Thornbridge Brewery & Bundobust Brewery’s Nut Brown Ale clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.044  FG = 1.011
IBU = 25   SRM = 14   ABV = 4.3%

Thornbridge and Bundobust’s collaborative Nut Brown Ale is an homage to the classic Sam Smith’s Nut Brown. It is dark copper in color, with a grain bill all about building caramel flavor and a hint of chocolate malt for some of the darker toffee character, but not enough to add any roasted character. Eminently sessionable, this beer is designed for a long afternoon at the pub.

Ingredients
7 lbs. (3.2 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Munich malt
5.3 oz. (150 g) crystal malt (60 °L)
2.6 oz. (75 g) brown malt
2.6 oz. (75 g) chocolate malt
6.9 AAU Ernest hops (60 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 5.5% alpha acids)*
4.5 AAU Ernest hops (hopstand) (1.6 oz./45 g at 5.5% alpha acids)* 
White Labs WLP037 (Yorkshire Square Ale), Wyeast 1469 (West Yorkshire Ale), or SafAle S-04 yeast
1⁄2 cup corn sugar (if priming)

*If you can’t get hold of Ernest hops, Cascade hops would be a good substitute. 

Step by Step
You don’t want as thick a mouthfeel for a British brown ale as you would for the previous examples, so mash in fairly low at 148–150 °F (65–66 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes and confirm the saccharification step is complete with an iodine test before proceeding to the lauter steps. Sparge with enough water to collect 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) in your kettle.

Boil for a total of 60 minutes, adding the hops at the times indicated in the ingredients list. At the conclusion of the boil, cool the wort down to 185 °F (85 °C) and then halt cooling and add the hopstand addition of hops. Stir the wort and let stand for 20 minutes before chilling to yeast-pitch temperature.

Ferment on the warm end of the yeast range, about 72 °F (22 °C), to coax all the fruity esters out of the characterful Yorkshire ale yeast. Bring down 54 °F (12 °C) after primary fermentation is complete for maturation of a week or so prior to packaging.

This kind of classic British-style ale would normally be served on cask or bottled conditioned. Keg if you must, but if you bottle condition you’ll get the best out of this beer. Add 1⁄2 tsp. of priming sugar to each bottle (or 1⁄2 cup for the entire 5-gallon/19-L batch) for low carbonation and serve at cellar temperature.

Extract with grains option: Replace the 2-row pale and Munich malts with 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) of extra light dried malt extract and 12 oz. (340 g) of Munich dried malt extract. Add the chocolate, brown, and crystal malts in a muslin bag and submerge in 4 gallons (15 L) as it heats up to 170 °F (77 °C). Remove grain bag, allowing to drip back into the kettle, then top off kettle to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L). With the heat turned off, stir in the malt extract. 

Bring the wort up to a boil then follow the all-grain recipe for boil and fermentation instructions.