American Brown Ale
The second beer I ever brewed was an American Brown Ale. I still remember opening the first bottle of it and getting a big punch in the nose of cocoa and grain and a hops aroma that was so unexpected and perfect that I still use the recipe, even though I don’t quite understand how we got there! American Brown Ale is a classic of the early craft and homebrewing world, and in a perfect world, you’d have a great version of it on tap at all times. Style: The description of this beer in the BJCP guidelines (both 2008 and 2015) seems to be a lot tamer than most versions of the style I see on taps and judging tables. ABA features medium-high malt flavor, often in the form of caramel, toffee, and chocolate. It also features a fair amount of bitterness and hops flavor, but this is where the guidelines start to get a little confusing: they specifically state that the hops character “complements and enhances” the maltiness, which itself can be moderately high, but then indicate relatively low levels of bitterness and hops flavor. I aim for more hops impression than the guidelines would think proper because not doing so would mean I had to dial back on the maltiness to an unacceptable degree just to get a modicum of balance in the finished product. Ingredients: We begin with Maris Otter, since a bready base is just what the doctor ordered (and will help prevent the roasted malts from being too aggressive). To that we equal amounts of Caramunich and British Crystal 65. In this case, I strongly recommend using British Crystal instead of a general 60L Caramel malt because we really want that rich caramel-and-toffee flavor. The Caramunich will help in that regard, too! For roast, I like a some chocolate malt (425L). That grist should get you to right about 1.060, which will add a modest but noticeable amount of alcohol.
–20 Hopping is where this beer really shines. Some Hallertau for bittering at 60 minutes should add about 15 IBUS. Then, at 10 minutes (and in a dry-hop addition) I add a blend of Liberty and Crystal hops. Why those? I’ve found that the Hallertau/liberty/crystal combination results in a flavor like sarsaparilla, especially in darker beers. It’s wonderful, and I can’t readily explain it, except to point out that hops oils are a mysterious and wonderful thing.
Finally, ferment with Wyeast 1318 London Ale III. It doesn’t seem to overly favor the hops or the malt and brings out some nice, light esters in support. Being a relatively light attenuator, it also leaves some complementary sweetness and body behind, which works well for the style. Process: Some tinker with the mash temperature here to bump up the body, but rather than doing that, I recommend just increasing the crystal malt addition if you notice it’s a little light or thin—the added flavor will only help and addresses the body issue at the same time.
Boil and chill as usual, ferment at 65°F (18°C) for about a week, then raise to 68°F (20°C) or so to clean up any diacetyl. Once that’s done, free-add the blended Liberty and Crystal and wait about 5 days. At that point, you should be good to go. Package, carbonate
CO2, to about two volumes of and drink!