Mike brewed and we tasted a British Brown Ale for this post. Mike has been thinking more about attenuation in his beers. This batch was part of that ongoing experiment.

Not a surprise, but this experiment is a part of his return to British-style brewing. These are styles he brewed often years ago and he wants to bring it back.

Specifically for this experiment, he used liquid yeast and made a starter. The result was a balanced brown ale with good drinkability.

The Recipe & Brewing Process

This beer was built around a simple British Brown Ale grain bill. Mike wanted malt character without relying on crystal malt.

Batch Size: 3.5 US gallons

Water Profile:
Mike used a 50/50 mix of spring water and our tap water.
Calcium: 70 ppm
Magnesium: 9 ppm
Sodium: 58 ppm
Sulfate: 123 ppm
Chloride: 135 ppm
Bicarbonate: small amount from mixed water

Grain Bill:
72% Pale malt
16% Light Munich malt
8% Viking Cookie malt
4% American chocolate malt

Hops:
UK Goldings
Single 60-minute addition
About 43 IBUs

Yeast:
Wyeast 1318 London Ale III
2 liter starter

Mash:
152°F for 90 minutes

Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.012
Attenuation: 75%
ABV: About 5%

Our Notes

The beer poured dark amber to brown with ruby highlights. It had an off-white head and medium-light carbonation. The aroma had toasted bread, biscuit, and brown bread notes. The Viking Cookie malt seemed to drive much of that character.

In the flavor, we picked up toasted biscuit, bread crust, and earthy UK Goldings. The hop character was firm but not harsh. Mike wanted enough bitterness to keep the specialty malt from taking over. That balance worked well in this beer. The body was medium-light, which fit the drier finish. The beer still had enough malt character to feel complete.

Conclusion

This British Brown Ale worked well as both a recipe and attenuation experiment. The London Ale III yeast reached 75% attenuation. which matched the high end of its listed range.

The beer finished dry, balanced, and very drinkable. It had enough malt depth without using crystal malt. Mike may use Special Roast next time instead of Cookie malt. He may also test crystal malt again in future batches. For this version, the American chocolate malt and Munich worked well together. The beer felt like one of Mike’s best brown ales in a long time.

BREW ON!