Brown IPA Recipe :
- Color : Deep brown (50 EBC)
- Alcohol : 6.7%
- Volume : 20L
- Bitterness : High (55 IBU)
- Brewing time : 5 hours
- Difficulty : Medium
Ingredients :
Grains :
- 5.3kg Pale Ale Malt
- 0.5kg Caramunich III Malt
- 0.25kg Chocorye Malt
- 0.25kg Carafa II Malt
Hops :
- 50g Ekuanot hops (Boil – 20min)
- 30g Ekuanot hops (Whirlpool – 20min at 85°C)
- 30g East Kent Goldings hops (Whirlpool – 20min at 85°C)
Yeast and brewing water :
- 2 sachets of WHC Saturated yeast
- Total water volume : 35L
- Chloride/Sulfate ratio : 1/1
- Mash pH : 5.3
- Ideal sparge water pH : 6
Brew our Brown IPA recipe step by step :
Step 1 :
Pour 20.5 liters of water into your kettle and set the heating to 70 °C.
Add your grains and stir well to avoid clumps of grain. Continue until the temperature drops to 66 °C.
Maintain it for 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 14.5 liters of water to 77 °C.
Once the saccharification time is over, raise the temperature to 75 °C for a 10-minute mash-out.
Step 2 :
Once the mash-out is complete, proceed with lautering and sparging.
Step 3 :
Heat your kettle to begin a 60-minute boil.
20 minutes before the end, add 50g of Ekuanot hops. If you’re using a cooling coil, don’t forget to sterilize it in the wort at this point.
Once the boil is finished, cool down to 85°C and add 30g of East Kent Goldings hops + 30g of Ekuanot.
Step 4 :
Once the time has elapsed, cool your wort down to 18°C.
Take a gravity reading — it should be around 1.068 — then transfer the wort into your fermenter.
Step 5 :
After 4 weeks, raise the temperature to 20°C for 5 to 6 days. Final gravity should be around 1.017.
If you’re equipped, perform a cold crash (3 days at 3–5°C).
Ideally, use a pressurizable fermenter. That way, you can carbonate to 2.3 volumes of CO₂ and serve the beer directly.
Otherwise, go for classic bottling, adding sugar at a rate of 6g/L.
Conclusion :
Crafting a Brown IPA recipe is a true balancing act. It borrows the roasted malt backbone of a classic Brown Ale, but sets itself apart with a bolder hop character. The challenge lies in letting the hops shine without overpowering the malt’s richness.
Ingredient selection and process are key. When it comes to hopping, it’s best to avoid dry hopping, which can introduce vegetal notes that clash with the malt profile.
Instead, focus on biotransformation. Ekuanot hops, with their fruity aromas of melon, lime, papaya, and berries, are ideal candidates for this. Used during the boil and Whirlpool, they deliver a clean, punchy hop hit. East Kent Goldings, with their earthy and herbal tones, pair beautifully with the malts, creating a resinous character without excessive vegetal notes.
The Saturated yeast strain plays a crucial role: low flocculation and high biotransformation help retain hop compounds in suspension, amplifying their aromatic impact.
On the malt side, Caramunich III brings hazelnut and caramel notes. Carafa II, supported by chocorye, adds chocolatey and roasted flavors without astringency. Chocorye, being huskless, softens the bitterness of roasted malts and prevents clashes with the hops.
This Brown IPA celebrates hops without overloading them. Its fruity notes and firm bitterness complement the dark, malty profile—making it a well-balanced autumn brew where roasted depth and hop brightness coexist in harmony.