it?

 

[duffman2]

Duffman's got the nut brown in the bag! I followed the recipe pretty closely only substituting Willamettes for both additions. They were 7.8 AA so I only added about .75 oz for the first addition and .5 for the second addition. I don't know if this was meant to be way malty or more balanced, but I think I'll be somewhere in the middle.

I dub this beer the Double Slutty Triple Nutty Bodacious Booty Brunette! And I can't wait to break her in! Thanks Sparky!