# Aussie Sparkling Ale All Grain Bitter Help



## micblair (8/10/12)

Looking for some help crafting an AG recipe thats distinctly Australian, bitter and quenching (low residual sweetness), with not too much hop aroma. 
Maybe something like Thunder Road's Brunswick Bitter

My thoughts so far are:

70% Maris
10% dextrose
10% Victory
5% Torrified or malted wheat(?)
5% Medium crystal or Caramunich T3

30-35 IBU POW, 40-60 min.
0.5 g/L other appropriate hop for flameout or earlier addition.


----------



## Nick JD (8/10/12)

Use Coopers bottle yeast. It's highly attenuative and spits out lots of fruit, drowning out the weirdness of Pride of Wingwood.


----------



## micblair (8/10/12)

I've got some 1272 which is on its 2nd gen and just got harvested for a 3rd. Plan to ferment over 20 for increased ester production. But thanks for the suggestion. Any thoughts on a flame out addition or the grain bill?


----------



## bignath (8/10/12)

id probably go BB or Joe White for the base malt.

Maybe go:

OG to around 1040-45
85% Base malt
10% Dextrose or simple sugar
5% Wheat malt or Carapils

POR to between 25-30 IBU's in a single 60min addition.

Recultured Coopers yeast. Ferment it at say, 20-22 so it throws some fruity stuff...


----------



## labels (8/10/12)

It's really not Aussie if you use English malt. I agree with Big Nath, go Barrett Burston ale malt or pale malt. Both really good malts capable of producing really fine beers. The sugar will thin the beer out a bit - stop it becoming too heavy bodied and cloying.

Use (what I call) a long slow mash say, around 63-65 for 90 minutes and a 60 minute boil. One hop addition at 60 is enough. POR is a great hop irrespective of it's bad name. Just don't overdo it and don't use for it late addition hopping.

Wheat, malted or not malted is excellent for head formation/retention. I think your recipe sounds pretty good. I have heard a few horror stories from using Coopers yeast producing excessive estery fruitiness to the point of undrinkable but not talking from experience here.


----------



## Brewer_010 (8/10/12)

I've just started drinking this and its pretty close. I used POR flowers and its very smooth, quite happy with it. I used american ale II but with coopers yeast it would be better.

3.50 kg Ale Malt (Barrett Burston) (6.0 EBC) Grain 84.50 % 
0.50 kg Wheat Malt, Malt Craft (Joe White) (3.5 EBC) Grain 12.07 % 
0.04 kg Caraaroma (Weyermann) (350.7 EBC) Grain 1.01 % 
0.10 kg Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (2.0 EBC) Sugar 2.41 % 

POR flowers at 60mins to 35 IBUs

cheers


----------



## micblair (8/10/12)

Cheers labels, I must admit with MO, victory and crystal it could become a bit too malt driven and less sessional/quenching. I'll go JWM. Would be interested to compare this with a lager yeast also.


----------



## AndrewQLD (8/10/12)

I've brewed this heaps of times and it's a reasonable good drop.
You should be using POR, a good ale malt and the Coopers yeast or Whitelabs Australian Ale yeast.
Andrew


----------



## labels (8/10/12)

micblair said:


> Cheers labels, I must admit with MO, victory and crystal it could become a bit too malt driven and less sessional/quenching. I'll go JWM. Would be interested to compare this with a lager yeast also.



Unique Australian lager. Talking about the traditional stuff, draught beers like Carlton, Tooheys, West End Draught etc. you are right on the ball. Just use an ale malt, an ale recipe and brew it as a lager. BB Ale malt with a little crystal, POR hops and a neutral lager yeast and you'll be brewing a Carlton draught lager.

It definitely won't impress your brewing mates but will have an enormous impact on your non-brewing mates who compare your brewing skills to their normal pub swill. I know, been there and done that and boy, did that earn some brownie points.


----------



## manticle (8/10/12)

Some good advice here on making a coopers type ale but TH brunswick bitter isdifferent to coopers and I would be very surprised if the coopers yeast goes anywhere near it.


----------



## micblair (9/10/12)

Not actually a coopers fan, so I'm not really sure if I would use it anyway.


----------



## white.grant (9/10/12)

If you don't like the coopers yeast character, US05 or any other neutral yeast works quite well. 

If you want to fruit it up a bit, raise the fermentation temperature to 20 degrees for the last 15 or so points of gravity.

cheers

Grant


----------



## Nick JD (9/10/12)

manticle said:


> Some good advice here on making a coopers type ale but TH brunswick bitter isdifferent to coopers and I would be very surprised if the coopers yeast goes anywhere near it.



On reading the OP again I see I assumed it was an Aussie PA. 

The only other Aussie beer is lager. Use a lager yeast at 15C+ and it'll be grouse.


----------



## micblair (9/10/12)

Nick JD said:


> On reading the OP again I see I assumed it was an Aussie PA.
> 
> The only other Aussie beer is lager. Use a lager yeast at 15C+ and it'll be grouse.



I was thinking this myself, only that my keg fridge is maxed out, should be able to maintain 15C in my house provided I can get the beer a bit lower than this to start.


----------



## peterl1981 (21/4/14)

Anyone had a crack at the brunswick bitter yet?


----------



## Cervantes (22/4/14)

Nick JD said:


> Use Coopers bottle yeast. It's highly attenuative and spits out lots of fruit, drowning out the weirdness of *Pride of Wingwood*.


----------



## Bribie G (22/4/14)

I hate these Aussie Ale threads as they tempt me to go out and buy three longnecks of Coopers Sparkling, collect the dregs, forget to culture them, throw them out then have to go out and buy another three longnecks. 
When I lived on Bribie Island I ended up with multiple cartons of Coopers bottles that I had to give away before moving down here. IIRC I have only ever actually brewed 4 Sparkling Ale clones in my entire brewing career  :kooi:


----------

