Fall is here, and with it comes the perfect time to brew up something with a bit more malt character. This week, Mike has brewed a brown ale with an interesting twist—chocolate rye malt. We’ll break down the recipe, the brewing process, and of course, give you our thoughts on how it turned out. It’s always fun to experiment with ingredients, and this beer showcases some of that homebrewing creativity.

Chocolate Rye and 2 yeast strains

The Recipe and Process

Mike brews in 3.5 gallon (13.2 L) batches so the recipe is scaled to his batch size. I put some percentages in there to help you adjust to your needs.

Ingredients:
5 pounds (2.27 kg) of Briess Brewers Malt – 75% of grain bill
0.5 pounds (227 g) of Amber Malt (~22°L) – 8% of grain bill
10 ounces (284 g) of Crystal Malt (~35°L) – 9% of grain bill
0.5 pounds (227 g) of Chocolate Rye Malt (~175°L) – 8% of grain bill

Hops:
1.5 ounces (42.5 g) of Crystal Hops at 60 minutes
0.5 ounce (14 g)Crystal Hops at 10 minutes

Yeast:
1 packet of Cellar Science English Ale Yeast
1 packet of Cellar Science Cali Ale Yeast
(Blended to balance the esters from the English yeast with a cleaner fermentation from the Cali strain.)

Procedures:
Mash at 152°F for 60 minutes.
Raise to 158°F for 15 minutes.
Mash out at 168°F.
Ferment at 68°F for about 20 days.

Original Gravity (OG): 1.049
Final Gravity (FG): 1.011
ABV: 5%
IBU: ~25

This Brown Ale Tasting Notes and Thoughts

On the pour, the beer leaned more toward an amber ale than a traditional brown ale, with reddish highlights and a persistent, tan head. The aroma gave off earthy, herbal notes from the Crystal hops, which reminded us of an English ale, though a bit less floral than a typical EKG (East Kent Goldings) variety. Flavor-wise, there’s some sweetness from the crystal and amber malts, but we found it missing that distinct nutty, biscuit-y note that we usually associate with a brown ale. The chocolate rye added body and some nice foam retention, but it didn’t quite give us the classic brown ale experience. Still, the combination of malts and yeast made for a pleasant, drinkable beer that pairs well with cool fall nights.

In the end, this brown ale with chocolate rye was an experiment in cleaning out the ingredients stash and trying something new. While it’s not a perfect brown ale in the traditional sense, it’s a tasty, malt-forward brew that I’d definitely enjoy by a campfire. Sometimes, brewing is about having fun and seeing what happens when you tweak a recipe, and this one was no exception. If you’re looking to play around with chocolate rye or try a unique brown ale recipe, give this one a shot!

BREW ON!