Taking another run at a brown ale

[FedoraDave]

I've always liked Newcastle Brown Ale. Smooth and rich, with the sweet maltiness tempered by a slightly nutty flavor, and just a touch of caramel/toffee lurking in the background.

I tried my hand at creating my own brown ale recipe, but got mired down in it, using too many specialty grains, and too many dark ones, at that, probably making something closer to a bitter porter than a traditional Northern English Brown Ale. And after a while, I sort of let it fall by the wayside.

But in thinking about what to brew after I get this weekend's Copperbottom Lager in the carboy, it occurred to me that I might as well take another shot at developing a beer I'd be proud to call Trilby Brown Ale.

So I looked at the BJCP Guidelines, thought on it some, ran it through QBrew, and I think I've got a good start on it this time.

TRILBY BROWN ALE - 2.5 gallons

GRAIN
3.25# Two-Row
0.5# Biscuit
0.25# Crystal 60L
0.25# Chocolate Malt

HOPS
0.5 oz. Fuggles - 60 minutes
0.5 oz. Fuggles - 20 minutes
0.5 oz. Fuggles - 7 minutes

YEAST
British Ale yeast - TBD

According to QBrew, the numbers on this recipe (OG, FG, ABV, SRM, IBU) all fall pretty much in the mid-range for the style. I may have to work with the malt bill a little, but I expect some fine-tuning will be necessary to get it where I want it. Right now, I'm looking to get a base-line recipe that's solid.

Interestingly, this idea kind of kicks my enthusiasm for brewing up a notch. I think I was on Auto-Pilot for a couple/three months there, and brewing was beginning to become more of a chore than an enjoyable creative outlet. Cutting back on my brewing volume for the summer, and deciding to work on a brown ale recipe were good ideas. I think I'll be ready to hit the ground running Labor Day weekend, when I get back into the weekly brewing routine.

[Gymrat]

That does look about right Dave.

[FedoraDave]

Thanks, Roger.

You know, I think I was making it too complicated before. I usually have better luck with simpler recipes, and I think I'm going to get close to a good base recipe here, and can make adjustments/additions more intelligently.

If I like the way this turns out, I'm seriously considering entering it in Homebrew Alley IX in February.

[MadBrewer]

Besides the hops, that looks like the start of a standard American Brown Ale. But you mentioned Newcastle Brown, so if you are looking to do something more of an Northern English Brown like Newcastle I'll lend a few ideas...

Using some Marris Otter in place of the 2 Row.
The Biscuit is a great choice, I would use the same.
I might go with Crystal 40 in place of the 60. It's sweeter.
If you haven't tried it, Pale Chocolate in place of regular Chocolate Malt. It's got a great light toasty note to it, less impact compared to regular Chocolate. Very flavorful. And I might use less of it, as low as 2 oz instead of .25 lb. Something like Newcastle is a very delicate balance of flavors.

And if you never tried the malt, some Special Roast is great for a lot of English Beers. It pairs well with Marris Otter and Bisucit malts. It adds another level of Biscuity, bready notes with distinctive hints of fruit/caramel. I might try a .25 lb in something like this. I also might drop the 20 min addition, (if you're looking to go more English Brown with this). And I would choose a very characterful English Yeast. Wyeast 1968 or WLP equivelant. If you're a dry yeast user, there's not a lot of choice for the same impact. But if I had to I think I would go with Nottingham.

Of course these are just ideas, nothing wrong with what you posted, but it can be easily tweaked to be more of an English Brown. I'm not saying you're trying to clone Newcastle...just ideas.

[Gymrat]

I have always felt I get more British character from S 04 than I do from Nottingham.

[mashani]

Just some random thoughts... Whitbread yeast, IE S-04 or Wyeast 1099 or similar will be more to character then Nottingham like Gymrat says.

Real Newcastle is not all malt - it has flaked corn or some other adjunct grain in it to lighten the body a bit. If you want the body more like Newcastle, then a pound of flaked corn in a 5 gallon batch isn't too much. That doesn't mean you have to do this of course, but a bit of an adjunct grain or sugar is not inappropriate in some English beers.

I sometimes like to use a mixture of 60L and 80L or 40L and 80L crystal. I really like a little bit of 80L (I actually get 75L or 85L british crystal) in my browns.

EDIT: and FWIW, I think Newcastle is more Kent Goldings from the flavor profile then Fuggles, however I love fuggles in Browns. I also like Styrian Goldings in Browns.

[BigPapaG]

I have always felt I get more British character from S 04 than I do from Nottingham.

Agreed! It's kind of like the dry equivalent of British / Whitbread Ale. (Wyeast 1098?)

In fact, if using Danstar yeast, Windsor is closer to London Ale than Notty...

Windsor is more like Wyeast 1028 London Ale.

The Windsor should attenuate just a bit more than the S-04, providing a slightly dryer result which I find more satisfying in an English style brown ale. In fact adding a little sugar or brown sugar will help that as well.

IMHO, I like the Biscuit, and Pale Chocolate (although Regular chocolate malt is ok if used a bit more sparingly)... I would use either the C40 or C60 but I think the C60 will get you some of the complexity you are looking for in a simpler grain bill. Some C80 wouldn't hurt either.

YMMV of course.

EDIT: Mash got in before me, but I agree on the darker malts, the use of adjuncts and such for a more Northern Brown experience.

[MadBrewer]

S-04 is certainly more English character than Notty, I like s-04 in some English styles, especially Bitters but I have yet to like it in a darker beer. Don't know why, just my experience. Notty is what Jamil recommends for his Northern Brown Ale on a Brewing Network Podcast. I don't know what he recommends for dry yeast in Brewing Classic Styles I don't have my book handy.

Also there's a couple new dry yeasts from Mangrove Jack. They have a "Newcastle Dark Ale" strain. I don't know what the Newcastle reference is all about but it's said to have a nice malty, low attenuating character that's nice for dark beers with residual sweetness. Haven't tried them so can't comment on them.

[FedoraDave]

I picked up the Mangrove Jack Newcastle yeast. I've used MJ yeast before, and was very pleased with the outcome.

I also bought my grains yesterday, so I'm sticking with this recipe, and I'll see how I like the result. I appreciate all of the input here, because it will help me make adjustments in future recipes. I will definitely consider Maris Otter.

[Gymrat]

I think the biscuit malt will make up the difference between 2 row and Marris Otter.

[FedoraDave]

Could be.

I'm actually more interested in MadBrewer's suggestion of 40L instead of 60L, since I'm interested in getting some caramel/toffee flavors rather than anything roasted/toasted.

But I'll see what this recipe delivers and work from there. I have high hopes for the yeast, and I just really like Fuggles. It's certainly not an inappropriate hops for an English Brown. I think it's mostly going to be the malt bill that spells success here.

I really appreciate the suggestions in this thread, and you can bet I'll be looking it up again once I get this ready to drink. Verily, The Borg doth rock; yea, even unto ultimate rockitude.

[MadBrewer]

I'm interested in hearing about the Newcastle yeast strain. The Crystal 40/60 thing I really have found if you want a stand alone specialty malt for say a simple Pale Ale or IPA and looking for a crystal malt, C60 can't be beat for a mix of caramel sweetness and some toasted caramel notes. But when it comes to building layers of flavor something like the OP mentions, working with multiply specialty grains and especially for darker beers I tend to go for Crystal 40 for that sweetness/caramel. It also pairs well with C120 for a good mix and I see this in a lot of recipes. That's the great thing about the forums is asking a question and getting a vast array of ideas, suggestions and experiences.

[mashani]

S-04 is certainly more English character than Notty, I like s-04 in some English styles, especially Bitters but I have yet to like it in a darker beer. Don't know why, just my experience. Notty is what Jamil recommends for his Northern Brown Ale on a Brewing Network Podcast. I don't know what he recommends for dry yeast in Brewing Classic Styles I don't have my book handy.

Also there's a couple new dry yeasts from Mangrove Jack. They have a "Newcastle Dark Ale" strain. I don't know what the Newcastle reference is all about but it's said to have a nice malty, low attenuating character that's nice for dark beers with residual sweetness. Haven't tried them so can't comment on them.

I am a Notty fan, I use it a lot.

The thing about Notty is that it attenuates more and is less fruity/bready. So yes, I could see it being good in a lighter bodied northern English brown like a Newcastle type, especially if you do not use any adjunct grains to achieve the light body using a lower attenuating yeast.

But Whitbread strain like S-04/Wyeast 1099, or London ESB or Ringwood are the liquid strains I tend to go for my browns. But I tend to brew more Southern English browns then Northern.

All that said, I think I used London Ale as the liquid yeast in my last Northern Brown. That is a higher attenuating strain like Notty.