Community Brew?

[Mylo]

I'm down for brown... I'm out for Scottish (no offense, there, BDawg). Those things are too malty, sweet and heavy for me. So we are going to come up with a 5 gallon recipie. In addition to the AG'ers it sounds like we have a few partial mashers and/or extract (w/grain) only - so we should probably come up with a couple recipie variants - or settle on extract w/grain as the least common denominator. Thoughts?


Mylo

[meisterofpuppets]

I think we should do all three. I just got a 2 gallon cooler, so I'm gonna try a partial mash.

So should we do Northern English or Southern English brown?

[BDawg]

Mylo- No offense taken, but are you sure you are thinking of the right style? 9E (Scottish Strong Ale sounds like what you are describing, not this 1.030-1.040 beer:

9B. Scottish Heavy 70/-
Aroma: Low to medium malty sweetness, sometimes accentuated by low to moderate kettle caramelization. Some examples have a low hop aroma, light fruitiness, low diacetyl, and/or a low to moderate peaty aroma (all are optional). The peaty aroma is sometimes perceived as earthy, smoky or very lightly roasted.

Appearance: Deep amber to dark copper. Usually very clear due to long, cool fermentations. Low to moderate, creamy off-white to light tan-colored head.

Flavor: Malt is the primary flavor, but isn't overly strong. The initial malty sweetness is usually accentuated by a low to moderate kettle caramelization, and is sometimes accompanied by a low diacetyl component. Fruity esters may be moderate to none. Hop bitterness is low to moderate, but the balance will always be towards the malt (although not always by much). Hop flavor is low to none. A low to moderate peaty character is optional, and may be perceived as earthy or smoky. Generally has a grainy, dry finish due to small amounts of unmalted roasted barley.

Mouthfeel: Medium-low to medium body. Low to moderate carbonation. Sometimes a bit creamy, but often quite dry due to use of roasted barley.

Overall Impression: Cleanly malty with a drying finish, perhaps a few esters, and on occasion a faint bit of peaty earthiness (smoke). Most beers finish fairly dry considering their relatively sweet palate, and as such have a different balance than strong Scotch ales.

History: Traditional Scottish session beers reflecting the indigenous ingredients (water, malt), with less hops than their English counterparts (due to the need to import them). Long, cool fermentations are traditionally used in Scottish brewing.

Comments: The malt-hop balance is slightly to moderately tilted towards the malt side. Any caramelization comes from kettle caramelization and not caramel malt (and is sometimes confused with diacetyl). Although unusual, any smoked character is yeast- or water-derived and not from the use of peat-smoked malts. Use of peat-smoked malt to replicate the peaty character should be restrained; overly smoky beers should be entered in the Smoked Beer category rather than here.

Ingredients: Scottish or English pale base malt. Small amounts of roasted barley add color and flavor, and lend a dry, slightly roasty finish. English hops. Clean, relatively un-attenuative ale yeast. Some commercial brewers add small amounts of crystal, amber, or wheat malts, and adjuncts such as sugar. The optional peaty, earthy and/or smoky character comes from the traditional yeast and from the local malt and water rather than using smoked malts.

Vital Statistics:OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1.035 - 1.040 1.010 - 1.015 10 - 25 9 - 17 3.2 - 3.9%

Commercial Examples: Caledonian 70/- (Caledonian Amber Ale in the US), Belhaven 70/-, Orkney Raven Ale, Maclay 70/-

see: http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category9.html

As far as the Realbeer community brew, we formulated it as an AG recipe, then I converted it to something like 6 variations of Mini-mash, strict Countertop-Partial Mash and Extract w/ grains batches, to accomodate various combinations of DME, LME, container sizes, etc.

Austin Homebrew did it up as an ingredient kit for us. Maybe JP can get B3 to do the same?

(BTW, I really liked the way that ESB turned out. I need to make it again)

[meisterofpuppets]

I could go either scottish or brown, but I would rather do an 80 /- scottish than a 70/-. I would rather just have a more small quantity beer than a session beer.

[BDawg]

In THE BOOK, The Pope gives one recipe for all 3. Just add base malt (or malt extract) for the -80 or subtract some for the -60.

One of the other reasons I suggested the -70 was to get people to see just how flavorful a small beer can be. You really don't have to brew a Pliney clone every time.

[Bugeater]

Regardless of what everyone else does, my next two brews will be a Scottish 80 followed by a wee heavy. If that's what folks decide on for a community brew, count me in. Otherwise count me out.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[Sent From My iPhone]

I emailed Jamil last night and asked if he'd mind me posting his American Brown Ale recipe. This is actually Mike McDole's. Here's JZ's response:

Sheen,
That excellent recipe is Mike McDole's. I think it would be a great idea to
do a group brew, but you should check with Mike first before you post it.

brew strong,
JZ

In addition, I got a message from Mike, and here's his response:

Sheen,

Yes you can post it on the BN forum. That's a great idea to all brew the
same recipe. I'll be brewing that recipe on February 24th for entry into
the first round of the 2008 AHA National Homebrew Competition. In
addition to your sharing amongst the community, you all might consider
entering to compare scores and judges comments.

Mike

If you have the book, check it out, it's on page 143, called "Janet's Brown Ale". There's a great story that goes along with it. I have to get to work so I don't have time to type it in now. If there's interest I'll post it tonight when I get home. Or if someone else has time to do it, great.

I think it's pretty cool that Jamil and Mike are OK with this.

Cheers

[BadRock]

I love the idea of doing this but there are a couple of details that are may hard to overcome.

But I am down how ever I can help. I could coordinate the ol' swap-a-roo if needed. We just need a firm recipe and a firm time frame.