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Mike “Tasty” McDole Tribute: Janet’s Brown Ale

Mike “Tasty” McDole was a legendary homebrewer. He was a fixture on the Brewing Network and was featured in Jamil’s Brewing Classic Styles book. He passed away recently and Mike wanted to brew a beer in tribute to him, a beer that is also a tribute in itself. Check out this video for our thoughts on Janet’s Brown Ale – a kit that Brew Dude Mike bought from MoreBeer.

Janet’s Brown Ale Recipe

I got this recipe straight from the MoreBeer site.

Grains

12 lbs 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lbs White Wheat
1 lb Carapils
1 lb Crystal 40L
4 oz Crystal 40L
8 oz Chocolate Malt

Hops

2 oz Northern Brewer – Boil for 60 minutes
1 oz Northern Brewer – Boil for the last 15 minutes
1.5 oz Cascade – Boil for the last 10 minutes
1.5 oz Cascade – Boil for the last 1 minute
2 oz Centennial – Dry hop in primary fermentation, 3-7 days

Details

Hold mash temperature at 153°F for 60 minutes. Recommended fermentation temperature is between 66–68°F. Once fermentation has begun, wait 7 days to add the dry hops. Allow 3–7 days of contact time with the dry hops before packaging.

Our Thoughts

This brown ale was extremely drinkable. It has a strong American hop presence in the aftertaste that sits on top of the woodiness of the Northern Brewer hops.

The color is where you want it to be. There is no mistaking that this is a brown ale.

Mike was intrigued by the use of Carapils since he rarely brews with dextrin malt. The caramel malts and the chocolate malt played well with each other.

It easy to see why this beer was a favorite. For an American Brown Ale, it hit all the notes that you want it to hit, even if it was pushing the high end of the ABV range.

So cheers to Tasty McDole and cheers to Janet too.

Brew on.

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2 Comments

  1. AO

    I have brewed his recipe a few times, never quite to recipe, but it’s always been one of those eye opening beers.
    I don’t expect a brown ale to be hoppy, but this was such a great drinkable beer.
    He’ll be missed.

  2. Thanks for the comment – it’s been a while, AO.

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