The Oud Bruin or “Old Brown” (also called Flanders Brown) beer style is a dark Flemish beer from Belgium. It is a well aged beer style, often with a slightly sour flavor to it.
History of Oud Bruin
Leifmans Brewery, founded in 1679 has been brewing Oud Bruin since at least the 1600s, though the historic version was likely considerably more sour and wild than modern versions. The beer has its origins in the Eastern side of the Flemish region of Belgium. Its cousin, Flanders Red comes from the Western portion.
Out Bruins were traditionally barrel aged for an extended period of up to a year, frequently picking up bacteria from the barrel and giving it a sour character. It was also traditionally fermented in open fermenters, again sometimes picking up a wild character.
The Oud Bruin Style
From the BJCP 2015 Style Guide here is a description of the beer profile:
Aroma: Complex combination of fruity esters and rich malt character. Medium to medium-high esters commonly reminiscent of raisins, plums, figs, dates, black cherries or prunes. Medium low to medium high malt character of caramel, toffee, orange, treacle or chocolate. Spicy phenols can be present in low amounts for complexity. A sherry-like character may be present and generally denotes an aged example. A low sour aroma may be present, and can modestly increase with age but should not grow to a noticeable acetic/vinegary character. Hop aroma absent. Diacetyl is perceived only in very minor quantities, if at all, as a complementary aroma. Appearance: Dark reddish-brown to brown in color. Good clarity. Average to good head retention. Ivory to light tan head color. Flavor: Malty with fruity complexity and typically some caramel character. Medium to medium-high fruitiness commonly includes dark or dried fruit such as raisins, plums, figs, dates, black cherries or prunes. Medium low to medium high malt character of caramel, toffee, orange, treacle or chocolate. Spicy phenols can be present in low amounts for complexity. A slight sourness often becomes more pronounced in well-aged examples, along with some sherry-like character, producing a “sweet-and-sour” profile. The sourness should not grow to a notable acetic/vinegary character. Hop flavor absent. Restrained hop bitterness. Low oxidation is appropriate as a point of complexity. Diacetyl is perceived only in very minor quantities, if at all, as a complementary flavor. Balance is malty, but with fruitiness and sourness present. Sweet and tart finish.
BJCP 2015 Style Guide
Brewing a Oud Bruin
Oud Bruin has a wide alcohol range from 4-8% which means the starting gravity can vary from a mild 1.040 up to a robust 1.072. Final gravities are very low, with high attenuation much like other Belgian styles leading to an FG or 1.008-1.012. Color varies from a dark brown 15 SRM up to an opaque 22 SRM. Carbonation is moderate.
Oud Bruin starts with a base of Pilsner malt. Typically a blend of darker Caramel malts are added to provide complexity, color and depth as well as some of the fruity raisin, fig, and date flavors. Very dark caramel such as Special B and Caramel 100 should be used sparingly to avoid excessive harsh/burnt flavors. Roast malts are frequently added for roast character and dark coloring. Maize/Corn is often used as a fermentable to increase attenuation.
A lager style of mash schedule is often used to increase fermentability. This involves a low temperature conversion step at around 145 F (63 C) and then a second high temperature step at around 158 F (70 C). This type of mash schedule will activate both alpha and beta enzymes to increase fermentability and reduce the final gravity of the beer.
Low alpha acid continental hops are used in the boil to balance the malt, though hops are not a central flavor of the beer. Belgian yeast strains are used at fairly warm temperature like many Abbey ales to provide complexity and depth to the beer. It is also not unusual to add some Lactobacillus to aid in souring the beer during aging, particularly if you are not barrel aging it.
Oud Bruin has an extensive aging period to develop a sherry-like finish. The beer may be barrel aged or you can add oak chips. Some Oud Bruins are a blend of both old and newer beers to develop the exact balance desired in the finished beer. Traditionally the beer is bottle conditioned after an extended aging period under moderate carbonation.
Here are some of the top Oud Bruin Recipes on BeerSmithRecipes.com
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