Classic Brown Ale — Home Brew Recipe
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Style: Brown Ale | ABV: ~4.5% | Volume: 23 litres | Difficulty: Beginner
About This Recipe
A classic British brown ale — nutty, gently sweet, with a warm amber-brown colour and enough hop bitterness to keep it balanced. This is one of the most approachable styles in the British brewing tradition and a great choice for a first all-grain or partial-mash brew.
Ingredients
- 2.5kg pale malt extract
- 300g Crystal Malt (Thomas Fawcett)
- 200g Dark Crystal Malt (Thomas Fawcett)
- 100g Caramalt (Thomas Fawcett)
- 25g Bullion hops (T90 Pellet) — 60 min
- 15g Willamette hops (T90 Pellet) — 15 min
- 1 packet Gervin GV12 Ale Yeast
- ½ Protafloc tablet — 15 min
Method
- Steep all crushed crystal malts in 3.5L at 67°C for 30 min. Remove grains and bring to boil.
- Dissolve malt extract and begin 60-min boil. Bullion at 60 min, Willamette + Protafloc at 15 min.
- Cool to 22°C, top up to 23L, pitch yeast. Ferment at 18–20°C for 6–7 days.
- Add beer finings before bottling for clarity.
- Bottle with carbonation drops. Condition 2–3 weeks.
Brewer's Notes
Serve this beer at cellar temperature (10–12°C) rather than ice cold. Like all malt-forward British ales, its flavours are best appreciated slightly warmer than a lager would be served.