Thinking about brewing this yummy-sounding brown ale this fall…

Oak Leaf Brown Ale

• 6 2/3 pounds light malt extract
• 1 pound crystal malt (80L or higher)
• 1/2 pound chocolate malt
• 1 pound dark brown sugar
• 1 ounce Kent Goldings hops (bittering)
• 1/2 ounce Perle hops (flavoring)
• 1 package British ale yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming)

Place crystal malt and chocolate malt in water and steep at 155 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove spent grains and bring water to a boil.  Add malt extract, brown sugar, and Kent Goldings hops.  Boil for 1 hour, adding the Perle hops after 30 minutes.  Cool the wort and pitch the yeast.  Ferment for 7 to 10 days.  Bottle, using corn sugar.  Age in bottle for 7 days.

Original Gravity:  1.044

Looks pretty easy. The recipe is from “The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide” by Higgins, Kilgore and Hertlein.

At the same time, we’re going to brew a second batch of the holiday ale we brewed in 2007, which turned out really good.

The big question is, when are we going to find a free day to brew 2 batches of beer?  Hoping to do it in early October, when the basement should be getting to a good temperature for ale fermentation.  Stay tuned!