We’ve been writing our style series for quite some time, and I want to finish it over the next little bit. Hopefully, it’s a resource to the beer drink and burgeoning beer drinker.  We only have a few left, so here we go with one of them: Brown Ale.

What is a Brown Ale?

As is true with Ales in general, the Brown Ale uses top fermenting ale yeast.  Simple enough.  English versions tend to be sweeter and less hopped than the US varieties.  Beyond this, it seems like the beer would have to be brown to qualify.  Additionally, soft water is utilized in the production process, and the final color is somewhere between a Pale Ale and Porter.

Like Porter, this is one of those varieties of beer that is hard to very define.  However, some of the malts used in making a Brown Ale include mild, amber, brown and two row pale malt.  Additions of crystal, chocolate, caramel or biscuit malts can add character and color to the beer.  The “Nut Brown Ales” are often nutty because of the addition of a grain that gives a nutty perception, not an addition of actual nuts.  Sometimes treacle (English molasses), brown sugar, or molasses are added to obtain various flavor profiles.

While this overall description is not really sharp for defining a Brown Ale, I think it’s enough for us all to the see the freedom permitted within the style while putting limits on what characterizes a Brown Ale.