American and English Brown Ale
Brown ales, sometimes known as nut brown because of their color, originated in England and exist as a very strong style today. Brown ale is broken into two categories, Northern brown (sometimes known as strong brown) and Southern brown.
There is also a lower-gravity style of English brown ale known as mild ale, which is like the little brother to the Southern style. It is brewed in the West Midlands around Wolverhampton, or “Black County.” Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery makes a nice version of this beer called High Desert mild. In recent years this style has been split into light and dark mild in many competitions to reflect the many different versions brewed in the United Kingdom. Examples of U.K. mild ale are Bank’s Mild and Marston’s Merrie Monk and Walnut Mild.
The character of English brown is light, with a moderate alcohol flavor. The Northern style has a short caramel finish, and the Southern style is darker, lower in alcohol, sweeter, and less bitter. The American version is a combination of the two, but it has more of everything and possesses a distinct American hop profile. All of the browns have toffee, chocolate, toasted, and biscuit flavors associated with the use of the brown spectrum of specialty grains, although in varying degrees of intensity.
The guidelines for an English-style brown ale are: original gravity 1.040 to 1.050 (10° to 12.5° Plato), bitterness 15 to 25 IBUs, color 15° to 22° SRM, and alcohol by volume 4 percent to 5.5 percent. For American brown, the target numbers are: original gravity 1.040 to 1.056 (10° to 14° Plato), bitterness 25 to 60 IBUs, color 15° to 22° SRM, and alcohol by volume 4 percent to 5.9 percent.
The Northern brown is the most common brown imported into the United States, with Newcastle and Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown probably the most prevalent.
American and hybrid versions from U.S. microbreweries include Pyramid Best Brown, Deschutes Bond St. Brown, Rogue Hazelnut Brown (which actually has hazelnuts in it), and Goose Island Brown.
Malt
Even though English brown ales are lighter than American browns, the grain bill is essentially the same. An American, Canadian, or British two-row pale malt should serve as the base, or use a combination of these. The two pale malts chosen in these recipes are a standard two-row malt such as Klages, Harrington, or Manley mixed with a significant amount of English Maris Otter for richness and depth. Alternatives are Maris Otter crosses such as Beeston’s Pipkin Pale or Halcyon. The body should be fortified with light to medium caramel malts to add sweetness, caramel flavor, and complexity to the specialty grains. Color ratings of 20°, 40°, and 60° Lovibond are good, as these malts can be used in moderate to high amounts without making the beer too dark.
However, if you are purposely trying to brew a brown ale that is very low in caramel character, such as a low-gravity mild ale, the higher-roasted crystal malts are good for just the opposite reasons. Just a little will add color and body, but the decreased amount in the grain bill means less added flavor. This leads to the use of roasted specialty grains for brown color and chocolate or toffee flavors. Biscuit malt, brown malt, and chocolate malt are good, and all are included in our recipe for American-style brown ale.
These recipes can always be simplified, but the complexity translates into quality. The English recipe is simpler, using only chocolate malt and one type of crystal malt as specialty grains. The English recipes contain no sugar, as is common in many browns.
Hops
Neither version should be overly hoppy, particularly the English recipe, which is more of a testament to the brewer’s ability to create a well-balanced beer. The American-style brown can be more bitter, but it should be accompanied by an increase in maltiness and gravity as well. It is for these reasons that hop varieties with high alpha-acid contents are seldom used, in favor of increased hop rates of lower-alpha varieties.
It doesn’t take a master brewer to figure out that an English brown requires traditional English hops and, similarly, the American version should be brewed using American varieties. Regular readers of this column have come to expect a few standards in the recipes given. The English recipe uses a Fuggle and Goldings program, which is perfect, but alternatives are Bullion for bittering and Brambling, Progress, and Wye Challenger for flavoring and aroma additions. The American brown ale recipe employs Cascades for bittering and is finished with Liberty. Other good hops for American brown are Centennial (in moderation), Willamette, Crystal, and Mt. Hood.
Yeast Selection
Yeast selection and fermentation for the browns are exactly the same as the two pale ales from last month, Wyeast 1056 (American ale) for the American and 1318 (London ale III) for the English.
American Brown Ale
(5 gallons, all-grain)
Ingredients:
• 7.5 lbs. two-row pale malt such a Gambrinus or Great Western
• 0.5 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 40° Lovibond
• 0.5 lb. biscuit malt
• 0.25 lb. brown malt
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 1.5 oz. Cascade hops (6% alpha acid): 0.5 oz. (3 AAU) for 90 min., 1 oz. (6 AAU) for 45 min.
• 0.75 oz. (4.5 AAU) Liberty hops (6% alpha acid) at end of boil
• 1 pt. starter of Wyeast 1056 (American ale)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Mash grain in 3.25 gal. of water at 150° F for 60 min. Sparge with 168° to 170° F water to collect 5.75 gal. of wort.
Total boil is 90 min. At start of boil, add 0.5 oz. Cascade hops and boil 45 min. Add 1 oz. Cascades and boil remaining 45 min. At end of boil, add Liberty hops to finish. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.
Ferment at 69° F for seven days, then rack to secondary. Continue fermentation for seven more days until gravity is about 1.012 (3° Plato) or fermentation stops. Let settle, rack, prime, and bottle. Age seven more days before drinking.
OG = 1.056 (14° Plato)
33 IBUs
17° SRM
5.5% ABV
American Brown Ale
(5 gallons, extract with grain)
Ingredients:
• 7.5 lbs. pale malt extract syrup
• 0.5 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 40° Lovibond
• 0.5 lb. biscuit malt
• 0.25 lb. brown malt
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 1.75 oz. Cascade hops (6% alpha acid): 0.75 oz. (4.5 AAU) for 60 min., 1 oz. (6 AAU) for 45 min.
• 0.75 oz. (4.5 AAU) Liberty hops (6% alpha acid) at end of boil
• 1 pt. starter of Wyeast 1056 (American ale)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Start with 5 gal. of 150° F water. Steep crushed grain for 30 min. Sparge grains with enough 170° F water to make 5.5 gal. Heat to boiling and add extract syrup. Total boil will be 60 min. At start of boil, add 0.75 oz. Cascade hops and boil 15 min. Add 1 oz. Cascades and boil remaining 45 min. At end of boil, add Liberty hops to finish. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.
Follow the fermenting instructions and refer to the specifications for the all-grain version.
English Brown Ale
(5 gallons, all-grain)
Ingredients:
• 7.25 lbs. Maris Otter
• 0.5 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 1 lb. crystal, 40° Lovibond
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 1.5 oz. Fuggle hops (4.2% alpha acid): 1 oz. (4.2 AAU) for 90 min., 0.5 oz. (2.1 AAU) for 30 min.
• 1 oz. (5.5 AAU) Kent Goldings hops (5.5% alpha acid) at end of boil
• 1 pt. starter of Wyeast 1318 (London III)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Mash grain in 3 gal. of water at 150° F for 60 min. Sparge with 168° to 170° F water to collect 5.75 gal. of wort.
Total boil time is 90 min. At start of boil, add 1 oz. Fuggle hops and boil 60 min. Add 0.5 oz. Fuggles, boil remaining 30 min. At end of boil, add the Kent Goldings hops. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.
Ferment at 69° F for seven days, then rack to secondary fermenter. Continue fermentation for seven days until gravity is about 1.012 (3° Plato) or fermentation is finished. Let settle, rack, prime, and bottle. Age seven days before drinking.
OG = 1.048 (12° Plato)
23 IBUs
16° SRM
4.5% ABV
English Brown Ale
(5 gallons, extract with grain)
Ingredients:
• 7 lbs. English pale malt extract syrup
• 0.5 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 40° Lovibond
• 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
• 1.75 oz. Fuggle hops (4.2% alpha acid): 1.25 oz. (5.25 AAU) for 60 min., 0.5 oz. (2.1 AAU) for 30 min.
• 1 oz. (5.5 AAU) Kent Goldings hops (5.5% alpha acid) at end of boil
• 1 pt. starter of Wyeast 1318 (London III)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Start with 5 gal. of 150° F water. Steep crushed grain for 30 min. Sparge grains with enough 170° F water to make 5.5 gal. Heat to boiling and add extract syrup. Total boil will be 60 min. At start of boil, add 1.25 oz. Fuggle hops and boil 30 min. Add 0.5 oz. Fuggles and boil 30 min. At the end of boil, add Kent Goldings hops to finish. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.
