Brown Ale

First batch and it turned out OK. I chose a brown ale, first because I'm a big fan, but second it's an easy beer to brew. So here it is.

Grains:
10 oz. Victory Malt
4 oz. Chocolate Malt
2 oz. 120l Crystal Malt

Extract:
5.5 lbs Light malt extract

Hops:
1 oz. Northern Brewer (Bittering, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Fuggle (Aroma, 10 min.)
.5 oz. Fuggle (Aroma, 1 min.)

Yeast:
Safale S-04 dry yeast

Grains steeped at 160 F for 30 minutes. Yeast was pitched at 75 F. Fermented between 62-74 F (temp changed in house) for 11 days. Primed with 5 oz priming sugar and conditioned for 9 days.

The first beer had no carbonation at all and barely any head. I think it was because the temp dropped in the basement so i brought it upstairs where it was warmer and let it sit for another 3 days. The next bottle was better. Much better head, but still not much carbonation. After some thinking, i realized it was because I added the priming sugar after all the beer was in the bottling bucket and probably didn't mix well enough with all the beer so some will be more carbonated than others. No bottle grenades though, so we'll see.

The beer had good head when poured aggressively which was very think and slightly tan in color. The smell had a nutty aroma with mild hints of spiciness. It had a very nice color. Very deep brown and very clear. Once sipped, it was very smooth, but the lack of carbonation was very evident and took away from overall taste of the beer. Carbonation aside, the taste was good. The taste of the fuggles was slightly evident and the nuttiness came out in the taste as well. Overall, it was a decent beer. If there was more carbonation I think the beer would have better. good to know for next time.

Cheers