It’s brewing time again — or at least planning-to-brew time. Now that I have an appropriate temperature control mechanism, brewing during the summer is a piece of cake. So I figure that when I get home from a short trip at the beginning of August, I’m going to start beer number five for the year. It will be a Northern Brown Ale, in the style of something like a Samuel Smith Nut Brown, or (in a roundabout way) a Newcastle. Which means medium dark, slightly sweet, nutty, a little bit bready, and not too very bitter. Like so many English styles, I consider Northern Brown to be one of my favorites. But more than others, it has a special place in my heart. It was drinking (of all things) Newcastle when I first came to grad school that made me decide that I wanted to brew in the first place. And a Northern Brown (of slightly unfortunate quality) was my very first brew in Bloomington.
In the meanwhile, here is the recipe that I plan to follow. If anybody out there brews, or anybody out there has any associates who brew, I would really appreciate any feedback you could offer.
5.00 lb. Maris Otter Malt
4.00 lb. British Mild Malt
1.00 lb. Victory Malt
0.25 lb. British Chocolate Malt
1.00 oz. Kent Goldings Hops (for 60 minutes)
1.00 oz. Kent Goldings Hops (for 10 minutes)
Wyeast 1318 – London Ale III Yeast