George Orwell English Nut Brown Ale, take two. This was the first time we tinkered with a recipe, since the first batch of Orwell Brown was unanimously assessed to be a disaster. I rebuilt the recipe from the ground up, using books like Designing Great Beers. I wanted to change everything, beginning the search for the signature brown ale recipe for the Wolf's Eye Brewery. First to go was the Briess CBW Light, which Derek at MyLHBS confirmed was more watered-down than other extracts. I replaced it with 3.3 lbs of Coopers Plain Light Malt Extract at the beginning of the boil and 2.0 lbs of Briess Dry Traditional Dark Malt Extract as a late extract with 10 minutes left on the boil. I also replaced the Weyerman Carafoam with Briess Victory Malt, which is a standard brown ale specialty grain. The most controversial change in the recipe was the yeast, though I do not regret the decision now. Derek at MyLHBS listened to my request for a typical Wyeast English ale yeast, and made the out-of-the-box recommendation for Wyeast 1338 European Ale, which he said made great, full-bodied brown ales. The man knows of which he speaks, because this brown has grown to be an all-around fantastic beer, with strong caramel aroma, malty body, and strong finish. I am done tinkering with this one...we have a winner! I predict this beer will be one of the cornerstone recipes for Wolf's Eye for years to come.
George Orwell Brown #2
11-C Northern English Brown Ale
Size: 4.44 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 174.93 per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.053 (1.040 - 1.052)
Terminal Gravity: 1.013 (1.008 - 1.013)
Color: 20.5 (12.0 - 22.0)
Alcohol: 5.17% (4.2% - 5.4%)
Bitterness: 25.3 (20.0 - 30.0)
Ingredients:
0.5 lbs Munton's Crystal 60
0.3 lbs Munton's Chocolate Malt
0.5 lbs Briess Victory Malt
3.3 lbs Coopers Plain Light Malt Extract
2.0 lbs Briess Dry Traditional Dark Malt Extract
1.0 oz Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
0.5 oz Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
0.0 ea Wyeast 1338 European Ale
Schedule:
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m
Notes:
Brewed: 12/11/07
O.G.: 1.042
Bottled: 12/29/07
12/29/07: While still green, beer already has more body and chocolate flavors than first batch of G.O. Brown
1/19/08: Smells amazing and wonderful, complex taste of caramel and malt and just a hint of chocolate
2/20/08: Great aroma, great opening flavor, but thin finishing taste.
1 comment:
Very good beer - has the distinctive caramel and malt notes of the american brown ale, although I believe it is a bit on the dark side (apologies to John Cafferty). However, I like my browns to be thicker, darker and more complex - I believe that distinguishes the american version from the brown ales on the continent.
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