English Best Bitter

[Dazza_devil]

G'day Brewers,

I'm gonna put this in tomorrow, or a variation thereof.

25 litre batch

3kg LDME

400g Caramunich II
20g Black Malt

45g Northern Brewer Pellets @ 60 mins
25g Styrian Goldings @ 10 mins
25g Styrian Goldings dry hopped

S04 yeast @ 17 degrees

I'm unsure yet on the hop additions, possibly may add 20g Styrian Goldings @ flameout, dunno.
I also have some Pale Crystal, Caraaroma or Carared and unsure about adding more grain. Would the Caramunich II give much caramel flavour?
I do a 7 litre boil with steepings from the grain and 500g LDME for my hop additions. I'm looking for bitterness and malt balance without an overbearing hop flavour and aroma.
Feel free to tweek and let me know of any personally prefered improvements.
Cheers.

 

[Bribie G]

If I were doing it , with two additions of Styrians I would tend to cut the Northern Brewer back to about 30g, English bitters aren't actually all that bitter and tend to be more malt driven, as you have done with the Cara and the black, and I would certainly put in about 200g of Carared :icon_cheers:

 

[Bizier]

I agree on lowering the NB (maybe up the dry hopped styrians ?), maybe consider a little higher temp as well like 19 to 21 to get some yeast esters in there.

 

[Dazza_devil]

Variation 2,

25 litres
3kg LDME
250g Caramunich II
200g Carared
20g Black Malt

According to Ian's spreadsheet that I've been using, my original hop schedule gives me 33.1 IBU's if using the hop concentration factor in the calculation.

30g NB pellets @ 60mins
30g SG @ 15 mins
25g SG @ flameout
30g SG dry hopped
(gives me 25 IBU according to Ian's spreadsheet, using HCF)

ferment SO4 @ 19 degrees

Edit - 4got LDME

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I would lose the Cara munich as I dont think it has the right flavour profile for the style.More styrians at flame out and you should be getting close .Bitters should be bitter, noticeably.Not IPA but perceivably bitter.
GB

 

[Dazza_devil]

Variation 3.

26 litres

3kg LDME

100g Carared (just realised all I have left).
200g Pale Crystal (110 EBC)
100g Caraaroma
20g Black Malt
(22.4 EBC's)

40g NB @ 60 mins
30g SG @ 15 mins
30g SG @ flameout
30g SG dry hopped @ day 5
(30.1 IBU's)

SO4 fermented @ 20 degrees

2 weeks in primary

 

[gwozniak]

Are english bitters meant to have that much hop flavour/aroma?
Here's one from "Brewing classing styles" which by the way is a must have book

LEM 3kg

Aromatic 225g
Crystal 120L 225g
Special roast 110g

Kent goldings 34g 60min
Kent goldings 14g 20min
Kent goldings 14g 1min

Personaly I don't like Kent Goldings and tend to use Chalenger and Northdown in my english bitters

Variation 3.

26 litres

3kg LDME

100g Carared (just realised all I have left).
200g Pale Crystal (110 EBC)
100g Caraaroma
20g Black Malt
(22.4 EBC's)

40g NB @ 60 mins
30g SG @ 15 mins
30g SG @ flameout
30g SG dry hopped @ day 5
(30.1 IBU's)

SO4 fermented @ 20 degrees

2 weeks in primary

 

[Dazza_devil]

From AABC 2009 Style Guidelines.

8. BITTER ALE​

8.1. English Best Bitter​

Appearance:​

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Medium gold to medium copper. Good to brilliant clarity. Low to moderate white to off-white head.​

May have very little head due to low carbonation.​

Aroma:​

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The best examples have some malt aroma, often (but not always) with a caramel quality. Mild to moderate​

fruitiness. Hop aroma can range from moderate to none (UK varieties). Generally no diacetyl, although very low​

levels are allowed.​

Flavour:​

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Medium to high bitterness. Most have moderately low to moderately high fruity esters. Moderate to low​

hop flavour (earthy, resiny, and/or floral UK varieties. Low to medium maltiness with a dry finish. Caramel​

flavours are common but not required. Balance is often decidedly bitter, although the bitterness should not​

completely overpower the malt flavour, esters and hop flavour. Generally no diacetyl, although very low levels are​

allowed.​

Mouthfeel:​

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Medium-light to medium body. Carbonation low, although bottled and canned commercial examples​

can have moderate carbonation.​

Overall Impression:​

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A flavourful, yet refreshing, session beer. Some examples can be more malt balanced, but​

this should not override the overall bitter impression. Drinkability is a critical component of the style; emphasis is​

still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales.​

History:​

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Originally a draught ale served very fresh under no pressure (gravity or hand pump only) at cellar​

temperatures (i.e. real ale). Bitter was created as a draught alternative (i.e. running beer) to country-brewed pale​

ale around the start of the 20​

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th century and became widespread once brewers understood how to Burtonize their​

water to successfully brew pale beers and to use crystal malts to add a fullness and roundness of palate.​

Comments:​

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More evident malt flavour than in an ordinary bitter, this is a stronger, session-strength ale. Most​

bottled or kegged versions of UK-produced bitters are higher-alcohol versions of their cask (draught) products​

produced specifically for export. This style guideline reflects the real ale version of the style, not the export​

formulations of commercial products.​

Ingredients:​

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Pale ale, amber, and/or crystal malts, may use a touch of black malt for colour adjustment. May use​

sugar adjuncts, corn or wheat. English hops. Characterful English yeast. Often medium sulfate water is used.​

Vital Statistics:​

OG FG IBUs ABV​

1040-1049 1008-1012 25-40 4.0-4.9%​

Commercial Examples:​

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Fuller's London Pride, Adnams SSB, Youngs Special, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Timothy​

Taylor Landlord, Robinsons Northern Glory, Shepherd Neame Masterbrew Bitter, Greene King Ruddles County​

Bitter, RCH Pitchfork Rebellious Bitter, Brains SA, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, Goose Island Honkers Ale,​

Rogue Youngers Special Bitter


I reckon to go a bit easy on the hop aroma, maybe cut it back a little from Variation 3. This may depend on how long it's gonna stay in the bottle but I have heard that Styrians has a very nice aroma for an EPA.

 

[mwd]

There are literally hundreds of English Bitters all shades of different colours and hoppiness and flavours.

If you are not trying to make a 'Clone' of a particular brand then I would not stress too much and just go with whatever English bitter recipe takes your fancy.

My 10 pence worth.

 

[np1962]

Tropical Brews has it right, huge variations between bitters so go with what you think you will enjoy.
For me variation 3 looks OK but I would save the 30gm dry hop addition for use in my next batch.
Will add very little to the beer IMHO.
Cheers
Nige

 

[bconnery]

I would dry hop with the SG. Bitters can be dry hopped in the cask and SG has a very nice aroma...

 

[Hutch]

I would dry hop with the SG. Bitters can be dry hopped in the cask and SG has a very nice aroma...

I would probably not dry-hop with that much SG (30gm). A typical cask in the UK might get a plug or 2 - that's 14-28gm per cask. It is not an overly dry-hop dominated style, certainly not in the same way as an APA or IPA.
Otherwise, recipe looks OK as is. You might want to try a different yeast in future, as the S04 is a bit ho-hum IMHO. The various liquids are much better English alternatives (1187 Ringwood :wub: ).

 

[Screwtop]

Variation 3.

26 litres

3kg LDME

100g Carared (just realised all I have left).
200g Pale Crystal (110 EBC)
100g Caraaroma
20g Black Malt
(22.4 EBC's)

40g NB @ 60 mins
30g SG @ 15 mins
30g SG @ flameout
30g SG dry hopped @ day 5
(30.1 IBU's)

SO4 fermented @ 20 degrees

2 weeks in primary

Ran this through a little spreadsheet that I use and I make the OG around 1.047 and I'm the IBU 45. With near 12% cara/crystal malt and LDME the attenuation will be lower so maybe it will finish at say 1.014 probably that amount of sweetness will be able to support 45 IBU.

Cheers,

Screwy

I would dry hop with the SG. Bitters can be dry hopped in the cask and SG has a very nice aroma...

Agree with Ben, I would cut the flameout hops, a waste when dry hopping. Cut the dry hop to 1g/L.

 

[Dazza_devil]

Thanks Screwy,
The spreadsheet I use gives me OG of 1.046 and FG of 1.012. From previous brews with the spreadsheet I reckon you have it about right.
I think I'll stick with the original hop schedule but up the 10min addition to 30g.
If I can't smell Styrians at flameout I might be tempted to add 20g or so but will try to resist the urge.
I dry hopped an APA with Amarillo a few brews ago and it really added all the aroma that was driven off during fermentation. The hop flavour is still rounding off after 7 weeks in the bottle but it's very tasty.

 

[Dazza_devil]

OG ended up around 1.046, smells and looks unreal.
I ended up leaving the 10 min addition of Styrians to steep 10 mins after flameout without any further additions. Not sure if this will impart much extra flavour but it really smells delicious.
Thanks all.

 

[tumi2]

Just my 2 cents worth

I have now done 2 in a row using both those hops and yeast with a less complex grain bill. I am dissapointed with both of them as they have a cardboard or dusty taste.

I have opened another thread about this trying to find out what it is and general consensus comes down to it being oxidised due to my whirlpool when hot or the use of the S-O4 yeast. Some brewers have said they get a dusty flavour when using that yeast and avoid it now for that reason. I am an inexperinced brewer so i am not suggesting it is the yeast, it could well be my method or something else but it is certainly one thing i am going to change next time in an attepmt to find out what is going on with my 2 failed English Bitters

The link to my other thread about this if you want to read more or find alternative yeast suggestions

Link here
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=35248

 

[Bribie G]

Personally I dislike S-04 and would recommend liquid yeasts for UK bitters and milds. At the current price they are only about twice the cost of a sachet of fermentis dried yeast and of course one smack pack can do quite a few 'generations' of ales especially if you cultivate the yeast out of a bottle of a successful batch, in exactly the same was as we already do with Coopers Pale/Sparkling bottles.

I never had much luck replicating UK brews until I went onto Wyeast liquid yeasts such as Ringwood etc.

 

[buttersd70]

I'm keeping well out of this. I know nothing about English Bitters/ Milds. It's only what I brew 95% of the time. It's only the style of beer that was beaten in to me as a kid by my grandparents....both of whom worked at Websters (prior to the sell out).....it's only the type of beer that I grew up on, as a lad, with my (older) cousin sneaking me pints without my Da knowing.......


0.6-0.65 BU:GU. <0.75g/L late additions. Nuff said.

Edit....if I had a choice between so4 and a Donkeys turd, I'd take the Donkeys turd.....but thats just me.

 

[Screwtop]

I'm keeping well out of this. I know nothing about English Bitters/ Milds. It's only what I brew 95% of the time. It's only the style of beer that was beaten in to me as a kid by my grandparents....both of whom worked at Websters (prior to the sell out).....it's only the type of beer that I grew up on, as a lad, with my (older) cousin sneaking me pints without my Da knowing.......


0.6-0.65 BU:GU. <0.75g/L late additions. Nuff said.

Edit....if I had a choice between so4 and a Donkeys turd, I'd take the Donkeys turd.....but thats just me.

You're not the Mesiah you're just a naughty little boy who doesn't understand that every Brittish brewery learnt to make a great bitter using whatever yeast they had. If we are any good as brewers we should be able to do the same :lol:

Cheers,

Screwy

 

[Dazza_devil]

With near 12% cara/crystal malt and LDME the attenuation will be lower so maybe it will finish at say 1.014 probably that amount of sweetness will be able to support 45 IBU.

How does the crystal and LDME affect the attenuation?
This one looks to have pulled up a bit high as far as F.G. is concerned @ around 1.016. I've been getting higher FG readings since going all extract and using only LDME, speciality grains and hop pellets. My last 2 brews have had similar attenuation percentages such as 65% & 67%. I tried bumping up the temp and stirring the last brew but the hydrometer didn't budge a micron. This is all probably something for another thread but as far as this brew is concerned I was really hoping for a little lower FG.
I have a twin pack of S04 if needed to repitch a starter perhaps.
I've just dry hopped with 28g Styrians at day 5, perhaps this may wake it up a little.
Maybe I could add some dextrose, I dunno.
Or maybe just leave it and bottle if it's finished, sweeter than I wanted but nonetheless drinkable.
Suggestions?