English Best Bitter

[wbosher]

Hi guys,

My old man is a pom, but been living in NZ for about 45 years. Untill his parents both passed away, he used go go back home every few years to visit. He said he bloody hated the place except for one thing, his beloved English Best Bitter.

I would love to make him an authentic EBB for Christmas, or thereabouts, but there are sooooo many recipes for this style is mind boggling. At it's base, it appears to be a very simple recipe, but it looks as though some people really complicate it, which has made my search more difficult.

The recipe that I've come up with below is a very simple one, but just want to know if there are any English folk out there who could give me some guidance...what to add, and/or what to take away.

I've gone with the Marris base because, well duh, English. The pale chocolate to give a toasted flavour, but without darkening it too much. The crystal to add a little sweetnes, but not too much. The sugar to give a little more kick, and increase the OG to within BJCP giudelines, but without adding to the malt. The sugar, I'm really not sure about as I've never used it before in an AG recipe, but have noticed it quite often in bitter recipes.

Hops, well even though it's a very low AA%, I wan't to stick with just the one hop, and I have bittered with Fuggle before with success. I was a very smooth bitterness in comparison with some of my other brews.

Let me know what you think

Recipe: Bosher's Best Bitter
Brewer: wbosher
Asst Brewer:
Style: Special/Best/Premium Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 35.54 l
Post Boil Volume: 30.16 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l
Bottling Volume: 21.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.044 SG
Estimated Color: 17.4 EBC
Estimated IBU: 32.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 88.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 89.9 %
0.25 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (130.0 EBC) Grain 2 5.6 %
0.05 kg Chocolate Malt (700.0 EBC) Grain 3 1.1 %
60.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 27.3 IBUs
17.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 3.8 IBUs
17.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 6 1.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg Windsor Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 7 -
0.15 kg Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 EBC) Sugar 8 3.4 %


Mash Schedule: BIAB My Profile 23L
Total Grain Weight: 4.45 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 38.17 l of water at 69.9 C 67.0 C 90 min
Mash Out Add -0.00 l of water and heat to 78.0 C 78.0 C 0 min

Sparge: Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort

 

[mxd]

looks fine to me (maybe a tad more sugar), and possibly look at burtonizing your water.

N.B I'm not english and struggle to make a good ESB

 

[yum beer]

I would replace the dex with brown sugar or golden syrup.
Looks good though.

 

[wbosher]

I might leave Burtonising the water for another time. As for changing or increasing the sugar, how much would you recommend? I initially started with almost half a kilo, but that pushed the alc too high for what I am after.

 

[mxd]

the sugarz fine, I was more thinking of my ESB's not best.

The best attempts I have made have been with the water salts, to get close to burton, Melbourne wated is very soft so not too sure what your water is like.

Give it a shot and it will come out nicely.

 

[wbosher]

I've never played around with the water before. I did find a water anaysis from the council online, but don't really know what to make of it.

Was also thinking about the yeast. Other than Windsor, what other yeast would fit the style? Was thinking Notto also, but after a converstaion with Dr Smurto (he REALLY hates that yeast :lol, I'm not too sure. May not this time, but am also thinking about the possibility of using a liquid yeast in the not too distant future. Just playing around with reusing slurry at the moment, for the first time.

 

[mxd]

I like 1968, but's probably because I'm trying to do a fullers ESB.

 

[Not For Horses]

S04 is a good option if you want a dry yeast. Some hate it some love it so be prepared for that argument. I have used it many many times with great results.
Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire is a great option if you go down the liquid path, really tasty ester profile with this one.

 

[bconnery]

Windsor makes a very nice bitter. I'd mash a little lower, around 64, otherwise it has a real tendency to finish high.

I believe in the past, and I'm not sure how widespread the practice is now, a lot of brewers in the UK used brewer's caramel, which the sugar you've seen in recipes may be intended to replace.
I don't mind adding a little Lyle's Golden Syrup, but I'd second the idea of not using dextrose.

 

[wbosher]

If I were to user brown sugar or golden syrup, how much would you recommend? And what does it bring to the end result?

 

[yum beer]

Just replace your dex weight for weight.
Exactly what it brings I could not tell you but lots of recipes call for invert sugar and golden syrup is an easy option even recommended by the brewer of Bombardier.

My mate brewed the bombardier a few months back was bloody nice, malty and sweet.

Recipe here:

Bombardier clone CYBI
Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.007 (°P): 1.8
Alcohol (ABV): 5.14 %
Colour (SRM): 14.5 (EBC): 28.6
Bitterness (IBU): 32.5 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)
58.8% Pale Ale Malt
14.54% Brown Sugar, Dark
10.18% Corn Sugar
5.65% Crystal 80
5.65% Crystal Pale
5.17% Wheat Malt
1 g/L Challenger (6.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
2.1 g/L Fuggles (5.7% Alpha) @ 2 Minutes (Boil)
Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes
Fermented at 17°C with WLP013 - London Ale
Notes: Brown sugar is 'invert sugar' or Dark Treacle Sugar or Lyles Golden Syrup. Using CSR Treacle............I don't know what my mate used here.
Ale Malt is winter variety, prefer Perle or Flagon.....will use JW Traditional Ale.

 

[dago001]

I recently brewed this after a bit of a guidance from bribieG. I have it on the Beer Engine as well as a carbed keg. Having recently been to the UK, I was keen to brew some UK style bitters. I have to say that this turned out pretty good, although the warm flat version was certainly more to style. If I were to brew this again and keg (which is a strong possibility) I would carb it a little less than this time (used the Ross method of force carbing)

Brains SA Clone (Special/Best/Premium Bitter)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 4.52 %
Colour (SRM): 11.2 (EBC): 22.1
Bitterness (IBU): 31.7 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

93.48% Pale Ale Malt
6.52% Caraaroma

0.7 g/L Northern Brewer (9.6% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.7 g/L East Kent Golding (4.7% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.7 g/L Fuggles (7.1% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 90 Minutes

Fermented at 18 with Wyeast Irish Ale.

I have also brewed it with nottingham but it lost a bit of flavour compared to the Irish Ale. I step mashed at 62-20mins, 68-45mins, 70-10mins. Mash out 76-10mins

Turned out a pretty good drinking beer.
Cheers
LagerBomb

 

[wbosher]

Ok, I might sub the dex for golden syrup, and up it to 300g. Just plugged that into Beersmith and that will keep OG at about the same as when I used the dex. Still not 100% sure why I'm using it, but what the hell.

I set the carb level in Beersmith to 1.3 vols to keep to style, but it says to only add 37g of dex for priming. That sound way too low me. Does that sound about right?

 

[Adr_0]

wbosher, I actually think your original recipe is really good, just not the dextrose or brown - try Demerara sugar instead as it's awesome. definitely don't use any golden syrup with butter in it.

I would lift your medium crystal into the 7-8% range and demerara sugar up to 4-5%, which is 100-150g more for each. use a good crystal, e.g. Thomas Fawcett medium.

I can understand your sentiment to avoid Burton-ising your water, but check what you water is like - you definitely don't want carbonate or chloride to dominate, and probably do want to lift calcium and sulphate a bit. residual calcium around 100ppm and sulphate in the 150-250ppm range are pretty good.

IBU, I would actually go just a touch higher and add some at flameout, though 5min will probably be ok. more than 40 is probably going to be too high so maybe round your numbers up a bit and aim for 35-40.

enjoy...

EDIT: regarding your water, it looks pretty soft and doesn't have a lot of anything, so I think it could at least use some gypsum to lift the calcium and sulphate as I said above. the phosphates in your malt will steal you precious 18-20ppm calcium so you won't be left with any for the yeasties, so try to put some more in.

 

[wbosher]

I can understand your sentiment to avoid Burton-ising your water, but check what you water is like - you definitely don't want carbonate or chloride to dominate, and probably do want to lift calcium and sulphate a bit. residual calcium around 100ppm and sulphate in the 150-250ppm range are pretty good.


EDIT: regarding your water, it looks pretty soft and doesn't have a lot of anything, so I think it could at least use some gypsum to lift the calcium and sulphate as I said above. the phosphates in your malt will steal you precious 18-20ppm calcium so you won't be left with any for the yeasties, so try to put some more in.

I was with you mate...until here. Guess i need to do some more reading about water.

Edit: I still don't really understand what the difference would be between sugar/dex/golden syrup? The golden syrup in the cupboard is just cane sugar and water according to the ingredients on the label.

Re using quality crystal, will be using Bairds medium.

 

[Byran]

View attachment Basic_Concepts_in_Water_Treatment_by_Tony_Wheeler.doc
Try reading this mate!
Its from another thread and its a great base line for getting into the magic world of water modification.
I made an EBB a few brews ago and it was great I just used dex but upped the cara malts. Tasted just like the commercial ones ive tried. With English hops, malt and yeast you cant go wrong!
Im pretty sure they boil down the sugar water mixture into the golden syrup you buy so there are some nice caramelised flavours in it you wont get from sugars.

 

[Adr_0]

On the sugar, hopefully I can at least partially answer:

Sugar/cane sugar = fructose + glucose. The glucose goes straight to alcohol but I understand the fructose breakdown can create some acids or aldehydes.
Dextrose = glucose. As above, alcohol. Not the end of the world, but there are other means to get there with a very simple change... but if you want, do it.

Golden syrup and demerara sugar are sugars that have had additional processing which converts monosaccharides (fructose, glucose) to higher order sugars, which give you colour and different flavours.

As long as your golden syrup doesn't have butter and is just sugar + water, the difference between that and demerara will be 1-2% and may be better or more to your liking.

Do it.

 

[Adr_0]

on the water chemistry, good stuff to know but a little knowledge or incorrectly applied knowledge can do more harm than good.

2g/kg of malt of calcium sulphate will help you along substantially without pushing past what you want. With 4.3-4.5kg of malt, that's about 8-10g or about 2 rounded teaspoons.

If you're afraid of that, there are people out there that would add 4tsp and wouldn't blink an eyelid, but 1 isn't quite enough IMO.

If you're really really really afraid, you could even add 0 teaspoons of calcium sulphate and be ok.

 

[Lecterfan]

Many sugars add a flavour. Golden syrup, particularly Lyles golden syrup, adds a particular type of aroma and flavour on the back palate. Demerara sugar will also.

I've made lots of English style things with a variety of sugar additions, some were great, some were shit. I've not been (to the UK) but trust the palate of a couple of brewers and friends who have.

I don't think you should add anything to a beer unless you know why you are doing it, and that includes dextrose. I personally won't be in a hurry to add sugars to <4% ales again.

Pretty hard to beat a nice all-grain bitter, one that has had a suitable mash schedule and a design based on the low apparent attenuation of Windsor (if that's what you end up using).

I also think burtonising your water as a blanket approach to making an English style ale is well-intentioned but unnecessary. The fact that there are lots of recipe for this stye should tell you something (not let it be mind boggling) - have a crack at something, make an easy-drinker, carbonate it to one volume or even less, and enjoy!

 

[WarmBeer]

... have a crack at something, make an easy-drinker, carbonate it to one volume or even less, and enjoy!

... with a pocket sparkler.