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Styles · British Brown Ale

Beer style · BJCP 2021 13B

British Brown Ale

Brown British Beer

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

Original gravity
1.040–1.052
Final gravity
1.008–1.013
Bitterness
20–30 IBU
Color
12–22 SRM (24–43 EBC)
Alcohol
4.2–5.4 % ABV

What it is

A malt-forward brown ale with nutty, biscuity and light caramel character and only enough hop bitterness to keep it from cloying. Drier and more assertive than a mild, but never roasty enough to read as a porter.

Flavor

What a British 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 floral or earthy/woody.

Malt

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

Fermentation

Clean and fruity esters.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What British Brown Ale has classically been brewed with.

Nothing else on character: the hops here are there for bitterness and balance, and any variety whose aroma you would notice is out of place.

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 98 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.