# Janets Brown Ale



## Dan Pratt (22/10/14)

After being awarded Gold at the Nationals for my American Amber Ale in the bitter ale category I thought Id make a keg of beer for the mate that introduced me to homebrewing. I know he loves hoppy beers and also loves a darker style beer so, this will be a great beer to make for him. :super:

Janets Brown Ale

*Specs*
OG - 1.068
FG - 1.016
EBC - 18.5
ABV - 6.8%
IBU - 64
Vol - 20Lts ( the link is for a double batch recipe )

*Malts*
75% Ale Malt
6.3% Wheat
7.8% Crystal 40L
7.8% Carapils
3.1% Chocolate Malt

*Hops*
Northern Brewer - 28g Mash Hop addition ( not totally sure what this does but its something new to try )
Northern Brewer - 42g @ 60m
Northern Brewer - 28g @ 15m

Cascade - 42g @ 10m
Cascade - 56g @ 0mins ( I will whirlpool/steep for 5/10mins )

Dry Hopped with 56g of Centennial for 7-10days after fermentation.

*Yeast*
WLP001 California Yeast ~ 1.2lt starter - Fermented @ 19c

*Misc*
Yeast Nutrient
Whirlfloc
Pure O2

Let me know what you think, especially if you have made this yourself.

I have made a few of the recipes from the linked website and had more than great results.

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25123


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## Mardoo (22/10/14)

I've made a few iterations of Janet's Brown. Great recipe! It can flex either stronger or weaker quite easily. I've never stuck with particular hops though, just generally American hops.

Tasty's mineral additions seem a bit crazy, but they work. I was shocked the first time I made it and tasted the wort. I can only describe it as PROFOUNDLY bitter, as in it went on for about 20 minutes. Unfortunately I don't have the numbers at hand since my computer karked it a couple weeks ago and I have yet to get a new one and reload. IIRC I got them from the Janet's Brown thread on the Brewing Network website. I'll see whether I can find them.

PS: Care to share your American Amber recipe?


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## Mardoo (22/10/14)

OK, here's a link for Tasty's water profiles. 350 sulfate!!! WTF, but it works. He uses the same profile for all his hoppy beers (from his mouth, not mine):

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=&t=25260#_thread

And another:

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=&t=18509#_thread


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## Dan Pratt (22/10/14)

Hi Mardoo,

Thanks for the links, good for a read at work :lol:

Im customed to using the higher sulphate content on my water, been putting about 280ppm + for any hoppy beers like AAA, APA and IPA's for quite some time now and it really make the hops come through. Ive been tempted to burtonize an IPA at 700ppm + and make the carbonate levels hard to go to extremes but always talk myself out of it. 

Here is the recipe for the AAA

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/78476-what-are-you-brewing-2014/?p=1217705


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## Mardoo (22/10/14)

Very cool, thanks for that! And I forgot to say congratulations on your Gold. Well done!


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## technobabble66 (22/10/14)

Congrats on the Gold, pratty!

How would you guys describe the difference the super-high minerals (namely sulphate) makes specifically? Is it that which produces such a sharp lingering bitterness? 
I'm curious because I generally don't like strong lingering bitterness, so for me it'd be good to know to avoid it.


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## Dan Pratt (22/10/14)

technobabble66 said:


> Congrats on the Gold, pratty!
> 
> How would you guys describe the difference the super-high minerals (namely sulphate) makes specifically? Is it that which produces such a sharp lingering bitterness?
> I'm curious because I generally don't like strong lingering bitterness, so for me it'd be good to know to avoid it.


Thanks Techno.

When I started using the gypsum for my hoppy beers they improved so much. My water was balanced already for sulphate and chloride ~ 30ppm and the hefeweizens and dark beers eg stouts came out great, but the pale ales and ipa's were always missing something. Since adjusting the water the hop character was obvious and it made those styles hop forward and the hops really show themselves in all its apsects, bitterness, flavour and aroma.

If you want to avoid strong lingering bitterness then only make those hoppy styles with 1/3 or 1/4 of your target IBU's from the 60min addition and get the rest from late kettle, it smooths out the bitterness and lends more to flavours.


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## robv (22/10/14)

Our brew club recently had a kit mini comp - I used the Janet's Brown recipe from Brewing Classic styles - sent it in to QABC and got a bronze


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## danestead (22/10/14)

Yeah congrats on the gold. A really good achievement!


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## IsonAd (22/10/14)

Congrats on the gold pratty! I made two versions if this recently. One as per the recipe which was really good. It took about two months to really hit its peak, it was no where near as malty as I expected and came out quite dry. It's a really easy drinker. The second version I subbed the 0 min cascade for Columbus. I didn't like it as much, still good but the earthly dankness from the Columbus needed more support from the malt, maybe an addition of C120.. enjoy and thanks for sharing your gold medal recipe!


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## primusbrew (22/10/14)

I've brewed something similar to the Janet's Brown Ale a couple of times now and both have come out really well. Certainly balanced towards the hops but enough going on with the malt to keep it interesting.

I used all Joe White malts except for the carapils which I think was Weyerman. Also US-05 as the yeast.

I kept the hop schedule pretty similar to what you have posted but left out the mash hop addition. It might add something extra but I wasn't convinced. 

I would say stick with that combination of hops. Works really well.


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## StalkingWilbur (22/10/14)

Got this in the keg at the moment. I agree with above comment about it hitting its peak after a couple of months. (I think less, but close enough). I think you have to give some time for the substantial dry hop to smooth out a bit.


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## Dan Pratt (23/10/14)

Thanks for the contributions everyone, sounds like its a well enjoyed beer. 

Ordered the Northern Brewer hops yesterday and they should arrive today along with the WLP001 yeast. 

I read through the Tasty threads on BNF and will aim to get the water at those ppm.


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## neal32 (23/10/14)

I brewed it with some hop subs. I didn't use Northern Brewer, just summit or magnum for bittering and cascade late.  I brewed it with the 350ppm water profile although only that beer, my default hoppy water profile now is with 250ppm of Sulfate and I think my hoppy beers are better for it.

 It was my first and only comp entry and it received a silver medal in the Perth Royal Beer Show.  From memory the malt bill was really tasty (no pun intended) and very easy to drink given the relatively high strength. wouldbrewagain/10

Probably one  of the only "famous" homebrew recipes that has lived up to the hype.


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## huez (24/10/14)

I think tasty uses the same water profile for ALL his beers, not just his hoppy beers. I've brewed this twice now, its a great recipe you won't be disappointed. Came close to a placing in the state comp this year in specialty category


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## Truman42 (24/10/14)

I've wanted to brew this for awhile now but instead of carapils I'm using Gladfileds toffee malt that I brought from Core Brewing today.

This stuff is awesome. Nice plump grains that are chewy with a caramel toffee flavour.


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## Dan Pratt (25/10/14)

My northern brewer hops arrived.....bloody 4.5% AA. They are normally between 7-10% so now I don't have enough. 

I ordered 100g so will adjust hops as follows. 

14g mash hop
86g @ 60mins = 35ibu

Swap out the NB 15min addition with cascade. 

Tempted to swap out the NB all together with Chinook or cancel the mash hop addition, lower bittering charge to 30ibu and use the remaining NB with cascade at 15mins?


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## IsonAd (25/10/14)

If it were me I'd sub the 60 min addition for something else maybe Chinook and keep the NB for the 15 min additio


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## Truman42 (25/10/14)

So with the mash hop addition do you throw them in at the start of the mash or say 10 mins towards the end?


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## mxd (25/10/14)

at the start for me


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## Dan Pratt (26/10/14)

IsonAd said:


> If it were me I'd sub the 60 min addition for something else maybe Chinook and keep the NB for the 15 min additio


Can you explain why you would do that?


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## primusbrew (26/10/14)

If it were me I would drop the mash hop addition and move it closer to the end. Maybe also use both cascade and NB to bitter so you don't need so much NB at 60.

I think the NB is a pretty nice part of this beer. I get this subtle mint thing in the versions of JBA I've made that I am pretty sure comes from the NB. Works really well. I'm sure all cascade would be good too though.


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## Spiesy (26/10/14)

Pratty1 said:


> My northern brewer hops arrived.....bloody 4.5% AA. They are normally between 7-10% so now I don't have enough.


Sounds like you ordered German NB?


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## StalkingWilbur (26/10/14)

Does the actual recipe in BCS call for a mash hop? I don't remember seeing it in the book and I didn't do one. I think I just downloaded a version from beersmith so I didn't have to enter the ingredients individually, so I could be wrong.


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## Camo6 (26/10/14)

I did a Beersmith version of this a couple of weeks ago that called for first wort hopping. 
I didn't even check whether my NB was US or German - is there a huge difference between these two?


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## Dan Pratt (26/10/14)

StalkingWilbur said:


> Does the actual recipe in BCS call for a mash hop? I don't remember seeing it in the book and I didn't do one. I think I just downloaded a version from beersmith so I didn't have to enter the ingredients individually, so I could be wrong.


The recipe I got was from the electric brewery site and Kal uses a Mash hop addition.

I will drop that mash hop addition to use those hops @ 15min with cascade.


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## Dan Pratt (26/10/14)

Spiesy said:


> Sounds like you ordered German NB?


The packaging is labelled USA, I thought they may of been German but the supplier says they are correct.


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## IsonAd (26/10/14)

Pratty1 said:


> Can you explain why you would do that?


Keeping the 15 min addition will help to keep the flavour character of the beer. Subbing the 60min to contribute the same IBUs won't have as big an effect


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## Dan Pratt (3/11/14)

Brew day was yesterday and I was able to hit my numbers of 20Lts @ 1.068 into the FV. When I milled my grain at the LHBS he happened to have Northern Brewer hops @ 9% AA so I bought 100g of those and was able to follow the recipe. ( not sure what to do with 100g of 4.5%AA Northern Brewer hops though :huh: )

The recipe called for 56g Cascade at flameout and I had 70g left from the vac sealed bag so they all went into the whirlpool.

Fermentation looked like it kicked off this morning when I was heading to work.

Here are some photo's:

Brewing sheet, Mash Hops and Brewing Salts




Mash Hops thrown on top of mash not stirred in.



Mash hops 25mins later all swelled up. I stirred them in and checked the mash temp.
Massive pungent Northern Brewer aroma that held throughout the mash, normally its that malty/mash aroma but today it was spicy hops 



Fly sparge at the start



Fly sparge mid way



End of Fly sparge - nice 1 inch water layer and compact grain bed



Boil additions - NB 60m, NB 15m, Cascade 10m, Yeast Nutrient 5m, Whirlfloc 5m


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## IsonAd (3/11/14)

Your brewdays seem much more organised than mine. "shit where'd I put the mash paddle" and "ahhh [email protected]#! I forgot to put in the brewsalts" are just a sample of things you'd here at my place,


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## StalkingWilbur (4/11/14)

Drinking my Janet's brown after a couple of months in the keg and its rating as one of the best beers I've ever done. So. Damn. Good.


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## Mardoo (4/11/14)

It really comes up well after a couple months, doesn't it? I had the classic best bottle, last bottle after three months cold conditioning. I'll definitely brew it again.


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## antiphile (4/11/14)

technobabble66 said:


> Congrats on the Gold, pratty!
> How would you guys describe the difference the super-high minerals (namely sulphate) makes specifically? Is it that which produces such a sharp lingering bitterness?
> I'm curious because I generally don't like strong lingering bitterness, so for me it'd be good to know to avoid it.


Howdy techno,

If you have 30 mins to spare, pour yourself a long cold one, put up your feet, and have a look at John Palmer's YouTube video on residual alkalinity and its effect on beer balance. It is very informative and helpful.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zJj__jEkFUE
Cheers


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## StalkingWilbur (5/11/14)

Mardoo said:


> It really comes up well after a couple months, doesn't it? I had the classic best bottle, last bottle after three months cold conditioning. I'll definitely brew it again.


Yep. Conditioning time has never been so apparently necessary as with this beer.

When I tried it fresh it was more like an aggressive, slightly harshly bitter (still very enjoyable though!) brown IPA. Now it's mellowed into an amazingly smooth and creamy, hoppy brown ale. 

I will definitely brew this again.


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## Mardoo (5/11/14)

Exactly my experience!


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## ajmuzza (10/11/14)

I've got Janet's on tap at the moment. Basically followed the electric brewery recipe, although the dry hop was a bit random. I didn't find it that bitter initially but it was quite chocolatey (then again I'd never used choc malt before so wasn't sure what to expect). With the chocolate and the piney centennial hops, I thought it tasted a bit like mint slice biscuit. Good beer though.


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## Yob (11/11/14)

just noticed Tasty's version in a link

*Session Janet’s Brown Ale*

Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.016 4.7% ABV
IBU: 63

58% Rahr Two-row
14% Crystal 15
 9% Crystal 40
 9% Carapils
 7% Wheat Malt
 3% Chocolate Malt
32 IBU Northern Brewer at 60 minutes
12 IBU Northern Brewer at 15 minutes
 8 IBU Cascade at 10 minutes
13 IBU Cascade at 0 minutes (30 min rest)

Dry hop with Centennial at 1/2 ounce per gallon.

Notes: Mash at 156F for 45 minutes. Boil 90 minutes. Ferment at 68F with California
Ale yeast for 4 days raising to 70F until terminal gravity. The 0 minute hop addition is at
flameout and is followed by a 30 minute whirlpool rest. That addition can be moved to 20
minutes if a whirlpool rest is not used.


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## StalkingWilbur (11/11/14)

Hmm, that's quite different to what I did. I just downloaded the recipe from beersmith though. Might have to check the book from now of when downloading the recipes.


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## Blind Dog (11/11/14)

The recipe in the book is for a 6.6% ABV beer which JZ accepts is a little outside the style guidelines. I think the version Yob posted is a sessionised version, although as a Pom whose idea of a session is (or was many moons ago) one that started at lunchtime and ended when we got kicked out (11:30pm) even 4.7% is a little on the high side. Seems good for a more civilised session ale though


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## Mardoo (11/11/14)

Wow Yob, that's dramatically different. I've heard his session beer recipes are quite different. SW yours is closer to what I've used. Don't have it with me so I can't say exactly.


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## Dan Pratt (11/11/14)

Im at work and cannot access the link for that one Yob, would be interesting to try it as a session ale. Are you planning to make one?


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## Camo6 (11/11/14)

Been following this thread as I made a batch of the BS version recently. Missed my numbers due to making too many changes to my system/efficiency recently so had to add a kilo of dextrose to bring the ABV up to 1066. Was aiming for 1013 fg but the bugger stalled at 1020. Yeast was 2 packs of us-05 rehydrated for a 23l batch. I've been using this yeast due to convenience lately but am over it. High FGs and weak krausens even with nutrients and plenty of O2.
Anyway, started a fast ferment test as I didn't think it'd be finished with all the added dextrose. Last night the sample looked to be dropping and in a moment of weakness I tossed in an active starter of Irish Ale I had on the stir plate. Probably not the best choice of yeast but I'm hoping it brings it down to a reasonable gravity as I was looking forward to this beer.
I've now sworn off us05 and will try this yeast freezing caper Yob et al are into.


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## Dan Pratt (11/11/14)

Hi Camo, I hear your woes with the US05, a few months ago I was using dry yeast for about 4-5batches and found them to be not as solid, extended lags and not fully attenuating, I was rehydrating them too......I stopped adding pure O2 when using dry yeast and the problem went away.

There are articles/debates about it and Im not entirely across why but when I had heard the dry yeast didnt need to pure oxygen and if you can get it aerated to ~ 8ppm during transfer and shaking etc etc then it will ferment better and IMO it does. I love using liquid yeast and find it produces a better beer, in saying that dry yeast in certain styles and time frames can make excellent beers too.


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## Yob (11/11/14)

Pratty1 said:


> Im at work and cannot access the link for that one Yob, would be interesting to try it as a session ale. Are you planning to make one?


not really on the cards atm mate, logged for future though, problem (such that it is) is that I need to make 75l at a pop so Im not sure I'll want 3 cubes of it 

I guess I could just do a double batch but my current system doesnt do less than that.. oh woe is me..


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## Dan Pratt (11/11/14)

Yob said:


> not really on the cards atm mate, logged for future though, problem (such that it is) is that I need to make 75l at a pop so Im not sure I'll want 3 cubes of it
> 
> I guess I could just do a double batch but my current system doesnt do less than that.. oh woe is me..


3 cubes of brown ale.....3 types of yeast and 3 different dry hops :super:


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## Yob (11/11/14)

yeast is not an issue... er.. nor are hops for that matter


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## Dan Pratt (11/11/14)

just tried that link Yob and it came up with access denied and Im at home so there must be an error with it??


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## Yob (11/11/14)

Was from the niko brew shirt thing in the retail topic, shouldnt be an issue but haven't checked it yet, will do when on pc


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## Yob (11/11/14)

Link is defo kafuffled though, will sort it out.


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