Brü It Yourself | Double Down Imperial Brown Ale

Author: Phil Rusher


The BJCP style guidelines lists two regionally based categories for Brown Ale– British and American. Generally, British versions tend to favor malt over hops, have some classic English fermentation character, and possess lower levels of alcohol than their American counterparts, which are typically cleaner, more aggressively hopped, and a bit stronger. However, given its general complexity, some brewers viewed this style as one that could tolerate more extreme levels of alcohol, and hence the Imperial Brown Ale was born.

As a style that’s not officially laid out in any style guidelines, brewers of Imperial Brown Ale rely on a combo of what they know Brown Ale to be along with some artisanal instinct, which leaves plenty of room for stylistic variation. A common approach to crafting an “imperial” version of any existing beer style is balancing the increased alcohol by magnifying certain key aspects of the base style. In the case of American Brown Ale, this has generally meant boosting the hop character while keeping any roasted flavors in check so as not to be overwhelming.

With the season shifting from Summer to Fall, I was looking to have a strong beer on tap that was complex enough to keep me interested but not as rich as something like a Barleywine, and Imperial Brown Ale seemed like an ideal option.

| Making Double Down Imperial Brown Ale |

I designed this beer to have a restrained roast character that blended harmoniously with fruity American hops and a clean fermentation character.

Double Down Imperial Brown Ale

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
5.5 gal 60 min 51.7 IBUs 26.8 SRM 1.094 1.020 10.0 %
Actuals 1.094 1.018 10.2 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Metolius Munich-style Malt (Mecca Grade) 10 lbs 51.28
Lamonta American-style Pale Malt (Mecca Grade) 8 lbs 41.03
Black Barley (Briess) 8 oz 2.56
Sugar, Table (Sucrose) 1 lbs 5.13

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Loral 15 g 60 min Boil Pellet 10.2
Centennial 30 g 20 min Boil Pellet 6
Centennial 15 g 10 min Boil Pellet 6
Citra LupoMax 2019 14 g 10 min Boil Pellet 18.5
Centennial 30 g 1 min Boil Pellet 6
Citra LupoMax 2019 28 g 1 min Boil Pellet 18.5

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Cablecar (L05) Imperial Yeast 73% 55°F - 65°F

Notes

Water Profile: Ca 50 | Mg 0 | Na 28 | SO4 70 | Cl 50

A couple days prior to brewing, I made a yeast starter with Imperial Yeast L05 Cablecar.

After adjusting the brewing water to my desired profile and getting it heating up on brew day, I weighed out and milled the grains.

With the water appropriately heated, I incorporated the grains then checked to make sure it was at my target mash temperature.

The mash was left to recirculate for 60 minutes.

When the mash step was complete, I lifted the grain basket out of the kettle then turned the element on full power.

While waiting on the wort to heat up, I measure out the kettle hop additions.

The wort was boiled for 60 minutes with hops added at the times stated in the recipe.

Once the boil was finished, I quickly chilled the wort with my CFC while transferring it to a sanitized Brew Bucket.

A refractometer reading showed the wort was at a respectable 1.094 OG.

1.094 OG

The filled fermenter was placed in my chamber and left for a few hours to finish chilling to my desired fermentation temperature of 50°F/10°C, at which point I pitched the yeast.

After a week of fermentation, I raised the temperature in the chamber to 60°F/16°C then left the beer alone for another week before bumping the temperature up to 65°F/18°C. After another week, I increased the temperature again to 72°F/22°C, which is where the beer sat for a final week before I took a hydrometer measurement showing FG had been reached.

1.018 FG

At this point, I racked the beer to a sanitized and CO2 purged keg.

The filled keg was placed in my keezer and burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After 10 days of conditioning, this Imperial Brown Ale was nicely carbonated, mostly clear, and ready to drink.

| IMPRESSIONS |

It’s my wholehearted belief that Brown Ale, in general, is a markedly underrated style of beer, which in my opinion is likely due in part to its unappealing nomenclature. It’s unfortunate because Brown Ale has so much to offer, with versions ranging from roasty and sessionable to hoppy and strong, and it’s an excellent style to use as the base for experimentation.

To my palate, Double Down Imperial Brown Ale was quite delicious, hitting all the marks for what I intended when designing the recipe. The combination of Mecca Grade Estate Malt Lamonta Pale-style malt and Metolious Munich-style malt provided a lusciously sweet graham cracker flavor that was supported nicely by noticeable yet non-intrusive chocolate and coffee notes. While mango, guava, and citrus hop characteristics were quite prominent and worked very nicely in this beer, I suspect some will fade with time. For as strong as this beer was, it left the impression of only subtle warming, which I suspect was influenced by the cooler fermentation with a lager yeast.

Perhaps it’s because I live in Upstate New York that I’ve come to appreciate big beers so much, as they’re great to sip on during the cooler months when everyone is looking for a way to stay cozy. I’ve made numerous high OG beers in the past, but this was my first go at an Imperial Brown Ale, and I was beyond pleased with the outcome. As much as I enjoyed the more hop-forward flavors of Double Down Imperial Brown Ale, I look forward to sipping on it over the next couple months and seeing how it develops.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!


Support Brülosophy In Style!

tshirts_all2020

All designs are available in various colors and sizes on Amazon!


Follow Brülosophy on:

FACEBOOK   |   TWITTER   |   INSTAGRAM


patreon_banner


If you enjoy this stuff and feel compelled to support Brulosophy.com, please check out the Support page for details on how you can very easily do so. Thanks!

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

8 thoughts on “Brü It Yourself | Double Down Imperial Brown Ale”

  1. Looks like a nice beer! A simple grain bill. I often use about 3% pale chocolate in my brown ales. Interesting choice of yeast. What made you choose a lager yeast? I prefer WLP041 myself. But then I did grow up in Newcastle Upon-tyne and I have fond memories of dipping my pacifier in granddads Newcastle brown ale, so I steer more towards the English style.

    1. I’m a simple man who enjoys simple recipes 🙂

      I chose Cablecar because I wanted an American strain that would ferment cleanly so as to get out of the way of the malt and hops in this quasi fake style that’s probably more on the American side of the beer spectrum. There’s also an upcoming xbmt that I needed to use it for.

      Ha! That sounds great. Man, I miss New Castle. It’s been more than a minute since I’ve had one. I do wonder what it’s like served on draught somewhere in the UK. Maybe once the world stops ending I’ll start traveling again and find out!

      1. I’ve never seen it on draught in the UK, back home its served in 19 US fl.oz bottles. I have however seen it on draught in Sweden, and it wasn’t good. I’d say unless you’re in Newcastle Upon tyne the taste is actually best from a can. Those clear glass bottle look nice but do nothing for the shelf life.

  2. I’m just glad to see someone else has blocks of wood in their fridge! Lol 😝 The beer sounds great. I just kegged a double Alt yesterday to lager/cold condition for a spell. The sample tastes roasty and malty, but a bit more boozy than I wanted … hoping it comes together over the next several weeks.

    1. Yeah I just don’t trust the freezer rack!

      That alt sounds great, even if a bit boozy. I’ll need to start thinking about that myself!

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign up to be notified when we publish new content!

Thank you to our sponsors!

Brülosophy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and other affiliated sites.
Ads Blocker Image Powered by Code Help Pro

Ads Blocker Detected!!!

We have detected that you are using extensions to block ads. Please support us by disabling these ads blocker.

Powered By
100% Free SEO Tools - Tool Kits PRO
Scroll to Top