American Ales CUDL Buddy - American Brown Ale - All Grain

Beer Name: CUDL Buddy
Beer Style: American Brown Ale
Brew Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 4.9 in fermenter
OG: 1.068
FG: 1.018
ABV: 6.6%
IBUs: 47 (Tinseth, adjusted to my system)
SRM: 21

Efficiency: 63% extract efficiency

Grain Bill:
12.00# Pale Malt (Great Western) (82.2%)
0.70# British Carastan – 30/37L (4.8%)
0.70# Caramel/Crystal Malt – 135/165L (4.8%)
0.70 # Chocolate Malt, Pale (Crisp) (4.8%)
0.50# Coconut Sugar (Boil)

Hop Bill:
FW 1.00oz Chinook 12.00%AA (Homegrown)
25 Mins 0.50oz Chinook 12.00%AA (Homegrown)
25 Mins 0.60oz Crystal 6.20%AA (Homegrown)
25 Mins 1.00oz Willamette 5.60%AA (Homegrown)
WP 15 Mins 0.50oz Chinook 12.00%AA (Homegrown)
WP 15 Mins0.70oz Crystal 6.20 %AA (Homegrown)
WP 15 Mins 0.70oz Willamette 5.60%AA (Homegrown)

Yeast:
Wyeast 1968 London ESB (1/2 cup Ninkasi slurry)

Water:
Ca 69, Mg 5, Na 19, Sulfate 47, Chloride 38, Bicarbonate 161.5, pH 5.2
Gypsum - Mash 3/8 tsp (1.3g)
Epsom Salts - Mash 3/8 tsp (1.8g)
Calcium Chloride - Mash 6/8 tsp (2.5g)
Baking Soda - Mash 3/8 tsp (1.6g)
Pickling Lime - Mash 1 tsp (2.2g)

Process:
Mashed @149*F 1 hour, full volume, no sparge. Ran off 6.5 gallons into kettle. Boiled 1 hour with hop additions as scheduled. Hop Stand for 15 mins no chiller. Whirlpool immersion chiller used to chill to 62*F. Racked 4.8 gallons into 6 gallon Better Bottle with 3 shots of foam control; aerated 10 mins with aquarium pump. Pitched 1/2 cup thick slurry from Ninkasi at 1pm; fitted with airlock; signs of fermentation by 6 pm. 2 days 65-66*F, 1 day 68-69*F, 1 day 70-71*F, 10 days 72-73*F. After primary (2 weeks) CO2 Force racked to keg then placed in fridge at 10psi to carbonate for 1 week.

Other Notes:
1st Place 2014 KLCC Hombrew Comp, Eugene OR, American Ales

 

Look:
Pours a clear deep brown with beautiful ruby highlights, thick, dense khaki head that fades slow to a thick cap and leaves ample lacing down the glass.

Aroma:
Milk chocolate leaps out of the glass first and dominates the nose. Behind the chocolate are spicy and herbal hop notes, toffee, baked bread, ginger, and citrus rind. Nutty yeast. Light fruity esters, and nice spices (even though there are none).

Flavor:
Chocolate hits the palate first, followed by sweet toffee, pine needles, herbal hops, spices in the finish. Ginger, biscuits, nutty, touch of figs and raisins. Weird how the spices show up when there aren't any in the beer, only hops.

Mouthfeel:
Medium body, semi-sweet but roasty dry finish, balanced bitterness in the end that asserts itself just enough to keep the sweetness in check and cleanse the palate. Medium carbonation. Smooth beer.

Overall:
Really hit the nail on the head with the flavor profile I was going for. The chocolate is really nice, but could be dialed back a notch, maybe not though, it is nice in there. The lower than desired efficiency and OG made for a lower ABV than I wanted, could use more alcohol and alcohol warmth in the back end. The spicy character is very enjoyable, and I can't pin it down as to flavors, but seeing as I used no spices in this beer, I am pleased with what the hops and alcohol did here. A little too drinkable, very balanced. Great in the snow.

 

Coconut sugar didn't give much flavor through all the other stuff. It actually doesn't seem to ferment out all the way. On the 3 beers I have used it in I mashed for good attenuation and added the sugar expecting it to dry it out some, and they all finished higher than I thought they would.

 

@jlordi12 I think coconuts would play well in this beer, honestly. The spicy hops with the malty and chocolaty backbone would pair well with the sweetness of the coconut.

 

Should work fine. The 1968 I used was a house strain that had mutated to attenuate more than the normal WY strain.