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Styles · American Brown Ale

Beer style · BJCP 2021 19C

American Brown Ale

Amber and Brown American Beer

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.045–1.060
Final gravity
1.010–1.016
Bitterness
20–30 IBU
Color
18–35 SRM (35–69 EBC)
Alcohol
4.3–6.2 % ABV

What it is

A brown ale with American hopping and a bigger chocolate-and-caramel malt core than its British cousin. Roast stays light, bitterness is moderate, and the whole thing sits comfortably between a pale ale and a porter.

Flavor

What a American Brown Ale should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Room for citrus, floral, resin/pine or earthy/woody.

Malt

Grainy, caramel and chocolate, with room for bready/biscuit, toasty, nutty, sweet/honey, dark fruit or coffee/roast.

Fermentation

Clean, with room for fruity esters.

Hops that suit it

Varieties whose loudest notes all sit on this style’s hop wheel, best fit first. How much to use is the recipe’s question; these are the ones that taste right.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 36 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.