Northern English Brown Ale

I decided that the Old Ale I have aging in the corner needs a bit more time to mature. Instead I will bring home a nice brown ale and the rest of my Farmhouse ale for Christmas instead.. As I learned from my SMaSH English Bitter a simple recipe can make a lovely been when quality ingredients are used.

What I hope I have here is a flavorful, malty English brown that my mom will like (and I will like too). As brewers we sometimes seem so focused on hoppy beers that we dismiss the simple but good styles like browns and bitters.

So here is a very English brown ale, of the Northern (Newcastle) style. It is now ready to drink, and is a deep brown, crystal clear when poured gently, and softly carbonated. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with the result, and look forward to sharing with family and friends.

The recipe:

This recipe was tuned for my simple brewing system where I can get a 75% mash efficiency consistently. I calculated 78% efficiency for this particular mash. I think if I were to track this more rigorously I would see a nearly 5% efficiency difference between the two grain mills at the supply shop. I’m going to put getting my own mill on my list of brewery upgrades.

Malt

• 9 lbs Crisp Maris Otter (83%)
• 12 oz Simpsons Medium Crystal (7%)
• 8 oz Simpsons Dark Crystal (5%)
• 8 oz Crisp Pale Chocolate (5%)

Hops

• 1 oz East Kent Goldings 6.6%, first wort hops
• 1 oz US Fuggles 4.9%, 5 min

Yeast

• White Labs WLP005 British Ale in a starter.

Mash (Single infusion, 152F)

• Infusion: 13.5 quarts at 168F
• Mashout: 8 quarts at 200F
• Sparge: Fly sparge 18 quarts at 170F

Characteristics

Measurement	Expected	Actual	Reference
Efficiency	75%	78%	N/A
OG	1.050	1.052	1.040 – 1.052
FG	1.013	1.013	1.008 – 1.013
ABV	4.9%	5.1%	4.2% – 5.4%
IBUs	23	23	20 – 30
Color (SRM)	19	Brown	12 – 22

— Steve

Posted on 20 December 2013