It’s another cold January and Mike brewed another Brown Ale. As he does, he invited me over to taste it on camera. Right away, the head stood out as foamy, rocky, and incredibly stable.

At first glance, the color looked close to a previous beer, but this one lived in a different lane. Once Mike set the agenda for the tasting, we settled in and chatted through it.

The Latest in a Long Line of Recipes

This recipe is for a 3.5 US gallon batch. Here are the details.

Water Profile

  • Calcium: 10 ppm
  • Magnesium: 6 ppm
  • Sodium: 42 ppm
  • Sulfate: 121 ppm
  • Chloride: 178 ppm

Grain Bill

  • 68% Pale Malt
  • 23% Munich Malt
  • 6% Caravienne Malt
  • 3% Crisp Chocolate Malt

Hops

  • Nearly 1 ounce of Centennial hops at 60 minutes
  • 0.5 ounces of Centennial hops at 10 minutes

Yeast

Mash and Fermentation

  • Mash at 150°F for 75 minutes
  • Fermented at 65°F for 7 days
  • Finished at 68–70°F for 4–5 days

Mash pH landed at 5.4, helping everything stay clean and focused.
Verdant ale yeast attenuated well, flocculated strongly, and cleared the beer nicely.

Outcomes

Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.011
Bitterness: 46 IBUs
SRM° 16

What We Tasted and Learned

This beer finished as a clean, drinkable American brown ale with subtle hop character. The color came in at 16 SRM, sitting firmly in brown territory rather than red.

On the nose, citrus and pine from Centennial came through immediately. Flavor-wise, the standout was a subtle walnut-like nuttiness in the finish. It was the first time that “nut brown” descriptor truly made sense to me.

The Caravienne brought a toasted, biscuit-like quality with surprising nut character. Munich malt added depth and richness without overwhelming the base. The pale malt from Valley Malting contributed subtle bready flavor and supported clarity.

This recipe showed how a tight grain bill can create clarity of flavor.  The Caravienne, Munich, and the touch of Chocolate malts worked together without stepping on each other. The Verdant IPA yeast complemented both the malt and the Centennial hops beautifully.

We this beer may have earned a permanent spot in Mike’s house recipe lineup.

BREW ON!