# Brown Ale Recipe For Commercial Use



## batemanbrewer (30/7/13)

Hey Brewhounds,

I'm starting a contract brewing operation (brewing next Feb) and I haven't got a recipe yet!

I'm looking for an English Brown Ale style to brew in a 200 keg first run (hopefully bigger after that).
If anyone has a tried and tested recipe that they'd be interested in donating (or selling for a small fee) please hit me with them!

All credits will go to the brewer!

Any other input is also appreciated.

Cheers guys,
Mitch


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## batemanbrewer (30/7/13)

(Something in the same realm as Newcastle Brown would be great)


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## tiprya (30/7/13)

I'd be brewing a load of test batches.

200 kegs seems like a lot for a first run... but what do I know.

Good luck with it all. For me, formulating the recipe that is going to be sold would be the most interesting part!


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## yum beer (30/7/13)

How on earth are you considering brewing 200 kegs of a beer you haven't even decided on yet.
Then relying on randoms on the forum to give you recipes.
Too much cash one might ask?

Where are said 200 kegs going, are they sold, contracted, locked in for distribution.
Are you having kegs brewed for you under contract or are you setting up the brewery?
First post is a little ambigious.


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## slash22000 (30/7/13)

Maybe I am missing something, but ... why are you starting a contract brewing operation if you don't have any recipes? Surely you must have a fair bit of experience brewing and have at least a few recipes you're familiar and happy with?

I don't know jack about commercial brewing but 200 kegs seems like a huge amount of beer for a trial run for random recipes off the internet.


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## dago001 (31/7/13)

Some of the replies here are what shits me with this forum lately. A bloke asks for help with a recipe and 3 blokes offer suggestions about the commercial viability of his operation, with out knowing what the OP's business plan is.
Anyway, PMed a recipe - hope it helps
Cheers
LagerBomb


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (31/7/13)

I think this forum is getting a bit big for its boots. It's the natual progression from being the best brewing forum on the web, that a little arrogance might set in. Hopefully we'll learn from it before we turn away users and it goes into "British Empire" mode (gradual decline).

Geordie Cordial:

For a 21L batch

3.5kg TFFM MO (87.5%)
.4kg Crystal, Heritage (Medium) 10%
.1kg Roasted Barley (or Choc Malt, depending what you can get) 2.5%

20g Fuggles 7.1% at 60 minutes 16.76 IBU
15g Fuggles 7.1% at flameout (assuming no chill, this is about a 30 minute addition with a chiller) 6.4IBU

OG 1.043
FG 1.010
IBU 23.1
EBC: 37.2

Windsor Yeast, AA% 70%
Mash temp 62 degrees single infusion.

Cheers

Goomba

Edit: Punkchooashun.


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## NewtownClown (31/7/13)

LagerBomb said:


> Some of the replies here are what shits me...



Your gastrointestinal condition aside. 
I, too, am cynical in regards to the OP.
"Starting a contract brewing operation" sounds more like brewing under contract for others, i.e. _their_ recipes... For that is what a contract brewery does.
Perhaps he is starting a brewing company and will contract his brews to a brewery... Either way, not having a recipe of his own or brewing a style he has no experience with, rings a little off.

If he is genuine and wants to knock out a 10 000 litre pilot brew, check out the "Simmer Down Brown" from another AHB memeber...


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## Blitzer (31/7/13)

So.. not a good time to make the joke of 400 Cans of Coopers English Bitter?


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## dago001 (31/7/13)

Blitzer said:


> So.. not a good time to make the joke of 400 Cans of Coopers English Bitter?


Too late - i think you just did :lol:


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## chunckious (31/7/13)

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/1537-more-shit/

It's a cracker!!


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## dago001 (31/7/13)

Quick search answers many questions.
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/72635-wanting-to-sell-my-own-branded-contracted-brew/?view=findpost&p=1038938


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## chunckious (31/7/13)

LagerBomb said:


> Quick search answers many questions.
> http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/72635-wanting-to-sell-my-own-branded-contracted-brew/?view=findpost&p=1038938


Yeah it say's that the OP is off his ******* trolley. Lets go onto a forum and get answesr to licencing and recipes and any other info we can get.


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## brewbienewbie (31/7/13)

Chunkious said:


> http://aussiehomebrewer.com/recipe/1537-more-shit/
> 
> It's a cracker!!


What the... :blink:


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## brewbienewbie (31/7/13)

Between now and Feb is plenty of time to brew a few test batches tho right? Find one that you like that's not too complicated, give the recipe to someone who knows what they're doing and you're away! I don't think this is a harebrained as all that.


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## dago001 (31/7/13)

Chunkious said:


> Yeah it say's that the OP is off his ******* trolley. Lets go onto a forum and get answesr to licencing and recipes and any other info we can get.


Nope, it says - Beer forum full of home brewers, commercial brewers and retailers. I've got an idea, does anybody here have any experience with this sort of venture. If so, please offer help and advice.
The licensing question is asked on here every now and then. Plenty of people are willing and have offered constructive advice. Same goes with recipes.
So far though, not much for the OP on this thread. "off his ******* trolley" is not helpful in anyway.
Cheers
LagerBomb


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## slash22000 (31/7/13)

Well, OP wants a recipe similar to Newcastle Brown, so ... here's an all-grain clone recipe of Newcastle Brown.


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## brewbienewbie (31/7/13)

I'm a big fan of operation mongoose brown ale but it's definitely an American style brown, not English.


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## WarmBeer (31/7/13)

yum beer said:


> How on earth are you considering brewing 200 kegs of a beer you haven't even decided on yet.
> Then relying on randoms on the forum to give you recipes.
> Too much cash one might ask?
> 
> ...


Somewhat relevant:
“Contract manufacturing is what most of the world does today,” Schwalbe said. “Nobody really makes their own products. They outsource it. I said I would suspect that you could do the same thing in beer.”

Craft beer isn't about beer any more?


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## batemanbrewer (31/7/13)

Thanks guys,
I'll go through all of your info and links when I get off work. All the help (and other feedback) is appreciated. As a little background: myself and another young gentleman are in the bar business, having invested in two bar projects over the last couple of years and working through all the stress to get them running and maintaining. I used to brew a lot before I got into the business end of bars and learned a ton about beer (obviously) in the process, but I'm not confident in the recipes that I have (very amateur brewer). The other fella has no brewing experience but a love for beer.

We've got a few more investors together and we're set to go in Feb. 200 kegs is the smallest run that is actually viable, from a financial point of view, to brew. The point of the thread was to get some recipes to test and perfect before we hand one over to the big boys. I have my own brewing equipment still but we were also thinking about getting a smaller batch done before Feb by a smaller commercial brewer, in 49.5L kegs to test at a venue and get public feedback.

Keep it coming and happy brewing!


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## Parks (31/7/13)

I reckon you'll want a recipe or style which has a fair amount of leeway in the bitterness. I have heard scaling from homebrew to commercial is an art form which to me suggests you would have most fun with your hop additions (and cooling 10,000L of wort).

I think Nev at Gryphon Brewing has a 200L Braumeister which may be of help in working out some scaling differences. Even asking him for advice may be a good idea assuming you are close to him geographically.


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## WarmBeer (31/7/13)

batemanbrewer said:


> ... 200 kegs is the smallest run that is actually viable, from a financial point of view, to brew...


However, now you have to sell 200 kegs worth of beer into a fickle market that is becoming saturated with brands.

Beer, even in the keg, is not stable long term, not only will you have a lot of money tied up in stock, you may have to write a fair proportion of it off if you're unable to sell it within a reasonable timeframe. Nobody's going to go back for another pot/pint/schooner of stale beer.

Best of luck, but consider organic growth as a business model. It's worked for Mountain Goat, S&W, Murray's, etc.


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## benno1973 (31/7/13)

What bars BB? I'm sure a lot of us Perthies will happily support a new craft beer enterprise...


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## Feldon (31/7/13)

Hi Mitch,

Like Parks said, go see the 200L Bruameister. Its not cheap but maybe you could hire use of one on an as-needs basis. Its a compact system that might offer considerable advantages.

Smaller volume runs means you are not stuck with many kegs of beer if they don't sell well at first. You can engage your customers in a feedback process and tweak the recipe batch by batch until you hit their sweet spot. Smaller batches also mean you can perhaps have two of three different beers available.

Costs might be comparable to contracting out for a large volume brew and paying for storage until sold.

Saying 'brewed by us', or better still 'brewed on premises', will draw in customers you would not otherwise get.

You also get to badge yourself 'Head Brewer' !

Best of luck with your venture.


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## tiprya (31/7/13)

Perhaps you could post up your homebrew recipe you aren't happy with, and we could suggest some improvements?

A brown ale is a good starting point I think, approachable (besides the colour that can put some off) and not really any regular Browns being brewed in Australia at the moment.


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## yum beer (31/7/13)

I support the smale scale brewery idea, ie braumeister or even a small pilot system.
200 kegs is a lot of capital tied up. Smaller batches allow scope for easier improving/tweaking of brews and more variety.
Certainly agree that being able to say that your product is brewed on site is a major selling point in today's market, given sustainablity and footprints and such bullshit.
Maybe grab a few recipes and throw them together on a small rig and play until you get the one your happy with then step up the scale a bit.


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## Lodan (31/7/13)

Perhaps consider smaller scale batches to make for your own bars. Get the recipe(s) out there with a catchy name to test the water first


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## DeGarre (31/7/13)

To brew a decent brown ale: tweak your bitter recipe by adding chocolate and black malt to adjust the colour, then drop your ibus slightly and go easy on the late hop additions. Bob's your uncle.


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