All Grain Recipe: #17 Janet's Brown Ale

Janet's Brown Ale is a hoppy American Brown Ale originally designed by famed home brewer Mike "Tasty" McDole. The story goes that this was a favorite of Mike's late wife, Janet, and he named it for her.

Mike also brewed this for the 2009 GABF ProAm and was invited as a guest brewer to Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa, where they made a full sized batch of the stuff.

Style-wise, it is somewhere in between an American Brown and a Black IPA. Whether "Black IPA" should even be considered a style is up for debate, as some consider Black IPA to be nothing more than an American IPA with a bit of black patent thrown in. This recipe is definitely too hoppy to be a brown, and too 'roasty' to be an IPA.

I haven't had Russian River's or Mike's version of this recipe, but mine is definitely the best beer I've ever brewed. Flavor is incredibly clean with a light, roasted background flavor. The body is thick but drinkable and the bitterness is high but balances perfectly. Finally, the massive centennial flavor is presented so well here that it has now become my favorite hop. This is the first brew to make me consider 5 gallon batches, and my first beer that I think could win an award.

Below is the recipe scaled to my system, followed by the original recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.



3 Gallon Recipe, 80% Efficiency:

Janet's Brown Ale

American Brown Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 6/4/2011
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.000 qt	Brewer:
Boil Size: 17.838 qt	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Brew Pot, Full Boil All Grain (5 Gallon)
End of Boil Volume 11.991 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 9.400 qt	Est Mash Efficiency 80.0 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 4 lbs 15.2 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 75.0 % 8.5 oz Carapils (1.5 SRM) Grain 3 8.0 % 8.5 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4 8.0 % 6.2 oz White Wheat Malt (3.1 SRM) Grain 5 5.9 % 3.2 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6 3.0 % 10.0 g Northern Brewer (MoreBeer 2011) [8.46 %] - Mash 60.0 min Hop 7 4.0 IBUs 12.0 g Northern Brewer (MoreBeer 2011) [8.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 24.6 IBUs 29.0 g Centennial (MoreBeer 2011) [9.20 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days Hop 15 0.0 IBUs 22.0 g Cascade (MoreBeer 2011) [6.40 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min Hop 13 0.0 IBUs 9.0 g Northern Brewer (MoreBeer 2011) [8.60 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 9.1 IBUs 19.0 g Cascade (MoreBeer 2011) [6.40 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 12 10.5 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 - 5.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 - 10.00 Items FermCap-S (Boil 60.0 mins) Other 9 - 1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.00 ml] Yeast 14 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.063 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.063 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.2 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.2 %
Bitterness: 48.3 IBUs	Calories: 213.1 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 16.9 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: BIAB Double Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 6 lbs 9.6 oz
Sparge Water: 11.420 qt	Grain Temperature: 70.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 163.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 9.000 qt of water at 164.9 F 154.0 F 60 min
Sparge Step: Drain mash tun, Batch sparge with 2 steps (5.710qt, 5.710qt) of 168.0 F water
Mash Notes:
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 54.01 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 54.01 g Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 74.0 F	Age for: 28.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes
Yeast options are White Labs WLP001, Wyeast 1056 or Safale US-05. Pitch at 66F and immediately let it rise to 68F where it sits for about 3 days. Then raise it about a degree per day until it's up to 72F.

6 Gallon Recipe, 70% Efficiency:

Janet's Brown Ale

American Brown Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/13/2011
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.000 qt	Brewer: Jamil Zainasheff
Boil Size: 28.571 qt	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (6+gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (5 Gal)
End of Boil Volume 26.000 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 24.000 qt	Est Mash Efficiency 72.9 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 75.0 % 1 lbs 4.0 oz Carapils (1.5 SRM) Grain 2 7.8 % 1 lbs 4.0 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.8 % 1 lbs White Wheat Malt (3.1 SRM) Grain 4 6.3 % 8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.1 % 28.0 g Northern Brewer [6.50 %] - Mash 60.0 min Hop 6 3.6 IBUs 36.0 g Northern Brewer [6.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 23.1 IBUs 57.0 g Centennial [9.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs 43.0 g Cascade [6.00 %] - Aroma Steep 30.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs 28.0 g Northern Brewer [6.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 8.9 IBUs 43.0 g Cascade [6.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 9 9.3 IBUs 1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.00 ml] Yeast 11 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.6 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.6 %
Bitterness: 44.9 IBUs	Calories: 223.7 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 18.9 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body	Total Grain Weight: 16 lbs
Sparge Water: 11.819 qt	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 24.011 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F 90 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 11.819 qt water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 142.71 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 142.71 g Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F	Age for: 28.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes
Yeast options are White Labs WLP001, Wyeast 1056 or Safale US-05.