I particularly enjoy dark English-style beers during the winter, and brown ale is a particularly nice style for my tastes. So, I put together a British Brown Ale recipe from an amalgamation of various online versions.

Nut Nut Brown Ale

• 10 lb. Golden Promise malt (Simpsons)
• 4 oz. crystal 75 malt (Bairds)
• 4 oz. chocolate malt (Bairds)
• 3 oz. Special B malt (Dingemans)
• 1.25 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 0.25 oz. Fuggles hop pellets (4.6% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
• 1 pkg. Windsor ale yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

• 1.047 o.g., 1.013 f.g., 4.5% alpha, 27 IBU, 17 SRM
• Full volume mash at 156° for 60 minutes and 10 minute mash-out at 168°
• Claremont tap water with Campden tablet

Procedure

• I mashed in with 7 gallons of water at 162°, to hit a target mash temperature of 156°. I added 6 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH, at the start of the mash. After 60 minutes of recirculation, I increased the temperature to 168° and held it there for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
• I collected 6.1 gallons of runnings at a gravity of 1.044, for 69% mash efficiency.
• I brought the kettle to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat, chilled the wort, and transferred it to the fermenter.
• I brewed this beer on 19 November 2022. It had a starting gravity of 1.049. I held the temperature at 68° for fermentation.
• I kegged the beer on 10 December 2022. It had a final gravity of 1.025, for 3.1% abv. This was surprisingly low attenuation, which I attribute to the high mash temperature.

Tasting

• Appearance
  • Deep cinnamon brown color with brilliant clarity; pours with a thin and persistent off-white head. Very pretty!
• Aroma
  • Coffee and chocolate; light yeasty esters too; very pleasant.
• Flavor
  • Cocoa and rich bread crust in the malt; moderate bitterness; slight yeasty esters again like in the aroma, with a very pleasant quality.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, smooth finish with a very very slightly dry quality.
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • It’s not perhaps the most exciting style for me (relative to a porter or stout), but this is a super tasty beer that has come into its own. It’s interesting that it doesn’t taste nearly as thick as it should given the final gravity. The caramel qualities that this style is supposed to have aren’t terribly prominent, and the bread crust character is a bit off for the style also. This is a really interesting beer, but not to the literal BJCP standards. It would be a 10 on its own, but I gave it a 6 given the style considerations. It should probabkly have more caramel malts in the grist to hit the style marks.
• Overall
  • 7/10