@mazzle Reviews Beer - And Tells You How To Make It! Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown

Hello fellow Steemians!

Here's my latest contribution to #beersaturday!

I'm currently doing a fitness challenge which means that my beer consumption has fallen drastically... so unfortunately, I'm not reviewing (or drinking) as much beer as I normally would.

I couldn't stay away from a good beer all week though, so today I have just finished tasting Bad Shepherd's Hazelnut Brown.

Bad Shepherd is one of my local breweries. They are based out of Cheltenham, which is a suburb to the south of Melbourne and only a couple of suburbs away from me. I'm a huge fan of supporting local small businesses (being a business owner myself) and I also just happen to love a good craft beer.

In their own words:

Bad Shepherd is the brainchild of husband and wife team, Dereck and Diti Hales, Bad Shepherd is all about tempting you with fine craft beer and complementing that with a menu heaving with smoked meat delicacies and good ol’ fashioned comfort food. Let us lead you into temptation.

So what did I think of their Hazelnut Brown?

The Basics:
Volume: 375ml
ABV: 5.9%
Origin: Cheltenham, Victoria (Australia)
Style: Brown Ale

The beer pours reasonably well and is definitely on the dark side of brown. Carbonation isn't high, which gives a small to medium head. The head also doesn't hang around and subsides quickly.

Unsurprisingly, the beer has strong notes of nuts and chocolate on the nose and this translates strongly to the palate.

My only complaint about this beer would be the slightly overpowering chocolate flavours. This dominates your palate at first, however after a few sips, seems to balance itself out.

Bad Shepherd describe the beer as:

A toasty and malty ale loaded with the rich nuttiness of roasted hazelnuts. Brewed with real hazelnuts, hazelnut extract, vanilla extract and a splash of Frangelico. Smooth and nutty with a dry clean finish.

The beer was brewed using chocolate malts which is what gives it the strong chocolatey aroma and flavours. The hazelnut flavours work well with the chocolate malt, however, the two flavours definitely dominate the beer and makes it hard to detect any other of the flavours that they introduced into this brew.

There is a lot to like about this beer however it isn't a stand out favourite for me. I would rate this beer 3 out of 5 steins.

So... how do we make a nutty brown ale like this?

This recipe is not my own however comes highly recommended here. Some of the ingredients may be a little hard to find however your local brew shop will certainly be able to give you suitable substitutes.

The Data:
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.016
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 25
SRM: 26.2

Crush and steep in 2.75 gallons (10.41 L) of 152°F (66.66°C) water for 60 minutes:

• 2 lb. (.9 kg) Great Western Munich 10L
• 1.5 lb. (.68 kg) Great Western Crystal 75L
• 9 oz. (.25 kg) Great Western Crystal 15L
• 9 oz. (.25 kg) Great Western Crystal 120L
• 11 oz. (.31 kg) Baird Brown Malt
• 4 oz. (.11 kg) Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee Malt
• ½ tsp. Northwestern hazelnut extract (see note)

Strain the grain into your brew pot and sparge with 1 gallon (3.78 L) of water at 160°F (71.11°C). Bring the wort to a boil, remove from heat, and add:

• 3.75 lb. (1.7 kg) light dry malt extract.

Stir well until the extract is dissolved. Add water as needed to bring the volume to 3 gallons (11.35 L). Bring the wort to a rolling boil. Boil for 10 minutes, and then add:

• 1.2 oz. (34 g) Perle pellets hops (8.7% AA)

Boil for 60 minutes and then add:

• 0.5 oz. (14.17 g) Sterling pellet hops (8.7% AA)

Remove from heat and let hops steep for 10 min. Then chill as quickly as possible to below 80°F (26.66°C). Transfer the wort to fermenter and add cold water to bring the total volume to 5 gallons (18.92 L). The temperature should be below 70°F (21.11°C) at this point. Aerate wort and pitch an appropriately sized starter of Wyeast 1764 Pacman yeast.

Ferment at 60-65°F (15.55-18.33°C) until final gravity is reached. You can either leave the beer in primary for 3 weeks, or transfer to a secondary fermenter for a week after final gravity is reached in the primary. Bottle when fermentation is complete with 4 oz. (.11 kg) corn sugar or keg and force carbonate to 2.5 vol. CO2. Add ½ teaspoon of Northwestern hazelnut extract at bottling or legging.

Enjoy!

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