Untested recipe validation (brown ale)

[jsb]

Ok, so I have never done anything but extract kit brewing, however, I am standing at the edge ready to jump in. In prepping for this, I have been doing a lot of reading, specifically "Designing Great Beers".

This has inspired me to craft my own recipe, completely untested and not bounded by the shackles of experience and better sense. So, if some of you wizened brewers could just take a look and tell me if this could be palatable when the day is done, and whether or not I might likely hit my targets, I would greatly appreciate it.

To start off, I am trying to create a Northern England Brown Ale. I am shooting for a color of 10 SRM, OG of 1.048, FG of 1.012. I am looking for smokey, biscuity undertones, and a low-to-medium hop profile (24 IBU). I assumed for the purpose of projecting, a 70% mash efficiency, a 5.5 gallon boil, and 5% AAU for the Kent goldings. So here goes:

Grain Bill:
9.5 pounds 1.7L 2-row Pale Malt
0.5 pounds 60L Crystal Malt
0.5 pounds 1.7L Biscuit Malt

Mash at 155 degrees for 60 minutes
Sparge at 170 degrees for 15 minutes

Hop Bill:
1oz Kent Goldings @ 60 minutes
1oz Kent Goldings @ 5 minutes

Wyeast 1098 British Ale

Primary for a week and secondary for two weeks.

I know this is a simple recipe, but it is my first and I don't know what the crap I am doing, so I will take any and all suggestions for improving it. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

 

[david_42]

Don't know if you'll get any smokiness, but the recipe is very similar to Dimmer's Northbound Brown. Should be fine.

 

[BeerBDrew]

if you want smokiness, why not add an oz or 2 of smoked malt? I would suggest starting small if you do, though I have no smoked malt experience to speak of. I do, however, have a few years of experience with smoked meats, and I'll bet a little will go a long way. I say go for it, take good notes, keep reading, and enjoy the experience.

 

[ksbrain]

I wouldn't call 10 SRM "Brown" but looks like a good recipe! And I agree, I don't see any smokiness in those ingredients.

FWIW I would primary for two or three weeks and skip the secondary.

 

[jsb]

...And I agree, I don't see any smokiness in those ingredients.

As I was putting this together, I thought a description of the biscuit malt I read made reference to a slightly burnt flavor. That sounded good to me so I decided to go with it, however, I am not going to modify the recipe right now to capture it. And in retrospect, smoky and burnt are really not the same.


I choose 10 SRM as according to the style guide I read, Newcastle is SRM of 8, which was a bit suspect, so I bumped it up a couple. I am trying to create something with real flavor but is light enough in color so that my "I don't like dark beer" friends will be willing to give it a shot.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[jsb]

similar to Dimmer's Northbound Brown.

Where would I find this recipe to compare to? I searched here for it but did not find it.

 

[RobBug]

...

FWIW I would primary for two or three weeks and skip the secondary.

+1 for skipping the secondary.

 

[remilard]

I wouldn't call 10 SRM "Brown" but looks like a good recipe! And I agree, I don't see any smokiness in those ingredients.

It's a bit on the light side but N English Brown is not as dark as american brown ales (which are more like porters).

In any case, a little chocolate malt (or my preference, Thomas Fawcett Pale Chocolate) would get the color closer to Sam Smith or Newcastle and add some nuttiness. Victory can add an almost exaggerated nuttiness which a lot of people like but isn't quite like the real deal.

Consider dropping the biscuit a lot or completely and using an english base malt instead.

The recipe as posted will make a fine beer, my suggestions won't make it better, just maybe a little closer to what people expect.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I like the idea of a little biscuit malt in a brown. If you want smoky flavor you need to add a deeper roasted specialty malt. Some chocolate, as remilard suggests, will help. A touch of roasted barley (1 to 2 oz) will increase that character.

 

[jsb]

Hop Bill:
1oz Kent Goldings @ 60 minutes
1oz Kent Goldings @ 5 minutes

What about the hop profile. I assumed 5% AA and a 5.5 gallon boil. Using the formulas in "Designing Great Beers" I came up with 24 IBU. However, using a brew calculator on my droid, I came in closer to 20 IBU. I realize that <5 IBU is not necessarily noticeable, but I wonder where my math is going wrong.