I brewed a clone of DFH Indian Brown Ale a few weeks ago from a recipe I found in Zymurgy. I can spot a few errors in my procedure that I will change before I brew it again. One I noticed right away was that I don't think it should be dry hopped. Sam says on the website that it is dry hopped similarly to the 60 & 90 minute IPAs, but the aroma from mine seems a bit too strong for this beer. I don't get the aroma from the actual beer.
Also, I didn't caramelize the brown sugar, I just added the brown sugar at the end of the boil. I can definitely taste the brown sugar. I used the Ringwood Ale yeast. I read this yeast needs a d-rest so I attempted it. Unfortunately, temps were crazy that week and I don't know if I was able to get it high enough for the d-rest. Fortunately, the brown sugar flavor is masking any diacetyl because I can't taste it.
I'm thinking about trying this one again, but maybe simply using a 1056 or S-05. Also, I think I'll skip the dry hopping and stick to the warrior and vanguard in the boil. Any thoughts? Will this beer get better with some age, maybe lose some of the strong hop aroma and brown sugar flavor?