Is brown IPA the most overlooked and under-loved of all the niche IPA substyles? Maybe. There’s also an apparent redundancy to it—after all, we already have American brown ale, which should be hop-forward. But I’ve come around to the idea that these are distinct beers—a good brown IPA wouldn’t make a hit-the-numbers American brown ale, and vice versa. Brew yourself a couple of brown IPAs—targeting that style specifically—and you’ll soon find that this isn’t just an American brown ale with a little more alcohol and hops.
Style: No surprise here: Brown IPA is hop-forward. Bitterness should be medium-high to high with prominent hop aromas and flavors. And yet … it’s brown—not only in color, but also in malt character. It should have noticeable darker-malt flavors without being sweet or overly malt-forward and without clashing with that hop character. That’s quite a balancing act. Grist selection is critical to hitting the right notes. The trick is in finding the right amounts and types of malt flavor without going overboard in a noisy flavor environment with plenty of hop character, bitterness, and maybe a bit of alcohol. Luckily, we have an ingredient that can help us satisfy both our malt-flavor and hops goals.
Ingredients: IPA grists are best when simple, and—despite our need for some malt character—this is no exception. We start with a base of pale two-row, adding a moderate layer of 65°L British crystal—for some nice nut-toffee background notes—a dab of chocolate rye, and a final dab of Carafa Special II. Why that last one? First, it should bring our SRM to about 25—stately and attractive, with a dark walnut hue. Second, as an unhusked malt, it imparts some roasty flavors—cocoa, espresso bean, a bit of campfire—but without any husky, burnt astringency. It also curbs any roast-malt bitterness that would clash with our hops.
Have fun with the hops! Pick your favorite fruit-forward varieties, adding enough at 20 minutes left in the boil to impart about 41 IBUs. Then for flameout or whirlpool, blend an ounce of those with an ounce of Phoenix, if you can get it. Why Phoenix? Because that crazy British hop variety tends to reek of cocoa—an absurd flavor from a hop, but there it is, clear as day (and it’s worth trying in all your darker, hop-forward beers). You should end up around 50 IBUs, which I find to be just right for this style.
For yeast here, I like Wyeast 1318 London Ale III—it doesn’t ferment to bone-dry, helping to balance the presentation.
Process: After the boil, give your flameout/whirlpool hops a good 15 minutes to steep. Ferment relatively cool, then raise a bit to finish out the fermentation and clean up any diacetyl. A note on dry hopping: Depending on what you use, it could impart a “grassy” character that’s best avoided. If you plan to enter this beer in competition, I recommend bumping up your whirlpool addition instead.