[SanBeero]

Also, I made fantastic progress with NooCube and an American brown with the second runnings, though I left the dark/crystal malts out of the mash and added them cold steeped to the boil.

Is the only way to make American brown by using the second runnings of a previous mix?

[HoosierBrew]

Is the only way to make American brown by using the second runnings of a previous mix?

No. It's a legit style - try this one out. It's a great recipe :

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/NotiBrownAle