While struggling to scale Janet’s Brown Ale to my equipment profile and batch size, I gave up and decided to make my own brown ale. Here it is: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1215211/herms-hoppy-brown-ale Let me know what you all think. And in regard to Janet’s Brown Ale, I figured out where my issues were with scaling, and actually got that recipe figured out. My wife suggested that I should make beer from my own recipe before using someone else’s. I welcome your feedback. Cheers!
Oops, thanks for pointing that out @Sunfire96 - should be public now. Off for a walk, so I’ll check back in later.
Recipe looks good. You might consider maris otter instead of pale 2-row, if you want it 'browner'. And maybe consider a simpler hop schedule....BUT I don't know what Janet's should taste like, I'm thinking of just a typical malty brown ale like @Josh Hughes brews.
Thanks Don, I’ll consider that change. This is an American Brown Ale, so it is about hops! I might even add some dry hops, specifically Amarillo, just to use up the end of the package.
I wonder if you need the crystal 40 in there? With the aromatic malt and the crystal wheat I'm not sure the caramelly/biscuit flavor from the crystal will come through or not. Or maybe a darker lovibond that brings more raisin/plum/brown toast to the table than sweetness? Also thanks for introducing me to Cara crystal wheat. I'd never heard of that one! Looks very interesting
This is from Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher and I find it very useful when formulating recipes and deciding on malts. Maybe you'll find it useful too
My brown ale is based on Janet’s Brown, and only came about because I wasn’t figuring out the scaling function. I almost gave up on scaling, and decided to build my own. So mine has similarities to Janet’s Brown, and is scaled down a bit. I figured out scaling, so Janet’s Brown is good to go, too.
Thanks, I’ll have to take a look at that chart when I get home. I’m out right now, so the chart is kinda small on iPhone 7.
To be honest, it’s not something I would ever imagine, a brown ale with citrus hops. But…I’m super intrigued. I think you should give it a shot.
Alright, I’ve had a look at the wheel. So if the overall flavor is represented by the beer’s actual color, then mine would generally have a golden raisin flavor. I like raisins generally, but prefer the darker varieties. Nothing really exciting to me, if the wheel is to be interpreted in this manner. If the wheel is to be read by the individual components, then my recipe would provide a medium toasted bread flavor, with notes of dark caramel and raisin, and some subtle hints of dark coffee/light espresso. My wife likes the sound of this flavor profile. I like her instincts. As for the Cara Crystal Wheat, I found it on my lhbs (Windsor) grain list, while looking for something to provide a few degrees more Lovibond to my recipe. I was trying to get to around 20*L, which is the target for Janet’s Brown Ale.
Thanks for expressing your interest. Janet’s Brown Ale is the impetus for my recipe, and uses US Northern Brewer for bittering and 15 minutes hops, then Cascade at 10 minutes and flameout. Then it adds Centennial for a substantial dry hops addition. From what I have read, American Brown Ales can have significant citrus hops character. So I just built a recipe based loosely on Janet’s Brown, using some hops that I have on hand.
Looks like it could be a winner! The IBUs are a bit high for a generic brown ale, but it depends on what you are looking for and what you like. The Sierra Nevada is a classic American ale, with lighter color, bit similar IBU and ABV.
Thanks! I’m not looking to make a generic brown ale, this is a Herm’s Brown Ale, and I like hops! If I can make anything that anybody compares favorably to an ale made by Sierra Nevada, then I will be a happy homebrewer.
For me, and it's not, I'd change the American chocolate for pale chocolate and increase the amount a bit. Also, I'd change out the Chinook to cascade. Chinook has the tendency to overpower. My $ .02 Cheers
If you want something close to Janet's Brown Ale, and if you love hops, the only suggestion I would have is to add more hops. I copied this recipe from Brewing Classic Styles: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/928312/janet-s-brown-ale) and it has 62 IBUs! You mention having trouble scaling a recipe to your system. Are you using the scaling tool available when editing a recipe? It makes changing batch size or efficiency a breeze.
I figured out the scaling feature only after giving up on trying to scale Janet’s Brown Ale. So I created my own ABA recipe, then went back and scaled Janet’s. However, I can’t believe the relatively low IBU’s of Janet’s Brown considering the relatively high proportion of first wort and boil hops. That part of the recipe had me confounded. I’ll get to that Janet’s Brown Ale recipe, maybe before the end of this tear
