Articles & Recipes

British Brown Ale

 Brown Ales are one of the easiest first-time brews. Classic examples from across the pond are Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale and Newcastle Brown. The Sammy’s is a robust version, while the Newkie is more light-bodied. We’ll try to peg our example in the middle. This is a great beer to quaff on an autumn’s eve, says George Hummel, beer expert and author of The Complete Homebrew Beer Book.

 

Makes 5 Gallons

4 pounds UK amber malt extract syrup
1 pound UK amber dry malt extract
6–7 AAUs bittering hops: British hops such as Bramling Cross, East Kent Golding, or Fuggle
1 pound demerara sugar (or turbinado or raw brown cane sugar)
1 teaspoon Irish moss
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 ounce aroma hops, divided: UK hops such as Bramling Cross, East Kent Golding, or Fuggle
One 11.5 gram pack Fermentis S-04 or 11 gram Danstar Nottingham ale yeast
5 ounces dextrose (corn sugar), for priming

 

In a brew kettle, bring 2 gallons water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the malt extracts. Dissolve completely.

Return to boil, add bittering hops and boil for 45 minutes.

Scoop a saucepan full (2 cups) of liquid (wort) from kettle, add sugar, Irish moss, and yeast nutrient.

Return wort to kettle. Bring to a rolling boil and boil, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Add aroma hops, remove from heat and cool to just below 70°F (20°C), approximately 30 minutes or longer depending on cooling method.

Preparing dried yeast: In a sanitized container, add 1 cup  of pre-boiled water that has been cooled to 100°F (38°C). Stir in yeast, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes.

Strain wort as it is moved into sanitized primary fermenter. Pour wort back and forth between brew kettle and primary fermenter a few times to aerate it. Add enough clean, dechlorinated water to bring volume to 5 gallons.

Pour yeast solution into primary fermenter, and fit fermenter with a tight lid. Move fermenter in a location where it can sit undisturbed at between 65 to 70°F (18 to 20°C). Replace lid of fermenter with airlock. After 24 hours, check to see that fermentation is underway. Leave fermenter for two weeks.

Preparing priming liquid: In a small saucepan stir dextrose into 2 cups of dechlorinated water. Bring to a boil and stir to ensure dextrose is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and cover. Cool to room temperature.

Gently add priming liquid to sanitized bottling bucket; siphon beer into bottling bucket, being careful not to add more oxygen.

Carefully fill prepared bottles and cap them.