How to spice up my Brown Ale

[homebrewaddict]

Hey all. I recently made a brown ale (recipe below) and it came out great. Only "problem" is that it is just a normal brown ale. I want to try this recipe again but with something that will give it that extra punch. I've been thinking about maybe a pound of black treacle, or maybe just something as simple as Burton salts. However, I was wondering what other people have tried as something to really make an ordinary type beer stand out.

(for 3 gallons)

3 # Light DME
1 # Crystal 60 L
.25 # Black Patent

.75 oz. E.K. Goldings @ 60
.25 oz. E.K. Goldings @ 15

Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast

Thanks.

Homebrewaddict

[quantum24]

the one thing that i like to use in my brown ales (besides a malt like victory to give it some nuttyness) is wyeast irish ale yeast at 68 degrees. it gives the beer a very nice butterscotch sweetness. this may or may not be what you are looking for, but i love it in brown ales.

[wortchillergoal]

I made a brown ale that many people enjoyed. I used chocolate malt and honey. I was told by some that they thought it was one of my best.

[S.F.B.]

I like to use some 120L and 60L, a bit of chocolate malt and black patent in my brown ale. I use either Vanguard or Amarillo hops. It comes out very complex with a little caramel, nuts and a touch of spice from the hops.

[ray m]

I have indeed used a 454g tin of Lyle's Treacle in a 5 gal. batch of English Old Ale I made last year. The flavor of that is really coming through now after conditioning for so long. The addition of this in your brown ale might make it much more darker in color than you would like for it to be---in addition to boosting up the alcohol (but since you're using black patent, it does not sound like that is too much of a concern). If you go this route, you'll probably have to let it sit and condition in the bottle for a few months to give the treacle's flavor time to emerge. I would also try just 1/2 tin of treacle if you're only making 3 gal. You'll definitely make a different, and unique, flavor though!!

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by homebrewaddict
Hey all. I recently made a brown ale (recipe below) and it came out great. Only "problem" is that it is just a normal brown ale. I want to try this recipe again but with something that will give it that extra punch.

Hmm... Black Tar Heroin, perhaps? :p

Kidding, kidding.... I'll go now...

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Beerconnoisseur
Hmm... Black Tar Heroin, perhaps?

Kidding, kidding.... I'll go now...

You'd have to wonder if the opiates would survive the boil LOL

Beerconnoisseur - did you have a few tonight, too? ;)


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On topic - what do you mean by punch? Boil it with 3 oz of centennial for 60 minutes for a bitter punch. Throw in some lactose for a sweet punch. Dry hop with those same EKG for a hop nose punch. Treacle would be interesting - or dark(or light) brown sugar sings out nicely. Maybe a pound of chocolate - if you like chocolate. Try some chili peppers for a spicy punch. Oh wait, I'm rambling......It seems to me though, that these punchy ideas are gonna overwhelm the sweet subtleties of a brown. My favorite suggestion was the chocolate and honey.

[KMalt]

...what's treacle?

As a side note, I prematurely tasted my English brown ale last night (only 1 week in the bottle) and it was quite carbonated with great flavors, though not well blended. It had an immediate sweetness followed by a bitter aftertaste. I didn't expect that much bitterness so hopefully it will mellow out with a few more weeks in the bottle. It's got a beautiful color!

[ray m]

Treacle is basically British molasses---I think it may be a blend of different types of sugar syrups. Sir Richard probably has a good grasp on what exactly comprises it.

[ron]

Mmm...Think maple.