Brown Ale!

 Ahh Brown Ale! I've always had a soft spot for brown ale. The first beer I had other than Budweiser or Miller as a young man in the late 1970's was a brown ale at a pizza joint in Ann Arbor Michigan. It was served in pitchers and I never learned its name but it was delicious. Any connection I had with big commercial beer was severed at that point.

Many years later my first homebrew equipment kit came with an extract brown ale kit. I made it according to the recipe not know exactly what the hell I was doing. The kitchen smelled wonderful and it turned into beer but it was nowhere near the deliciousness I had experienced all those years ago in Ann Arbor.

Today I read an article Ron Pattinson's blog; Shut Up About Barclay Perkins about a double brown ale brewed by Whitbread in 1939 and my nostalgia kicked into overdrive. My impulse is to brew this right away. But that doesn't fit with my plan for the coming year. I will put it on my list but it will land somewhere below at least three other styles I am working on. (see my resolution post)

You can read all about Whitbread's Double Brown on Ron's blog. It's a very interesting read as are most of his daily posts. I like to brew beers in the 5% ABV range and that's right where this one lands. If Ron doesn't mind I'd like to share his recipe. And for those who are unfamiliar with Ron Pattinson, his recipes are derived from historic brew logs and records from the period.

1939 Whitbread Double Brown Ale
(5 gallon batch. Efficiency unknown)

Grist:
Pale Malt               78%
Crystal 60              20%
Invert Sugar #3        2%

Hops:
Fuggle 75 mins     1.75oz
Golding 30 mins   1.75oz

OG = 1.055
FG = 1.018
IBU = 39
SRM = 18*

Mash at 150°
Boil time is 75 mins
Yeast = Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

*Ron's recipe contains brewers caramel to darken the beer which was commonly done by English breweries but not a product that is easily obtainable to US homebrewers. If you can get some great! If not you can try using Sinamar which is easier to get. Or if you don't mind changing the profile of the beer a tiny bit you can try a small amount of darker malts. Be careful what you add though or you may add unwanted burnt flavors.

edit: upon examination of some other Whitbread Double Brown recipes on Ron's blog I see that some of them used chocolate malt. A 1954 recipe uses a little over 1% in the recipe and a year later in 1955 that has been reduced to 0.55%

I Won't Brew That!

To paraphrase Meatloaf; I would do anything for beer. But I won't brew that. Not that any of these beers are bad or that I "hate" them. They just don't appeal to me. And yes, I have tried them.

• New England IPA's. The ones I've had are just too sweet for my taste.
• Milkshake IPA. I like a good Milk Stout but the Milkshake IPA thing escapes me.
• Wheat beers. As much as I've tried I just can't bring myself to acquire a taste for them.
• Gose. Again, it's something I'd like to like but just haven't gotten there yet. 
• Anything with breakfast cereal, candy, or other nonsense that has no other purpose but to be more outlandish than the last nimrod who made something this spectacularly stupid. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
• Black IPA. C'mon! It's a Stout.

Those are all I can think of at the moment. If I offended too bad.

Let's Brew Founders Porter!

Let's Brew It! - Founders Porter Clone Recipe

Maybe not now or even this weekend but soon I hope to brew this. As laid out in a previous post, my New Years resolution is consistency. To brew small handful of recipes multiple times until I hone my system and process so that every batch of any given recipe tastes just like the one before.

But it is (still) freaking freezing outside! We've come off multiple weeks of winter weather warnings, advisories and polar vortexes. And there is no end in sight.

I've boxed myself into a corner however. I have been cast in a play in our local community theatre. I am in rehearsals for Glengarry Glen Ross and I will portray George Aaronow, the character played by Alan Arkin in the movie version. Our Stage Manager, knowing that I make beer, cornered me into making 5 gallons of something for the opening night cast party. I have a pretty solid idea of what I want to make and it falls right into line with my New Years Resolution.

Number one on that resolution list was a Porter. It only follows that the cast and crew of Glengarry Glen Ross will be sipping on... Coffee (Is For Closers) Porter! If you don't get the reference watch the movie or at least Google it.

With that, here is the recipe I had planned on making all along. A robust Porter which I hope ends up being a clone of my favorite Porter from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (I don't plan on adding any coffee whatsoever but don't tell my cast mates)

The recipe comes from an email sent by Jeremy Kosmicki, head brewer at Founders Brewing Company. The recipe above was constructed from the information contained in the email. I played around in Beersmith 3 with the percentages and other data provided until I came up with something that fit his description. I am really looking forward to bringing this one to life. Jeremy's email follows...

We use a large percentage of specialty grains in this one… try about 10% Chcolate Malt, 7% Munich, 5% Carapils, and 3% Crystal Dark. I also throw in a little bit of black malt for a slightly burnt character. Mash in around 155-degrees and target and OG between 17 and 18 Plato. We use Nugget hops for bittering and Willamette and Crystal for flavor/finishing hops, targeting 45 IBUs. Ferment with an American Yeast and it should terminate between 5 and 6 Plato, leaving you with 6.5% ABV and a full bodies robust Porter. Good Luck, hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jeremy Kosmicki
Head Brewer
FBC

How do you make beer (if you brew outside) when the actual air temperature is double digits below-zero?

Before I answer that I must back up a few months. When my brand new, still unused, electric brew system arrived archery deer season had just started. For all of October and half of November I was in the woods every free hour that was available. Mid November here in Michigan marks the beginning of firearms deer season. An unofficial state holiday. Of course I took part right to the last day. Archery season picks up again at that point plus a 10 day black powder season so time to shove some powder and lead down the barrel of my Hawken plains rifle and hunt until the new year begins.

That takes me to January and cold weather which has only gotten colder in recent weeks. So cold schools have been shut down for an entire week. So cold salt and de-icer can't work. So cold the United States Post Office stopped delivery for days.

So the answer to the question; how do you make beer when the air temperature is double digits below-zero?
You don't.

Now four whole months have gone by and except for putting together and setting up, I haven't touched my new, expensive, fancy brew system.

PS. The photo above is someone throwing a cup of boiling water into the air where it freezes instantly at those temperatures.