Aussie bitter ale

[Andrewbarnes83]

Hi all,

I was reading the aabc style guidelines and was intrigued by this style. Are there any commercial examples still available? (I'm guessing the modern bitters don't count since they are too light in colour and lagers).


What would you come up with for a recipe for one of these?


Cheers

 

[dicko]

Unfortunately the marketing gurus removed the word "bitter" from aus beers die to the lack of acceptance with their attempt to get all of us drinking their mega fizzy water style.
I believe Coopers Pale Ale is around 27 ibu which is close but there has already been a style of Australian Pale Ale invented just to cover this beer it seems.

 

[dicko]

Google brings up.....you guessed it VB.

An original Aus Bitter would have followed the basic style of an english bitter but with emphasis on Aus ingredients.

I cant think of any commercial bitters currently available but there may be a micro that would do one.

 

[Bridges]

Just read the guidelines Page 39 covers the style, the yeast is going to be interesting. "standard Australian ale yeast (originally isolated 1888 at Victoria Brewery in Melbourne)" and "CUB ale yeast or similar. Attenuative English or American strains most suitable. Note: Whitelabs WLP009 Australian Ale yeast (Coopers strain) is unsuitable"
Yeah american strains are "suitable" but is the standard Australian ale yeast available anywhere?
I imagine that something similar to coopers pale all grain recipe with some added cane sugar would be close to the mark but getting the right yeast would be the challenge.

 

[manticle]

Sounds like a bunch of made up horseshit to me, like a lot of bjcp/aabc stuff. Any references?
Brunswick bitter from thunder road at a guess.
One of the only widely commercially available ale strains distinctly AU is unsuitable, must have por and phenols from loads of sugar.....
Needs a fair bit of development that one.

 

[bradsbrew]

I thought this aabc style was "created" around the original VB that was a limited release a few years back?

Actually just re read the guideline. Apparantly it should not refer to the above beer. That was released in 2005- ffs i must be getting old.

 

[michaeld16]

I did see an old bottle a while ago it was victoria bitter ale not sure how old the bottle was but its contents were measured in fl oz and there was no alc% mentioned on there so must of had a bit of age to it.found it in a roof I was working in the house had just turned 100 yrs old

 

[Bribie G]

Apart from a few regionals such as Steindl at Maryborough or Macs at Rockhampton nearly all breweries were amalgamated by the 1950s into 4 main groups that became the current 2 at the time of Alan Bond and that other guy with the huge nose. AFAIK Australian beers were almost entirely lagersthe only surviving ales were Coopers and Tooheys old.
POR was developed in the 1960s so who knows what variety before then.
Australian brewers have always been very secretive about their ingredients. Even as late as the 1980s they refused to reveal the ABVs of their beers as well. This only changed when mid and light beers came in.

As for the yeast I believe that CUB only use Fosters B Strain that's a lager yeast derived from Carlsberg. That's why Wyeast Danish Lager is excellent for most megaswill knock offs.
I agree with Manticle that it's BJCP beer fantasy along the lines of many of their styles.
I keep waiting for some of their styles to read "kept alive by a few Appalacian families during Prohibition and brewed in secret caves , only to be rediscovered by BJCP inspectors who were hunting down mysterious hand blown glass bottles turning up in Harrisburgh"

 

[Spohaw]

This beer style sounds horrible

 

[pilgrimspiss]

I'd consider this a current example despite what guidelines say. Don't forget that guidelines are made around beers not the other way round.

http://www.coopers.com.au/static/media/uploads/cpr12308_cooperstastingnotes_sparkling_2014.pdf

Cheers
Matty.

 

[Andrewbarnes83]

Yeah I agree while I enjoy coopers this style does sound harsh with 30 percent cane sugar and that many IBU's of POR so I probably won't be making one any time soon.

I reckon this style seems to be basically a drier (due to higher use of cane sugar adjuncts) best bitter or irish red ale using aussie malts, hops and yeast.

If I were to make one I was thinking something like?

Pale malt
crystal 5%
some choc or roast barley for colour adjustment
cane sugar 10-15% ( I assume 30% is of gravity points)
POR flowers single 60 min addition to 25-30 ibu
nottingham or some other English strain due to lack of availability of cub ale yeast
mash 67 ish

 

[dicko]

I'd consider this a current example despite what guidelines say. Don't forget that guidelines are made around beers not the other way round.

http://www.coopers.com.au/static/media/uploads/cpr12308_cooperstastingnotes_sparkling_2014.pdf

Cheers
Matty.

Still using the incorrect yeast but I do agree.
Unfortunateley there is no beer recommendation in the guideline.

 

[fletcher]

i've made a really lovely hybrid aussie/english bitter that i'd like to think fits the style. if not, i could care less and it fits what i enjoy.

maris otter
crystal
dark crystal
wheat
victory
to 1.044
POR at 60 mins to 32 ibu
i vary up the yeast depending on preference. i've done it with windsor, wlp013 and wlp009 (wlp013 was the favourite).

if you wanted to get anal about it, make it aussie only malt substitutes.

 

[Blind Dog]

Can't say I get the point of a style where there isn't a single commercial example.

 

[TheWiggman]

What about Emu Bitter? When in WA last year I bought a slab. 4% ABV, very lager-like and had the typical metallic taste of lighter mass produced beers.
Actually has 'Bitter Ale' written on the label.

 

[Spohaw]

So it's basically a coopers sparkling ale with different yeast with sugar added ?

 

[Spohaw]

Pretty sure emu bitter is a lager

Ordered some burton union yeast and I'll grab some POR hops then I'll give this a go

 

[Blind Dog]

Ordered some burton union yeast and I'll grab some POR hops then I'll give this a go

Why?

 

[Spohaw]

For fun , I haven't used POR or that yeast yet

Probably be a waste of grains hops yeast and time but .......

Might end up doing an Australian pale ale / IPA instead , at least it's a bit more open to using different hops

Wanted to try brew a style that had the word Australian in it really

 

[Blind Dog]

If that's your intent, Fletchers recipe looks like a good starting point even if you sub Aussie grains for the MO. I make something similar although I tend to use Hops other than PoR (version with Sylva was pretty tasty). Don't see why PoR wouldn't work. My aim was something English bitteresque, but capable of being drunk cold

Won't be anything like the style guidelines though; which is a good thing IMO