This beauty is long gone, thanks to the thirsty throngs at the hanami party on April 2, (and myself prior to that!) but I'll definitely be brewing it again. Here's the label I made for it.
Yup, between the earthquake, moving to a new apartment, and the hanami party, I really haven't had time to post about the recent brews. But this brown was a special one, and deserves a bit of a write-up. Here's the recipe:
19L(5gal)
OG=1.064
FG=1.013
ABV=6.7
SRM=20
IBU=42
Mid-60s single infusion mash, 90min boil
MALT
2.5 kg Maris Otter Pale
OG=1.064
FG=1.013
ABV=6.7
SRM=20
IBU=42
Mid-60s single infusion mash, 90min boil
MALT
2.5 kg Maris Otter Pale
1.5 kg Smoked Malt
200 g Munich TYPE I
205 g Chocolate Wheat Malt
150 g Pale Wheat Malt
100 g Crystal Malt 40°L
100 g Crystal 150
350 g Light Brown Sugar
HOPS
350 g Light Brown Sugar
HOPS
20 g Glacier (5.0%) - FWH
22 g Centennial (8.3%) - 75 min
12 g Centennial (8.3%) - 15 min
20 g Glacier (5.0%) - 10 min
30 g Glacier (5.0%) - 0 min
YEAST
500ml WLP001 California Ale, 3rd generation repitch
Plus water treatment, yeast nutrient and all that jazz.
The smoked malt accounts for about 20% of the grain bill, and ended up just barely coming through. I'm glad I decided to forego dryhopping, or the smoked character most likely would have been undetectable. It gave a peaty earthiness that complemented the malt nicely and made you think, '...brown...' When I brew this again, I'll up the smoked to 30% to get just a bit more out of it.
Won't say much else about the grain bill except that the addition of brown sugar was a first, and helped dry it out to a level that balanced out the sweet dark malts perfectly. My software clocked the yeast at 83% attenuation! Noice.
Kept the hops simple. I don't know what the correct way to describe Glacier is, but I'll just say 'dank' in a good way. And Centennial is a great one of the citrussy Cs. Not too fruity, works well with others.
The only issue with this was that when I moved I had to leave my keg fridge behind at the old house (bastard of a landlord!), so I couldn't get the temp down low enough to get good CO2 absorption. Consequently it ended up a bit under-carbed and lacking in the mouthfeel that correct carbonation gives.
Overall I felt the Brownsmoke represented a new level of awesomeness, in that I not only nailed a somewhat complex mash/brew/ferment/conditioning regimen, but it also resulted in a beer that completely epitomizes what I got into craft brewing for in the first place: to brew exactly the kind of beer that I most love to drink.
It's been less than two weeks since I said farewell to it, but many is the night that I jones for a pint of the elusive Brownsmoke already. There is only one course of action open: it must be brewed again! (Rock)
The smoked malt accounts for about 20% of the grain bill, and ended up just barely coming through. I'm glad I decided to forego dryhopping, or the smoked character most likely would have been undetectable. It gave a peaty earthiness that complemented the malt nicely and made you think, '...brown...' When I brew this again, I'll up the smoked to 30% to get just a bit more out of it.
Won't say much else about the grain bill except that the addition of brown sugar was a first, and helped dry it out to a level that balanced out the sweet dark malts perfectly. My software clocked the yeast at 83% attenuation! Noice.
Kept the hops simple. I don't know what the correct way to describe Glacier is, but I'll just say 'dank' in a good way. And Centennial is a great one of the citrussy Cs. Not too fruity, works well with others.
The only issue with this was that when I moved I had to leave my keg fridge behind at the old house (bastard of a landlord!), so I couldn't get the temp down low enough to get good CO2 absorption. Consequently it ended up a bit under-carbed and lacking in the mouthfeel that correct carbonation gives.
Overall I felt the Brownsmoke represented a new level of awesomeness, in that I not only nailed a somewhat complex mash/brew/ferment/conditioning regimen, but it also resulted in a beer that completely epitomizes what I got into craft brewing for in the first place: to brew exactly the kind of beer that I most love to drink.
It's been less than two weeks since I said farewell to it, but many is the night that I jones for a pint of the elusive Brownsmoke already. There is only one course of action open: it must be brewed again! (Rock)
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