Donn's Famous Horse Cram It In v2.0 kegging day

It's a little too roasty for my taste. A few weeks in the keg will smooth it out. If you remember, the OG was 1.048 and the final gravity was 1.008 It is about 5.2% alcohol by volume.

Even though it's roasty, I can tell say it tastes a hell of a lot better than that swill I tried to pass off at the family reunion in July!

Donn's Famous Horse Cram It In Brown Ale - All Grain

Last weekend, I decided to follow up on my New Years resolution of brewing more to style. I picked up my copy of Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew and reworked my Real Ale Brewhouse Brown Ale recipe that my Uncle Donn liked. That one time. Not last time. No one liked it last time. This time I brewed it all grain.

Donn's Famous Horse Cram It In Brown Ale
9# two-row
1.25# Crystal 40
1# Victory malt
1# Vienna malt
.5# chocolate malt
.75oz Chinook 11%/60min
.25oz Cascade 6%/10 min
WLP005 British Ale Yeast

I collected a bit more wort than I expected, and got 1.048, instead of 1.054. Close enough.

I Suck

The other day, I bottled the Donn's Famous Horse Cram It Brown Ale for competition. I thought it tasted okay. A bit sweeter than I expected, but okay. It did have a fruity smell.

I put the remainder of the keg, about 2 gallons back into the fridge. I tapped the keg last week, and looked forward to enjoying the beer. It was a short wait.

The beer pours up a gorgeous brown color with a tan head. It smells sweet, with a definite banana finish. The flavor starts off with banana. It transforms into a chocolate flavor and finishes roasty. I like the recipe because it is more chocolatey than roasty, making is slightly sweeter.

While the sweetness is good, the banana is not. Looks like I fermented too hot. I really need to build a fermentation box to control the temperature.

Donn's Famous Horse Cram It In Brown Ale

My Dad has always told a story about playing rodeo in the front yard with his brother and sister while his mom was sewing. I guess they were under ten or so, and this was back in the 40s. My Uncle Donn would announce himself and his horse, "And now here's Donn and his famous horse Cram It In!" Dad said his mom didn't even look up from her sewing to say, "I think you need to change your horse's name."

We're having a family reunion at the end of July, and this beer was brewed in his honor.

Brewing Date: Sunday June 01, 2008
Head Brewer: Jeff Holt
Asst Brewer: Satan

Donn's Famous Horse CramItIn Brown Ale

ProMash Brewing Session - Recipe Details Printout
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BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
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10-D Brown Ale, American Brown Ale

Min OG: 1.040 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 60
Min Clr: 15 Max Clr: 22 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
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Batch Size (GAL): 5.00 Wort Size (GAL): 6.00
Total Extract (LBS): 7.75
Anticipated OG: 1.055
Anticipated SRM: 24.1
Anticipated IBU: 30.5
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Actual OG: 1.052

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Gravity SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
38.7 3.00 lbs. Light Liquid Malt Extract 1.035 7
32.3 2.50 lbs. Light Dry Malt Extract 1.046 7
16.1 1.25 lbs. Crystal 60L America 1.034 60
6.5 0.50 lbs. Vienna Malt America 1.035 4
6.5 0.50 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Mt. Hood Pellet 5.20 25.6 60 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 4.10 4.9 15 min.

Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)

Yeast
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White Labs WLP005 British Ale

Fermentation Specifics
----------------------

Pitched From: Starter
Amount Pitched: 500 mL
Lag Time: 10.00 hours
Primary Fermenter: Plastic

Real Ale Brewhouse Brown Ale Clone - Review

I managed to wait until last weekend to taste the Brewhouse Brown Ale Clone I brewed on Easter Sunday.

It's a great recipe! Here's how I scored the first pint.

Brewhouse Brown Ale Clone
Appearance (0-3): Dark brown with ruby highlights. Tan head with small bubbles that dissipate slowly. A few "floaties" in the brew, but it is unfiltered. 2 pts.
Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Malty/chocolately aroma with a hint of alcohol. No hop aroma detected. 3 pts.
Taste: Hop/Malt Balance (0-4): Malt sweetness accented by chocolate notes and a hint of alcohol. Hops on the finish. 4 pts.
Aftertaste (0-3): Leaves a ring of sugar on the lips. Hop bitterness on the back of the tongue is a little harsh. 2 pts.
Mouthfeel (0-3): Feels just right. Not too thin, not too thick. 3 pts.
Overall Impression (0-3): This is a very drinkable beer. Despite the hint of alcohol, not too strong. It's sweet and smooth. This is a recipe I will brew again and again. A point off for the floaties. 2 pts. Total: 16 points

I did sample a Real Ale original Brown Ale. It had more roasted grain flavor than I remember. The sad part, the clone recipe was given by Real Ale Brewery. They must be protecting their real recipe.

Anyway, I want to encourage everyone to brew this recipe. I had forgotten how easy a brown ale is to brew, and how good it is.

Real Ale Brewhouse Brown Ale Clone

A couple of months ago, Brew Your Own Magazine ran a clone article on Real Ale Brewing's Brown Ale. When my Uncle Donn visits from Virginia, I have to have a case in the fridge for him. Since BYO doesn't have the recipe online, I will reprint it here:

Real Ale Brewing Company Brewhouse Brown Ale
3 pounds light liquid malt extract
2.25 pounds Light DME
1.25 pounds Crystal 60L
.63 pounds Vienna Malt
1/2 pound chocolate malt
3/4 oz Wye Target 11%AAU/60 min
1/4 oz Willamette 5%AAU/10 min
Wyeast 1098 British Ale
Steep crushed grains in 3 gallons of water at 155F for 30 minutes. Sparge, add extracts and boil.

I brewed it on Easter Sunday. I kegged it on the 15th. And it tasted nice! It will go into the fridge this Sunday, and I will probably wait until it gets cold before I dive into it.