First Ag Bitter - Comments Please

[roger mellie]

Greetings Taxdodgers

The low level alarm has gone off in my keg fridge - planning to do a brew in the next couple of days. This time it will be a Bitter - AG#8. I have done some Summer Ales before but always to someone elses recipe (Ross's) - this time I am making my own from scratch and a bit of help from Ray Daniels book.

Looking at my inventory I can do the following - the grain bill is set in stone (its all in a bag from TWOC) so I cant change that much apart from the chocolate.

This is what I have so far - can I get you Bitter afficianados to cast your aspersions/make suggestions

The grain I have available is

4.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 83.3 %
0.50 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (78.8 EBC) Grain 9.3 %
0.10 kg Chocolate Malt (886.5 EBC) Grain 1.9 %
0.30 kg Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (2.0 EBC) Sugar 5.6 %

And the 3 bags of hops I have are First Gold, Bramling X and Cascade.
So this is what I came up with

Brew Type: All Grain Date: 25/08/2006
Style: Special/Best/Premium Bitter Brewer: Roger Mellie
Batch Size: 21.00 L Assistant Brewer: Tom
Boil Volume: 34.11 L Boil Time: 90 min

20.00 gm First Gold [7.50%] (60 min) Hops 18.6 IBU
30.00 gm Bramling Cross [6.00%] (20 min) Hops 13.5 IBU
20.00 gm First Gold [7.50%] (5 min) Hops 3.7 IBU
20.00 gm Bramling Cross [6.00%] (5 min) Hops 3.0 IBU
30.00 gm First Gold [7.50%] (90 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1.00 tbsp Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Table Salt (Boil 90.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 20.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs British Ale (Wyeast Labs #1098) [Starter 1500 ml] Yeast-Ale

Estimated Original Gravity: 1.059 SG (1.040-1.048 SG)
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.008-1.012 SG)
Estimated Color: 31.2 EBC (9.9-31.5 EBC) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 38.8 IBU (25.0-40.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 2.1 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.7 % (3.8-4.6 %)

I know that the OG is way above style - but I never hit my targets (yet) so will get closer to 50.

Any suggestions welcomed.

Thanks

RM

PS - I didnt mention the bledisloe cup once - or the tri nations - looking forward to tomorrow nights game.

 

[Pumpy]

How good does that look!!!

whilst no experience with the hopping schedule , it makes me want to rush out and try it .

I use soft brown sugar I just like that touch of molasses and drop to 250 gms .
maybe 100grams wheat malt (hey just my habit )

I am sure it will be a winner Roger

Pumpy

 

[roger mellie]

How good does that look!!!

whilst no experience with the hopping schedule , it makes me want to rush out and try it .

I use soft brown sugar I just like that touch of molasses and drop to 250 gms .
maybe 100grams wheat malt (hey just my habit )

I am sure it will be a winner Roger

Pumpy

Im a bit concerned about the sugar bit - reading Ray Daniels book a fair percentage of bitters have up to 10% of the grist made up of maltose or cane sugar.

Can someone put in simple terms the effect of the various sugars and their nett effect.

Pumpy - is there any reason you use brown sugar - sounds better than plain old white sugar. As for wheat malt - I would have used Torrified wheat if I could have got hold of some - a bit scarce from all accounts.

RM

Edit : Spelling

 

[warrenlw63]

Looks tops Roger.

One contradictory point. British brewers may use sugar. IMO it's purely economics. h34r: I dabbled with the stuff for a few years only to find that an all-malt brew always seems more rewarding.

Try hard as I did to convince myself that sugar is a "must ingredient" for a bitter it never convinced me.

Actually judging by your OG you can pretty much dump the sugar without remorse.

I'd be aiming around 1.050(pref)-1.055 absolute max should sit with the 38-40 IBUs quite well.

Enjoy the beer.

Warren -

 

[mje1980]

I use sugar in all my bitters. For me it lightens the body, and makes it quite easy to drink four or five in a row. I find when i dont put sugar in, the beers can be a tad cloying, especially if you're brewing around the 1.050 mark. But that's just me.

 

[Sean]

Looks tops Roger.

One contradictory point. British brewers may use sugar. IMO it's purely economics. h34r: I dabbled with the stuff for a few years only to find that an all-malt brew always seems more rewarding.

Try hard as I did to convince myself that sugar is a "must ingredient" for a bitter it never convinced me.

Sugar certainly isn't a "must" ingredient. While some of the very best bitters are brewed with sugar (eg Adnams and Harveys) many are not.

I use sugar in all my bitters. For me it lightens the body, and makes it quite easy to drink four or five in a row. I find when i dont put sugar in, the beers can be a tad cloying, especially if you're brewing around the 1.050 mark. But that's just me.

But then I wouldn't call something as strong as that a bitter.

 

[roger mellie]

Thanks for the feedback chaps.

Bugger it - I might leave the sugar out for this one and do a comparitive brew next time with the sugar in.

Will help to get the OG down to < 1.050 as well.

Starter bubbbling away - all systems go

RM

 

[Pumpy]

[[/quote]

Im a bit concerned about the sugar bit - reading Ray Daniels book a fair percentage of bitters have up to 10% of the grist made up of maltose or cane sugar.

Can someone put in simple terms the effect of the various sugars and their nett effect.

Pumpy - is there any reason you use brown sugar - sounds better than plain old white sugar. As for wheat malt - I would have used Torrified wheat if I could have got hold of some - a bit scarce from all accounts.

RM

Edit : Spelling
[/quote]


Roger you will be Ok with 250 gms of sugar

Unrefined white sugar imparts little flavour to the brew that is why I prefer the Soft brown sugar for its molasses content .

The Torrified wheat has no flavour so I replace with the Wheat malt .

It is all about personal taste and I am sure your brew will be great either way .

Pumpy

 

[Voosher]

This is what I have so far - can I get you Bitter afficianados to cast your aspersions/make suggestions

The grain I have available is

4.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 83.3 %
0.50 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (78.8 EBC) Grain 9.3 %
0.10 kg Chocolate Malt (886.5 EBC) Grain 1.9 %
0.30 kg Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (2.0 EBC) Sugar 5.6 %

And the 3 bags of hops I have are First Gold, Bramling X and Cascade.
So this is what I came up with
Estimated Original Gravity: 1.059 SG (1.040-1.048 SG)
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.008-1.012 SG)
Estimated Color: 31.2 EBC (9.9-31.5 EBC) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 38.8 IBU (25.0-40.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 2.1 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.7 % (3.8-4.6 %)

I know that the OG is way above style - but I never hit my targets (yet) so will get closer to 50.

Any suggestions welcomed.

Thanks

RM

I've got to agree with some of the other comments. I like the look of the grist. The lighter crystal and the chocolate should work well together.
The one comment I'd make is in regard to bitterness.
For Bitters with Choc malt I tend to back off the bitterness a touch compared with grists with just standard crystal. If you feel you may fall short of your target gravity you may want to make sure you back the bitterness off in proportion.
I'm also more aligned the "no sugar faction". It never did much for me but it dries the beer out a little and lightens the body. If I want those characteristics I prefer to mash at slightly lower temps. By the same token it is all about personal taste so your idea of trying it both ways is the smart option.

Enjoy.
:beer:

 

[roger mellie]

I've got to agree with some of the other comments. I like the look of the grist. The lighter crystal and the chocolate should work well together.
The one comment I'd make is in regard to bitterness.
For Bitters with Choc malt I tend to back off the bitterness a touch compared with grists with just standard crystal. If you feel you may fall short of your target gravity you may want to make sure you back the bitterness off in proportion.
I'm also more aligned the "no sugar faction". It never did much for me but it dries the beer out a little and lightens the body. If I want those characteristics I prefer to mash at slightly lower temps. By the same token it is all about personal taste so your idea of trying it both ways is the smart option.

Enjoy.
:beer:

Well that definitely settles it - the 2 brews I have done with the 1098 yeast have produced a much drier result that the US-56 I used for my summer ales. Fruitier but drier - so if you reckon the sugar will dry it out even more....

The sugars gone.

RM