English-Style Brown Ale

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Location:British
Category:Ale
BJCP Comparable Category:13B - British Brown Ale

Beer Style Description

This is the description of how the English-Style Brown Ale style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the English-Style Brown Ale beer style.

  • Color: Copper to dark brown
  • Body: Medium
  • Malt Flavors & Aromas: Roast malt may contribute to a biscuit or toasted aroma profile. Roast malt may contribute to the flavor profile. Malt profile can range from dry to sweet.
  • Hop Flavors & Aromas: Very low
  • IBUs/Bitterness: Very low to low
  • Fermentation Characteristics: Low to medium-low level fruity esters are appropriate. Diacetyl is usually absent in these beers but may be present at very low levels.
  • Common Ingredients: British mild ale or pale ale malt base with caramel malts. May also have small amounts darker malts (e.g., chocolate) to provide color and the nutty character. English hop varieties are most authentic.
  • Commercial Examples: Maxim Double Maxim, Newcastle Brown Ale, Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale, Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, Wychwood Hobgoblin

Brewing Properties of English-Style Brown Ale

These are the functional brewing properties of English-Style Brown Ale beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.

ABV
The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have.
4.2 - 6.0%
Bitterness
The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer.
12 - 25 IBUs
SRM
SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more »
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12 - 24 SRM
(24 - 47 EBC)
Original Gravity
Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer.
1.040 - 1.050
Final Gravity
The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete.
1.008 - 1.014

If you see an error in our data, please let us know!

Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.