English Best Bitter

[Dazza_devil]

I bulk primed this brew according to style with 30g dextrose for 24 litres in an attempt to achieve around 1.3 vol CO2 using an average calculated through different priming calculators.
It's been in the bottle for around two weeks now and I tried a stubbie of it last night to find there was little if any carbonation and no head at all to speak of. There was however a bit of a phsssst... when I ripped the cap. It's still faily cold here in Tas and the bottles are maturing in my laundry closet. Is it likely that the beer will produce a head with some more time in the bottle or have I underprimed? The beer tastes a little green but otherwise OK so I'm hopeful it's not an infection. My tasters bottled from the dregs in stubbies with carb drops were well carbonated, produced a good head, and tasted very promising as well. All previous attempts to bulk prime have gone well and according to plan.
What sort of a head should I be expecting with such a low carbonation rate?

 

[.DJ.]

little to no head according to guidelines...

I'd give it at least 4 weeks at current temps in Tassie...

 

[drsmurto]

Pocket sparkler......

 

[Dazza_devil]

I sometimes nod off and end up drinking the occasional half glass or so of my beers nearly flat without a head and it's really not that bad, too good to waste.

 

[Scruffy]

I wud've thought 1.3 wouldn't be enough given the strength and hopping, though it looks like its on the darker side, is it too late to sneak some extra Dex in?...
Nothing bad with S-04, you just have to compensate...
Bicarb, gypsum, acetic acid, calcium carbonate, toothpaste, soot, wasps...
My house bitter is halcyon, carared, caraaroma, and any combo styrian, first gold, goggles, bramling cross, challenger, Target... (not all at once tho!). Comes out a nice red...

 

[buttersd70]

little to no head according to guidelines...

thats a massive generalisation, and is a regional preference. In parts of the country, they'd complain if it had a head at all; in other parts, they'd complain if it didn't. And in Yorkshire, they'd complain if the head wasn't at least 2 inches thick.

Pocket sparkler......

At 1.3 vol, yep, pocket sparkler. Anything under 1.7 (ish) becomes very hard to form a head in a pour from a bottle, without the resistance that you would get from a tap or a pump. But as mentioned...head is a preference thing.

 

[Dazza_devil]

There is 2 cartons of tallies and a dozen stubbies of it so I reckon I'll be quite used to it.
What would be a good estimate as to how long it would take to peak in respect to it's drinking quality and according to the style?

 

[Scruffy]

thats a massive generalisation, and is a regional preference. In parts of the country, they'd complain if it had a head at all; in other parts, they'd complain if it didn't. And ...something about yorkshire...

In Newcasle they give you a spoon. Think creme brulee...

 

[buttersd70]

There is 2 cartons of tallies and a dozen stubbies of it so I reckon I'll be quite used to it.
What would be a good estimate as to how long it would take to peak in respect to it's drinking quality and according to the style?

Hard to tell...but iirc it was about 1046/31ibu? 1.2g/L @ 15 and at f/o?...I'd hazard a guesstimate at ~3-4 weeks in the bottle to let the hops settle in, and should be noice.

 

[hazard]

There is 2 cartons of tallies and a dozen stubbies of it so I reckon I'll be quite used to it.
What would be a good estimate as to how long it would take to peak in respect to it's drinking quality and according to the style?

I store my bottles in a spare room, during winter it takes at least 2 months for bottles to carb up. tassie might even be colder than Melbourne, so i would be thinking about late spring....

 

[buttersd70]

re my last: that was assuming a decent temperature for the first week or so, to allow for carbonation. Obviously, colder storage will require longer for the carb to happen.

 

[Dazza_devil]

re my last: that was assuming a decent temperature for the first week or so, to allow for carbonation. Obviously, colder storage will require longer for the carb to happen.

Thanks mate,
I've been roughly monitoring the temp. in the storage area and it's averaging temps are bewtween 10 and 15 degrees C, so it's not that cold but it may drop in the early hours a tad more at times. It would be the most constant temp that I can achieve for storage/conditioning at this time.
I was actually more curious as to when the brew would peak as far as it's drinking quality is concerned, apart from the carbonation levels which I now expect to be lttle if any. I bottled this on the 6th August so I'll try another on Thursday to monitor it's progress.
What temperature are these particular styles of Ale enjoyed at in Mother England?

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

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.

Ditto, and you may find that is the best way to go.

BYB

 

[Bribie G]

Yes, some parts of the UK have beers so distinctive that it's hard to pigeonhole them. One of my favourites is Camerons of Hartlepool Strongarm. It's not a Yorkie, it's not a Scottish 80 /- , it's not really a typical Tyneside beer either, it's a rich copper colour. Then head across the Vale of York and you are in Theakston country and their bitter is almost the colour of lager (or used to be before Scottish and Newcastle stuffed the recipe).

As Scruffy says in Newcastle - especially in the days of bright tank beer and electric pumps - would be served with a massive frothy head that stood about two inches above the top of the glass. When I was a lad in Newcastle there wasn't even anything called 'bitter', that was a term you heard on TV on Southern programs. We drank 'beor' or 'ale' (try saying it with a very soft 'y' at the front). In many parts of the South however, bitter is served quite flat without a trace of foam.

Pocket sparkler is a good idea because you get the creamy head and the relatively flat beer underneath,

Pass me that spoon Scruffy :icon_drool2:

 

[Dazza_devil]

Do they drink their bitters @ room temp. in England?

 

[gap]

Do they drink their bitters @ room temp. in England?

Not a simple answer to the question.

CAMRA answer would be At cellar temperature in a pub about 9C to 12C depending on
where and what time of year.

Again this depends on whether you are talking about cask beer pulled through a
beer engine or keg beer ( smooth flow etc) which may be colder.

At home it would be up to the individual. Certainly , in most cases, nowhere as cold as beer is served here in Australia.

Regards

Graeme

 

[Bribie G]

edit: Gap beat me to it .... yes it's traditionally served at cellar temperature which is around 12 degrees celsius, depending on the area. When I lived in Cardiff we had an unusually cold winter which cooled the subsoil far more than usual. At the local steelworks pub the beer (Brains Dark, Bitter and Special Ales served on handpump) was being served too cold. Landlord discovered he could fit six pints into his industrial-sized microwave so he did 'a pint and a flash' for anyone complaining about the temperature of the beer.

However the filtered nitro 'cream flow' beers are served colder nowadays to cater for a generation who have become used to lagers. Personally when I have a UK on tap I set the kegerator to 10 degrees. Coopers style sparkling and pales go well at that temp as well.

 

[buttersd70]

What temperature are these particular styles of Ale enjoyed at in Mother England?

Not a simple answer to the question.

CAMRA answer would be At cellar temperature in a pub about 9C to 12C depending on
where and what time of year.

Again this depends on whether you are talking about cask beer pulled through a
beer engine or keg beer ( smooth flow etc) which may be colder.

At home it would be up to the individual. Certainly , in most cases, nowhere as cold as beer is served here in Australia.

Regards

Graeme

Yep, exactly. In winter, I like lighter beers at around 10C, darker beers at around 12C, and heavies (like stouts etc) at around 15C. Thats my personal preference.
In summer, I generally drink all styles cooler. Lighter beers probably about 7C, darker beers about 9, stouts (on the rare occasions i have them in warm weather) at around 10-12. Again it's preference only.

So for me, it varies, depending on the ambient. But I never, ever go below 6-7C (for English styles), no matter how hot the day is. It just chokes the flavour up too much, imo.

 

[Howlingdog]

Last time I visited Fullers @ cheswick, I commented to the barman that I'd had some very warm beers lately. He said, "Not in our pubs - 11 deg.C" He took me into the cellar and showed me the equipment that was installed in all their pubs. He said if he found out that any pub was serving their beer at the wrong temperature he was be down on them like a ton of bricks.

 

[Scruffy]

While I was looking after it, I kept the cellar at the Old Duke in Bristol at 11C, absolutely perfect in summer if it got too hot upstairs, 'i'm just going to tap a couple of barrels...'

Hey Bribie... will this do...?



That'll get 'em guessing... eh??