English Styles

[Mr Bond]

After having dicked around with this style on and off I've gotta say that one of the nicest bitters I made was as simple as 98% MO....2% choc. 35 IBU with Willamette @ 60,30,15,5 and flame out.Nice malt base with very strong hop presence that tickled my fancy very nicely ol chap.

 

[Tony]

I will have to aggree with the "throw the guidelines out the window".

They actually say:

Comments: More evident malt and hop flavors than in a special or best bitter. Stronger versions may overlap somewhat with old ales, although strong bitters will tend to be paler and more bitter. Fullers ESB is a unique beer with a very large, complex malt profile not found in other examples; most strong bitters are fruitier and hoppier. Judges should not judge all beers in this style as if they were Fullers ESB clones. Some modern English variants are brewed exclusively with pale malt and are known as golden or summer bitters. Most bottled or kegged versions of UK-produced bitters are higher-alcohol versions of their cask (draught) products produced specifically for export. The IBU levels are often not adjusted, so the versions available in the US often do not directly correspond to their style subcategories in Britain. English pale ales are generally considered a premium, export-strength pale, bitter beer that roughly approximates a strong bitter, although reformulated for bottling (including containing higher carbonation).

Seems fullers ESB is a nice beer but does nor represent the general trend of these beers.

cheers

 

[The King of Spain]

I have an English bloke working for me (in Oz 12 mths) who has many Uk beer tails. He realy likes his beer and can rattle off stories about many drops. He reckons the most dangerous beers in England are favoured by blokes in the country riding push bikes with cut off cardigan arms drinking ales poured with a hand type pump. They are pretty warm and seem to have all that you need for an immediate sleep

I respect his opinion (not just because he likes my ales) but his prefered commercial drop is a LCPA. He reckons that you (like here) have got to live there to appreciate the local beers on offer.

Any London dudes heard of LCPA. Probably not.

 

[Ross]

Any London dudes heard of LCPA. Probably not.

Hi Deaves, LCPA is available in British supermarkets...

cheers Ross

 

[devo]

I remember when starting out doing AG brews I pretty much did PA's and IPA's using nothing but Target for bittering and Fuggels/Goldings for flavour/aroma. Though not as floral or aromatic as the APA recipes I tell you what, there is nothing better than when you burp the hop flavour repeats on you and suddenly you get a wonderful hop rush.

 

[Kai]

Re the comments on bjcp and aroma, the guidelines say moderate to none for ordinary and special, and moderately high to moderately low for ESB. It also says US varieties may be used. I don't see how that's out of line for what tangent is hoping to achieve.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

After having dicked around with this style on and off I've gotta say that one of the nicest bitters I made was as simple as 98% MO....2% choc. 35 IBU with Willamette @ 60,30,15,5 and flame out.Nice malt base with very strong hop presence that tickled my fancy very nicely ol chap.

hey brau do you think the same grist would work for other english hops as all addittions? eg. EKG, Fuggles,ect.

what where your hopping rates for the later additions about .5g/L ?

cheers
-Phill

 

[warrenlw63]

there is nothing better than when you burp the hop flavour repeats on you and suddenly you get a wonderful hop rush.

:lol: Geez that's very deep Devo. Have to concur though. Dry hopping always does this for me. Have to admit to enjoying it too. Though SWMBO takes a dim view of it.

Think it's getting high time to concoct another bitter.

Warren -

 

[devo]

haha never really been one to follow guidelines, only my taste. I've currently got a PA conditioning that I've dropped 5gms of Horizons in small SS tea bulbs. Looking forward to the results.

 

[kook]

I have an English bloke working for me (in Oz 12 mths) who has many Uk beer tails. He realy likes his beer and can rattle off stories about many drops. He reckons the most dangerous beers in England are favoured by blokes in the country riding push bikes with cut off cardigan arms drinking ales poured with a hand type pump. They are pretty warm and seem to have all that you need for an immediate sleep

The funny thing is, the majority of hand pulled cask beers are lower in alcohol than the lagers that the majority drink. They're intended as session pints (3%-4% ABV), something you can drink 6-8 of over a few hours and still walk (or ride) home coherently. A lot of people presume they're "stronger" and "more expensive" because they're quite often darker in colour than lagers, and have a much denser mouthfeel. Amusing thing is they're usually much cheaper!

I've only been sold a "warm" pint a couple times in summer, with pubs that had a poor cellar. It's usually sold either at cellar temp (8-12), or whatever temp the bars temprite is set to in the case of some pubs.

In my experience, generally the strongest beers sold in the UK are either sold in the supermarket/off license (high-alcohol mega lagers like Carlsberg Elephant) or at Winter Ale festivals. Thats with the exception of specialty bars/stores serving Belgian & Dutch beer.

 

[kook]

Hi Deaves, LCPA is available in British supermarkets...

cheers Ross

Yep, widely distributed though Waitrose. Usually sits next to Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Occasionally next to Coopers Sparkling if the shelves are sorted by country.

 

[tangent]

I call it Lancaster because it'll be a hop plug bombing run from 60mins.

Recipe Overview
Pre-Boil Wort Volume: 46.00 l Post-Boil Wort Volume: 39.00 l
Pre-Ferment Batch Volume: 38.00 l
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.036 SG Expected OG: 1.047 SG
Expected FG: 1.013 SG
Expected ABV: 4.5 % Expected ABW: 3.6 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 27.9 IBU Expected Color: 22.7 EBC
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 % Approx Color:
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 19 degC


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % When
UK Pale Ale Malt 6.50 kg 80.5 % In Mash/Steeped
Australian Dark Munich 0.50 kg 6.2 % In Mash/Steeped
UK Flaked Corn/Maize 0.35 kg 4.3 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraMunich I 0.30 kg 3.7 % In Mash/Steeped
Australian Chocolate Malt 0.05 kg 0.6 % In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - Invert Sugar (Golden) Syrup 0.37 kg 4.6 % Start Of Boil


Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 60 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 30 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 10 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 5 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops At turn off
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops Dry-Hopped

Yeast
Wyeast 1768-English Special Bitter



Comments? Suggestions?

 

[Kai]

Where's the bitter?

 

[tangent]

i figured with only 4.3%abv I'd better not push it too far out of whack.
I think T.D. pointed out if I were going to get it past the beer police, I'd have to call it a Pale Ale, not an ESB.

 

[Kai]

At 1.047 I think you could handle another half-dozen IBUs easy. But, I'm sure it will be fine either way.

 

[Wortgames]

The funny thing is, the majority of hand pulled cask beers are lower in alcohol than the lagers that the majority drink. They're intended as session pints (3%-4% ABV), something you can drink 6-8 of over a few hours and still walk (or ride) home coherently. A lot of people presume they're "stronger" and "more expensive" because they're quite often darker in colour than lagers, and have a much denser mouthfeel. Amusing thing is they're usually much cheaper!

You need to remember that most ale was drunk by the working classes, and in fairly large quantities. Rehydration and refreshment were the key objectives, and once you get much over about 4% it gets difficult to re-wheel a wagon or thatch a roof. The Pilsner invasion has caused its share of problems as the louts adjusted to a higher alcohol content. I used to get plastered when I first came to Oz, drinking all this tasteless icy cold liquid at 5% or more, at the same pace I used to drink pints of ale. Come to think of it, I often got plastered on ale too...

In my experience, generally the strongest beers sold in the UK are either sold in the supermarket/off license (high-alcohol mega lagers like Carlsberg Elephant) or at Winter Ale festivals. Thats with the exception of specialty bars/stores serving Belgian & Dutch beer.

Don't forget Carlsberg Special Brew and Tennent's Super - both really pseudo barley wines at about 9%, but mainly sold one or two at a time in brown paper bags from corner shops. The joy of sipping these particular offerings, directly from the can off an unrefrigerated shelf, is something no British suburban childhood is complete without. (That and Thunderbird, of course...)

 

[tangent]

Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 36.2 IBU Expected Color: 22.7 EBC
Mash Efficiency: 70.0 % Approx Color:
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 19 degC


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % When
UK Pale Ale Malt 6.50 kg 80.5 % In Mash/Steeped
Australian Dark Munich 0.50 kg 6.2 % In Mash/Steeped
UK Flaked Corn/Maize 0.35 kg 4.3 % In Mash/Steeped
German CaraMunich I 0.30 kg 3.7 % In Mash/Steeped
Australian Chocolate Malt 0.05 kg 0.6 % In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - Invert Sugar (Golden) Syrup 0.37 kg 4.6 % Start Of Boil


Hops
Variety Alpha Amount Form When
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops All Of Boil
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 60 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 30 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops 5 Min From End
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops At turn off
UK Golding 5.8 35 g Bagged Whole Hops Dry-Hopped


Better?

 

[kook]

You need to remember that most ale was drunk by the working classes, and in fairly large quantities. Rehydration and refreshment were the key objectives, and once you get much over about 4% it gets difficult to re-wheel a wagon or thatch a roof. The Pilsner invasion has caused its share of problems as the louts adjusted to a higher alcohol content. I used to get plastered when I first came to Oz, drinking all this tasteless icy cold liquid at 5% or more, at the same pace I used to drink pints of ale. Come to think of it, I often got plastered on ale too...

The crazy thing is many british people don't seem to realise that anymore. Theres this stigma around cask ale that it's "strong stuff" and "served warm", even by people who see it in the pub every day. I guess it just comes down to the fact that the majority of beer drunk there is tasteless icy cold eurolagers now. The view is a lot more prominant in major cities though.

 

[Kai]

I like that! Right up at the sweet spot for hop emphasis with a good malt backbone.

 

[tangent]

i can't wait to stand down wind at 60 mins