This is an attempted Civil Life American brown ale clone (summer 2023). I’ve always liked Civil Life beers, as can be seen by how many times I've mentioned that brewery on this blog. Their brown ale is one of my favorite beers. It along with more of their beers are available at local stores, but as a challenge to myself I decided to try to clone it.
Civil Life used to list the ingredients on their web site but it seems they no longer do. Using the ingredients listed on an archived version of their site, I pieced together a recipe that I thought would get me close. Malt amounts were not listed. Nor were hop amounts or a specific yeast.
When I developed my recipe, I had not had the real thing for a while. I had remembered it being a fairly dark beer. I’ve had the real thing a time or two after brewing this and am now aware of a few differences. The real thing is slightly lighter than mine and appeared very dark red or amber when held to light. Mine is also more roasty/astringent, which I attribute to the Carafa. Reducing that ingredient should solve the astringency and color problems. The real thing also has a strong brown malt flavor. If I brew this again I will increase the brown malt.
Recipe for 5 gallons:
4.25 lb Maris Otter
3 lb 2 row
.75 Brown malt
.5 Crystal 120
6 oz Carafa III
1.25 oz Cascade hops at 60 minutes (6.3 AA, targeting about 33 IBU, although the link above indicates 40 IBU)
US-05 yeast
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