How to brew a good Nut Brown Ale

Tuesday, June 6, 2017


What is a nut brown ale and is it good to homebrew with?



Coming from the 'brown ale' family of beers, the nut brown ale is a great beer for the keen home brewer to have a crack at making.

Do you believe me?

You can answer that question soon but first a short history of the nut brown ale.

The Brown Ale style originally gained popularity in the down and dirty pubs of England, where beer guzzlers expressed a need for beer that was both flavorful and complex, but at the same time mild enough to be a session beer.

Words like Newcastle ale, English Style ale, 'All English' are bandied about when it comes to the brown ale. It's drank in many a London pub.

The style has a long history and if you see a reference to 'Northern ale', this is what historically is meant by a nut brown ale.

In reality, the style of nut brown ale may just have been a unique marketing movement promoted by the burgeoning beer companies in the first half of the 20th century.

At its most basic, a nut brown ale is a way to describe a variant of the standard brown ale.

Does a nut brown ale actually have nuts added to it?


A key thing to point out is that a nut brown ale recipe doesn't contain nuts! The reference to nuts is for the beer's colour, not necessarily it's taste. You could also describe the colour of the ale as a deep copper. There's nothing wrong with using nutty as a taste description if that's the case!

So what are the taste characteristics of the nut brown ale?


The taste of nut brown ale is obviously subjective. Some say it would have an 'obvious earthy' character. It may have faint traces of some flavor like molasses or possibly something like maple stripped of sugar.

You could almost say the ale has a mild bread like taste with that classic ale bite in the back of the mouth.

If brewed well, the taste offers a malty sweetness, with the slight presence of caramel. If properly balanced with a medium to low level of hops (as it's traditional for ales for be low in hops), the nut brown ale is a deserved beer to drink on a hot day. 

Is a nut brown ale a good for for homebrewing? What do I need to make a good one?


So if the above romantic descriptions of the beer, tempt you, we strongly suggest you try your hand at brewing one. I did, here's my review of the kit I used.


What hops can be used in a nut brown ale?


Traditional English ales are lightly hopped as the preference is for a low bitterness levels. Hence classic English hops choices such as Goldings, Fuggles, and sometimes Tettnanger could be made.

American brown ales have evolved differently and feature a higher level of bitterness and thus Cascade and Williamette hops are common.

So if you are going for the more traditional English nut brown ale style, you may want to favour the English hops.

They key thing to beer in mind is that your brew recipe should be light on hops so to not over bitter your beer.

So don't throw in the whole hops packet.


What's a good nut brown ale recipe? Here's some ideas of what you could use


There are many ways to make your own version of a nut brown ale. Here's two brief versions that you could go for if you were putting together your own recipe.

Version One:

Malts - lager,crystal,black malt
Hops - Green Bullet, Pacific Gem

Version Two:

Malts - brown, chocolate malt, caramel
Hops - Willamette both bittering and aroma


The call to action!


If you are going to brew a nut brown ale, we suggest you get a beer kit by way of Northern Brewer, a popular American supplier of beer product and equipment. 

They've a pretty good reputation!

What every beginning beer brewer should think about

Saturday, June 3, 2017
If you're a home brewer looking to up your game, you've come to the right place! We've gathered some valuable insights from seasoned brewers that can help you perfect your backyard brewing game.

Our collection of tips is designed to provide you with a wide range of ideas and tricks to improve your brewing skills. However, it's important to remember that not every suggestion may be the right fit for your particular brewing needs. Brewing is a process that requires experimentation and patience, so don't be afraid to try new things and find out what works best for you.

By following the tips shared by our expert brewers, you'll learn valuable insights that can help you fine-tune your brewing techniques and create better-tasting beer. With a little bit of practice, you'll be able to produce beer that rivals even the most popular craft breweries.


beer brewing hacks

  • If you're a kitchen-based brewer, bottling your beer over your dishwasher door can make clean up a breeze. Once you're finished bottling, simply close the door and any spilled beer or equipment can be easily cleaned up later.
  • When it comes to cleaning out your "Boil in a Bag" brew bag, shaking it out is a good start, but turning it inside out and holding it under the shower can help to remove any stubborn residue. This can help to ensure that your bag is thoroughly cleaned and ready for your next brew.
  • Pouring the contents of your brew bag into a bowl before adding it to boiling water can also make the process much easier. This can help to ensure that you're able to scrape out every last bit of extract, without any of it getting stuck to the bag or utensils.
  • If you're using dry malt extract, it's important to be aware that the steam from boiling water can cause significant amounts of extract to cake onto the sides of the bag. To avoid this issue, try adding the DME to the water first, before it starts boiling.
  • Adding rice hulls to your grain mash can also be a helpful technique to prevent the sparge from blocking. This can help to ensure that you're able to extract as much sugar as possible from your grains, without any unwanted blockages or complications.
  • Rehydrating dry yeast can also be an important step in the brewing process, especially if you've saved yeast from a previous batch. To rehydrate your yeast, simply pour it into a plastic bottle of water at the correct temperature, cap it, and shake gently. Be sure to burp any excess gas by gently opening the bottle before pitching the yeast into your wort.
  • Placing a packet of silica gel in your hydrometer case can help to absorb any residual moisture that may be left after using it. While this may not be a necessary step, it can be a helpful technique for brewers who are concerned about keeping their equipment in top condition.
  • Use a ph Meter to test your mash. When it comes to brewing beer, achieving the correct pH is critical. This is where a pH meter comes in handy. A pH meter is a device that measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. For homebrewers, pH measurement is particularly important during the mash stage, as the pH level of the mash affects the beer's flavor and fermentation process.Using a pH meter to test your mash is a simple yet effective way to ensure that your beer is brewed to perfection. Ideally, you should aim for a pH level of between 5.2 and 5.5 during the mash. This range provides the optimal conditions for the enzymes responsible for breaking down the malted grains to work effectively.
  • When it comes to making a yeast starter, it's important to be prepared for any potential mishaps. One common issue that can arise is an overflowing starter, which can create quite a mess. To avoid this, you can take a simple precaution by placing the flask inside a plastic grocery bag before putting it on the stir plate. This way, if the starter does overflow, the plastic bag will contain the mess and make cleanup a breeze. Additionally, using a stir plate can help increase the number of yeast cells in your starter, leading to a healthier fermentation and better tasting beer.
  • We love this idea. Put a book or other wedge under the back of your fermenter after sealing it up. On brewing day, gingerly slide the book/wedge to the front of the fermenter and you'll have a slanted yeast cake and a nice "deep end of the pool" in the back side of the fermenter to rack from.
  • A few marbles, glass beads, or large SS ball bearings will reduce the risk of boil over dramatically. It works by providing nucleation points at the bottom so that large bubbles rise up and pop and less small bubbles are available to form foam. Of course, if you use foam inhibitor such as Fermcap-S, you probably don't need any other hacks!
  • Using a spray bottle of Star San solution seems like a good hack. Doesn't waste time with dunking everything in a bucket when you can just spray it liberally and get good coverage.
  • When transferring out of a fermenter into a keg, fill 1 pint mason jars with the slurry, and refrigerate them so that you can use it as a yeast starter for another brew.
  • Buy hops in bulk to save money. Make sure you are going to use it though! You can store excess hops by keeping it frozen.
  • Instead of hand cleaning your bottles and dunking them in sanitizer put them in the dishwasher bottom rack. USE NO DETERGENT, and put the dishwasher on the hottest cycle. The temperature is hot enough to kill the nasties that could infect your beer (we also add the dish washer is handy for removing bottle labels).
  • You can add extra fermentables like DME on top of what your recipe asks for to increase the ABV of the beer.
These are some pretty simple homebrew hacks that make the preparation and brew day a bit easier - it's always best to do your brew as best you can however!
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