ED KOREN TAKES pains to point out that although his recipe is for creating a historic brown ale, it is not itself a historically accurate recipe. Pioneer brown ales would have been made with malt roasted directly over a smoky fire to a dark, almost scorched color. You might not have encountered it in a pioneer-era tavern, but by the late eighteenth century, maltsters had perfected ways of kilning malt with indirect heat. The resulting malt was paler and toasty-looking and contained far more convertible starches. It ushered in the era of beers that were lighter in color and flavor, and higher in alcohol.

Where authenticity comes into this beer is mainly in Ed’s brewing techniques. To give it a more authentic taste, he uses modern malt that has actually been smoked. That and the other materials may be modern, but the way he brews is pure nineteenth century — which is similar to the way that many amateur brewers make beer at home today. Assuming your brewhouse efficiency is 75 percent, this single-infusion mash recipe should produce a dark brown/mahogany-colored beer with a nice caramel-sweet finish.

GRAIN BILL

7.9 lb Marris Otter

1 lb Brown malt

13.2 oz English crystal 77-L

4.4 oz Flaked wheat

4.4 oz Chocolate malt 350-L

(Total 10 lbs 4.4 oz)

HOPS BILL

1 oz Fuggles (4.75% AA) (60 minutes)

1 oz Kent Goldings (5% AA) (20 minutes)

1 oz Kent Goldings (5% AA ) (flameout)

Whirlfloc/ Irish moss (last 10 minutes of the boil [optional])

YEAST

Any type of English ale yeast (for example, Safale S-04 [dry])

OG: 1.053

FG: 1.014

Method: Mash grains at 152 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes. Mash out at 168 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Sparge and collect about 6.5 U.S. gallons and boil hard for 60 minutes, adding hops and Whirlfloc/Irish moss at appropriate time. Cool the wort to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and transfer to primary fermenter. Then pitch the yeast and ferment at 70 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 days. Transfer to secondary fermenter and store in as cold an area as you can. Once the beer has cleared up (the colder it is, the faster it will clear up), bottle or keg. For best flavor, age for about 3 weeks.