Autumn Brown Ale Tasting

With Fall officially coming to an end, figured it was about time to post some tasting notes on my Autumn-inspired Brown Ale.  It's been a busy season, with little time to brew or blog, but I'll make up for some of that in the coming months.

Abscission Ale

Appearance - Beautiful deep brown, with creamy tan head that slowly dissipates

Aroma - Malt dominates, with a nutty and toasty complexity.  Just a hint of smoke.  The hops bring an earthiness with a touch of spice that backs up the overall rich aroma.

Flavor - Follows the aroma.  Rich, earthy, and nutty/toasty.  Strong malt backbone, with a low level of sweetness, supported by the spice of the Challenger and EKG hops.  Just enough bitterness to carry the malt.  Exceptionally quaffable.

Mouthfeel - Moderate body with moderate-low carbonation (as intended).  Would be good with a bit more body, but, as it is, it works well.  At only 4.2% ABV, I was worried about it being too thin, but I think the the specialty malts give it just enough substance.  Next year, I may add some flaked grain and/or increase the crystal malt slightly just to up the body a bit more.  I'll use Maris Otter as my base malt as well (my LHBS was out when I picked up the ingredients this time around)

Overall - A great Fall season beer - dark and rich enough without being too heavy.  This beer did not last long, though I did manage to hold onto a few bottles to share with family at Thanksgiving - this beer paired excellently with the (beer-brined) turkey.  

Autumn Brown Ale

This is, by far, my favorite time of year.  Crisp, sunny days and cool breezy nights.  The summer vegetable garden is winding down and the leaves are starting to turn colors.  Temperatures are perfect for brewing too.

It just feels right to brew something darker and maltier as the days start to grow shorter.  One of my favorite Autumn commercial beers is Sierra Nevada's Tumbler , so I thought I'd try my hand at making something similar.  This is not an attempt at a clone exactly - though I did use info on Sierra Nevada's website to help guide my recipe.  I was looking for something rich and malty, something where the hops take a supporting role to the roasted malts.  I actually had hoped to brew this up at the beginning of the month so that it would be just about ready for the start of the fall season, but, as usual, time got away from me.  Still, it will be a good beer to have as the weather continues to cool down.

Abscission Ale
brewed on 9/19/13

Recipe Specifications
Batch Size: 3.75 gal
Estimated Color: 22.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 28.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
OG: 1.050
FG: 1.018
ABV: 4.2%

Grist
6 lbs Pale Malt, UK - 80.3 %
12.0 oz Brown Malt - 10.0 %
6.0 oz Crystal Malt (45L) - 5.0 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450L) - 3.3 %
1.5 oz Smoked Malt - 1.3 %

Hops
14 g Challenger [5.70 %] - 60.0 min
14 g Challenger [5.70 %] - 15.0 min
14 g EKG [5.70 %] - 15.0 min

Yeast
California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)

Mash Schedule
Single infusion, 153ºF, batch sparge