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As Seen In |
GETTIN' DOWN TO THE BROWN BY Bruce L Brode "Grand Hydro" (Published in the March 1997 Brews and News)
Brew Style of the Month: Brown Ale
Brown Ale is one of those styles that nearly all home brewers respect and enjoy, for its honesty and simplicity. There's really nothing fancy about it, just a pleasant and satisfying interplay of caramel malt, ale yeast, and sometimes just a hint of chocolatey roast. The esteemed beer writer Michael Jackson once described it as an appropriate accompaniment to apple pie, which is itself a study in simple appeal. There are other things to like about Brown Ale. It's a great showcase for the wonderful grades of caramel, or crystal, malt. It doesn't develop much alcohol, providing a quaffable beer that still carries a measure of satisfying body and texture. One thing that most home brewers will particularly appreciate is its tendency to mature quickly. After all, who wants to wait forever to drink one's own brew? These are some of the reasons it is appropriate as Brew Style of the Month for March; we have a couple of important festivals coming up, and we'll need a fast-maturing, lower-strength beer to enjoy at them. Time to get brewing--the Mayfaire and the Southern California Homebrewers Festival are coming right up! While there are brown-colored ales native to Belgium, the style of Brown Ale as we best know it has solid roots in Britain, as reflected in the Maltose Falcons Competition Description for the style:
Class 11, Brown Ale. Substyles: a. Mild Ale: A low-gravity ale also 'mild' in hop bitterness (from whence it takes its name), and known for a malty and sometimes fruity palate flavor. Low alcohol content makes for a beer that can be consumed in quantity. Although there are pale milds, most are dark and derive their flavor in part from kettle caramelization, caramel malts and perhaps some roasted malts or roasted barley. Color deep copper to dark brown. Medium bodied. Lack of either alcohol or hops makes for a fast-maturing beer that does not travel well. O.G. 1.030-1.037, IBU 10-25, alcohol 2.5-3.5% v/v. Commercial examples: none cited. b. Southern English Brown Ale: Dark brown and almost opaque in color, this beer has a decidedly sweet palate from use of caramel malts and is brewed from a low gravity producing a low alcohol content. O.G. 1.030-1.045, IBU 10-25, alcohol 2.5-3.5% v/v. Commercial examples: none cited. c. Northern English Brown Ale: Also known as "nut brown ale" or "strong brown ale," these beers feature a drier, 'nuttier' malt flavor than their Southern English cousins, with higher hop bittering and alcohol levels as well. Color may well be a touch lighter and clearer than in the Southern style. O.G. 1.045-1.055, IBU 20-35, alcohol 3.5-4.5% v/v. Commercial examples: Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale (U.K.), Newcastle Brown Ale (U.K.). d. American Brown Ale: An adaptation of the Brown Ale style by American brewers desiring higher alcohol and hopping levels to go along with the caramel richness characteristic of all brown ales. A well-controlled faint dry roasty edge may also be present. Color dark amber to dark brown, medium body. O.G. 1.050-1.065, IBU 25-60, alcohol 4.5-6.5% v/v. Commercial examples: Pete's Wicked Ale (U.S.).
Keys to brewing Brown Ale: 1. Use a variety of caramel malts in your grist or mini-mash, for a rich and complex flavour (have to use the British spelling for this one!). There are many different colors, listed by degrees on the Lovibond scale, and you should consider using a bit of each one or at least a combination of them. Generally, the darker they are, the more tangy and longer-lasting the flavor, and at the lighter end they impart a more sugary sweetness. The amount of roasted malt you use, if any (such as Chocolate Malt), will depend on how dry or nut-like you want the flavor to be. A bit of a longer boil than usual will help enhance malt flavor by kettle caramelization, too. 2. Choose an ale yeast strain that imparts soft flavors and a bread-like texture, as many English strains do, to help keep the sweet maltiness interesting. You don't need one that's a real strong fermenter for most Brown Ale recipes, since there isn't the need for much alcohol production. A yeast that works well for Bitter Ale should also work well for Brown Ale. Two of the best I know for this are the Brewers Resource British Draught Ale Yeast, and the Wyeast #1275 Thames Valley Ale yeast. 3. Keep hops to a minimum, whether for bittering or for aroma, and use a soft-edged bittering hop at that. This is a thoroughly malt-dominated style and you need use only enough bittering hops to provide some stability to the wort and to keep the sweet maltiness from being cloying. Most recipes don't call for any aroma or palate hops at all, although the American variant might be an exception. Let the malt do the talking! 4. Original gravity levels, such as are listed in the competition category description above, are quite similar to those appropriate for Bitter Ale. Get much beyond them, and you're getting into Strong Ale territory, a rather different animal. Strong Brown Ales are more typical of Belgium than of Britain. Time to brew some gruesome Brown. Here's a First Place Brown Ale recipe from the 1996 Mayfaire Competition, courtesy of the Sierra Nevada Homebrewer of the Year for 1996, Michael Bowe:
American Brown Ale, by Michael Bowe: For 15 gallons: Grains: 20 lbs. American 2-row pale malt. 4 lbs. Belgian CaraVienne malt. 1 lb. carastan malt. 3 lbs. Belgian CaraMunich malt. Hops: 4 oz. Hallertau leaf, 4.7% A.A., boiled 60 min. Yeast: Wyeast #1056. Water: Carbon filtered. Procedure: Mash grains at 120 F. for 45 min., 146 F. for 60 min.,160 F. for 30 min., then mash out at 170 F. Total boil time 90 min. Ferment 10 days at 68 F. O.G. 1.058, F.G. not stated. Excellent brown ales can be brewed using malt extract, too. Here is the First Place Brown Ale recipe from the 1995 Mayfaire Competition, a dark Mild Ale brewed by yours truly and Brian Vessa:
"High-Styled Mild," by Bruce Brode and Brian Vessa: For 6 gallons: Grains: 1 lb. English Pale malt. 1 lb. English 80 L. caramel malt. 1 lb. domestic 40 L. caramel malt. 8 oz. Dark Carastan 37 L. malt. 4 oz. 120 L. caramel malt. 4 oz. Belgian Aromatic malt. Extract: Two 3.3 lb. cans John Bull Light Unhopped Malt Extract Syrup. Hops: 22.4 grams East Kent Goldings hop pellets, 5.3% A.A., boiled 60 min., calculated to yield 12 IBU. Yeast: Brewers Resource British Draught Ale yeast, grown up in starter. Water: Venice, CA tap water, amended with 1/2 teaspoon table salt added to the boil. Procedure: Mash crushed grains in 5.5 quarts water at 150 F. for 60 min., then strain into kettle and gently rinse with 170 F. water into kettle. Add additional water and bring to boil. Add extract and salt and bring to boil. Add hops and boil 60 min. Counterflow chill. Ferment ambient December temperature in Venice for 7 days primary, 3 weeks secondary. Prime at the rate of 1/2 cup corn sugar per 5 gallons at bottling. O.G. 1.036, F.G. 1.015. Well, that's all for now. You can brown-nose me any time you like with some good Brown Ale. Until next time, keep floatin', and get down to something Brown. |
