Introduction
As we approach the age that we’re finally allowed to drink at in Japan, the nineteenth in our series of styles looks at brown ales – a style that is seldom found in Japan, especially now that IPAs and American pale ales are stalwarts in most bars lineups up and down the county. The style is often seen to be an old-man’s style, but the style focuses more on malts than hops, allowing this important ingredient to shine through.
A Brief History of Brown Ales
The first brown ales on record were first made in London, around the late 1600s, with brewers using a high amount of brown malt to make this beer, often percentages higher than 90%. The brown malt was usually made with regular malt being dried over open flames before the arrival of better kilning technology.
During this time, it was probably one of the most popular styles of beer; however, once locally grown hops, such as East Kent Golding and Fuggles became more popular at the end of the 18th century, so too tastes began to change in the UK. To improve the popularity of the declining style of brown ale, brewers began to make their beers darker and more bitter, and the English Porter style came about, almost killing of brown ales forever.
In 1818, John Mann and Philip Blake took over The Albion Brewery after the previous tenant ran into money problems. By 1826, Blake had had enough of the brewer’s life and retired. John Mann continued running the brewery and, in 1846, found new partners in Robert Crossman and Thomas Paulin. Without wanting the brown ale style to fade out of existence, Thomas Wells Thorpe, once head brewer but now chairman of the company in 1901, decided to develop a recipe for brown ale that could be bottled and could compete with the growing popularity of bottled and dark, sweeter beers.
Mann’s Brown Ale had a lower abv, at around 4% and also had a low attenuation, so there were plenty of sugars left in the beer making it as sweet as some of the sweet stouts on the market. However, this caused a shift in the brown ale market, with Mann’s Brown Ale being styled as a London Brown Ale, and in 1927, Newcastle Brown Ale was developed on the older style of Brown Ale and has come to exemplify what an English Brown Ale is.
Developing the American Brown Ale
Some of the early colonists to America tried to recreate these dark beers, often adding molasses to the brew, but brown ales remained pretty unknown in the US until the start of the craft beer revolution in the 1980s.
It was the Texas homebrewers that wanted to copy the style of English brown ales who really kickstarted the American brown ale category. Of course, Texas being Texas, everything had to be bigger and bolder than anything the English had ever produced.
One story goes that California homebrewers were making a dark brown ale with John Bull Dark Malt Extract, crystal and chocolate malts, and lots of local hops. It was a very popular kit and began winning many local and regional California homebrew competitions.
Brown Ale : Appearance and Taste
With two major styles being represented by brown ale, we’ll split the brown ales into two separate articles. Here’s the guidelines from the BJCP for what makes Brown Ales – both British and American – styles that are worth looking for.
British Brown Ale : Appearance and Taste
Appearance : Dark amber to dark reddish-brown colour. Clear. Low to moderate off-white to light tan head.
Aroma : Light, sweet malt aroma with toffee, nutty, or light chocolate notes, and a light to heavy caramel quality. A light but appealing floral or earthy hop aroma may also be noticed. A light fruity aroma may be evident, but should not dominate.
Taste : Gentle to moderate malt sweetness, with a light to heavy caramel character and a medium to dry finish. Malt may also have a nutty, toasted, biscuity, toffee, or light chocolate character. Medium to medium-low bitterness. Malt-hop balance ranges from even to malt-focused; hop flavour is low to none (floral or earthy qualities). Low to moderate fruity esters can be present.
American Brown Ale : Apperance and Taste
Apperance : Light to very dark brown colour. Clear. Low to moderate off-white to light tan head.
Aroma : Moderate malty-sweet to malty-rich aroma with chocolate, caramel, nutty, and/or toasty qualities. Hop aroma is typically low to moderate, of almost any variety that complements the malt. Some interpretations of the style may feature a stronger hop aroma, an American or New World hop character (citrusy, fruity, tropical, etc.), and/or a fresh dry-hopped aroma (all are optional). Fruity esters are moderate to very low. The dark malt character is more robust than other brown ales, yet stops short of being overly porter-like. The malt and hops are generally balanced.
Taste : Medium to moderately-high malty-sweet or malty-rich flavour with chocolate, caramel, nutty, and/or toasty malt complexity, with medium to medium-high bitterness. The medium to medium-dry finish provides an aftertaste having both malt and hops. Hop flavour can be light to moderate, and may optionally have a citrusy, fruity, or tropical character, although any hop flavour that compliments the malt is acceptable. Very low to moderate fruity esters.
Japanese Brown Ales We Recommend
Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale
The Bottom Line : Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale is a great little beer that I’ve enjoyed mostly on tap – and now bottles as well.
Full Review : Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale Full Review
Bighand Bros Hematite
The Bottom Line Brown ales are a style that aren’t common in Japan, but Bighand Hematite is a fantastic example of one and I’d recommend it.
Full Review : Bighand Bros Hematite Full Review
Nara Sweet Memories
The Bottom Line : Nara Sweet Memories is a cracking little beer that is smooth and flavourful.
Full Review : Nara Sweet Memories Full Review
Shiokaze Kahawia Ale
The Bottom Line : Shiokaze Kahawia Ale is a solid brown ale, if not a little boozy for the style.
Full Review : Shiokaze Kahawia Ale Full Review
Imported Brown Ales We Recommend
Let’s be honest – if you’re going to try a style of beer, then it’s also worth trying out some of the overseas beers. Check out the label on the bottle to see when the beer was bottled, and also ask how the beer was imported. Was it in a cold chain from start to finish? Was the beer stored in a chilled environment in the store? If the shop assistant can’t, or doesn’t know the answer, then give it a miss.
British Brown Ales
Newcastle Brown Ale
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale
American Brown Ales
AleSmith Nut Brown Ale
Surly Coffee Bender
