Style Of The Week 9/8/06 - Bitter

[warrenlw63]

Yes I for one would like to spearhead the "Adopt a Ringwood Smackpack" campaign. B)

Warren -

 

[Hutch]

Poor old Ringwood. I just want to give it a hug and let it know I understand.

Speaking of the unloved yeasts, if anyone wants a British Ale II yeast there were a couple in the G&G $2 bin that came in smacked from the US about a week ago - still good for some bitter action.

Thanks for the tipoff Sam - hopefully it's still there this weekend.
I've got a 500ml starter of Ringwood sitting dormant in the fridge - cultured it up 3 weeks ago from a slant, but not got around to making it some wort for it to munch on yet.
Poor unloved critters

 

[A3k]

Hi guys,

Ive never made a proper English Bitter, but think its about time. Ive recently been trying a few from the bottleshop.

Last week I noticed my local pub, The Avoca, sells beer from Lord Nelsons Brewery in Sydney. So I bought a 6er of Three Sheets and Old Admirable. Really liked them both.

Any way, Im curious what peoples thoughts are on yeasts for this style. I know S04 is the dry yeast of choice, but Id prefer to use liquid if it is better for the style.
However, Im wondering if the yeast from the bottom of the Three Sheets bottle would be good. I think it would, and theres an abundance in the bottom of the bottle. Being Australian, Id assume its fresher than stealing it from the bottom of a Youngs bottle.

So, has anyone tried beer from this brewery, and know if the yeast would suit? If not, can you please suggest your yeast of choice. I dont mind forking out $11 for a propagator if its gonna make a top beer.

Being my first Bitter, I dont want to be put off by a poor yeast choice.

Thanks a million.

Al

 

[drsmurto]

Currently on a ringwood run... ok, so i use this yeast more than any other. Belted out a few bitters and now have it chewing on a stout. Will be making a dark mild sometime soon too with this yeast.

Great ester production, great floccer, a little lazy at times but nothing a swirl of the fermenter wont fix. Low attenuator.

1469 west yorkshire is the other strain that i am a big fan of, mainly due to the ester production which for me is sooo good in a bitter. Not available tho and prob not for another few years.

If you get along to an AMB pissup meeting am sure one of us can hook you up with some 1469, otherwise grab a pack of ringwood.

Cheers
DrSmurto

p.s. also made a bramling cross bitter with the thames valley yeast (1275) that was very near my best ever bitter.

EDIT - fixed pre-morning coffee grammar

 

[mikem108]

A3K, Pretty sure Lord Nelson uses Nottingham, they do at the pub brewery anyhow, don't know what the contract brewers make the bottled product with.
Any English yeast that gives you a few esters is good, am about to do a run of beers with 1275 Thames River Valley Yeast

 

[mje1980]

Hi guys,

Ive never made a proper English Bitter, but think its about time. Ive recently been trying a few from the bottleshop.

Last week I noticed my local pub, The Avoca, sells beer from Lord Nelsons Brewery in Sydney. So I bought a 6er of Three Sheets and Old Admirable. Really liked them both.

Any way, Im curious what peoples thoughts are on yeasts for this style. I know S04 is the dry yeast of choice, but Id prefer to use liquid if it is better for the style.
However, Im wondering if the yeast from the bottom of the Three Sheets bottle would be good. I think it would, and theres an abundance in the bottom of the bottle. Being Australian, Id assume its fresher than stealing it from the bottom of a Youngs bottle.

So, has anyone tried beer from this brewery, and know if the yeast would suit? If not, can you please suggest your yeast of choice. I dont mind forking out $11 for a propagator if its gonna make a top beer.

Being my first Bitter, I dont want to be put off by a poor yeast choice.

Thanks a million.

Al

I've used about 6 or 7 different strains, and they are all good mate. Im using whitbread at the moment, yum yum. Burton ale is another fave, but like i said, pretty much all of the liquids ( wyeast or whitelabs ) will make a great bitter.

 

[BoilerBoy]

Hi guys,

Ive never made a proper English Bitter, but think its about time. Ive recently been trying a few from the bottleshop.

Last week I noticed my local pub, The Avoca, sells beer from Lord Nelsons Brewery in Sydney. So I bought a 6er of Three Sheets and Old Admirable. Really liked them both.

Any way, Im curious what peoples thoughts are on yeasts for this style. I know S04 is the dry yeast of choice, but Id prefer to use liquid if it is better for the style.
However, Im wondering if the yeast from the bottom of the Three Sheets bottle would be good. I think it would, and theres an abundance in the bottom of the bottle. Being Australian, Id assume its fresher than stealing it from the bottom of a Youngs bottle.

So, has anyone tried beer from this brewery, and know if the yeast would suit? If not, can you please suggest your yeast of choice. I dont mind forking out $11 for a propagator if its gonna make a top beer.

Being my first Bitter, I dont want to be put off by a poor yeast choice.

Thanks a million.

A3k,

If your interested trying any of last years Wyeast private collection -1469 West Yorkshire, 1768 English Bitter or 1026 Cask ale strains I can give you a yeast sample to build up or I could even get a starter going for you if you like, I only live a bee's spit from the Avoca.
Just let me know,

Cheers,
BB

Al

 

[A3k]

Cheers for the replies fellas.
Looks like I should get my hands on some 1469 and give it a crack. BB, PM is sent, cheers.

A3K, Pretty sure Lord Nelson uses Nottingham, they do at the pub brewery anyhow, don't know what the contract brewers make the bottled product with.
Any English yeast that gives you a few esters is good, am about to do a run of beers with 1275 Thames River Valley Yeast

That surprises me it would use Nottingham. I thought I could taste more yeast character than that. Not really worth bothering about culturing that up.

Im getting pretty excited to brew a bitter now. Think Ill just take a recipe out of Brewing Classic Styles.
Will be a change from the lagers Ive been brewing lately.

Cheers guys,
Al

 

[Scruffy]

Last nights BABBs caused me to rummage through our crates (still unpacked) and I came across this recipe...

Halcyon pale malt, Crystal, Chocolate, Wheat malt
Styrian @90
Willamette late
Willamette dry - in barrel.
IBU 22/26
OG 1052



Nice memories... might change my first AG 'Bag Brew' from the Hop Orgy to this (and after listening to certain detractors...)

 

[Scruffy]

Last nights BABBs caused me to rummage through our crates (still unpacked) and I came across this recipe...

Halcyon pale malt, Crystal, Chocolate, Wheat malt
Styrian @90
Willamette late
Willamette dry - in barrel.
IBU 22/26
OG 1052



Nice memories... might change my first AG 'Bag Brew' from the Hop Orgy to this (and after listening to certain detractors...)

Yeastwise - I was given a wet lump of white 'putty' by a guy called Chris Thurgeson, who no one knows over here...!! I kept it for ages and used it for everything; I suppose it's like a 1099 or maybe a 1968 - Fruity, malty, but it really let the hops through (dry hopping notwithstanding) ...

Thinking about the taste, I'm quite tempted to try Ringwood (never used it though) - any thoughts?

 

[Gulpa]

Cheers for the replies fellas.
Looks like I should get my hands on some 1469 and give it a crack. BB, PM is sent, cheers.


That surprises me it would use Nottingham. I thought I could taste more yeast character than that. Not really worth bothering about culturing that up.

Im getting pretty excited to brew a bitter now. Think Ill just take a recipe out of Brewing Classic Styles.
Will be a change from the lagers Ive been brewing lately.

Cheers guys,
Al

I was speaking to the Brewer Damien(?) during the recent AHB pub crawl. The Admiral uses Nottingham, the rest use US05. Dont worry, I wouldnt have picked it either.

cheers
Andrew.

 

[warrenlw63]

I'm quite tempted to try Ringwood (never used it though) - any thoughts?

Go for it Scruffy... I reckon it has no equal in a lower gravity bitter with a bit of chewy crystal malt.

Unabashed fan.

Warren -

 

[Katherine]

How do you know how much bi carb to use?

 

[Stuster]

It really depends on your water, Katie. I'd recommend the How to Brew chapter on water chemistry as a first stop. Then come back with more questions. :icon_cheers:

 

[Katherine]

I started on Sunday say this is day 5 for me. I'm going to the MALE meet tonight and will have one or two, but that will be the only blip for the month. Imagine the ridicule if I order lemon lime and bitters :unsure:
Have been walking/jogging 4kms every morning since Monday and eating properly and lost 2 kilos so far.
If I can lose 10 by the end of the month that will be a mighty achievement for me.

On to it... Im being lazy. :icon_cheers:


All of a sudden I just got extremely thirsty! I want a homebrew tho!

 

[RobB]

How do you know how much bi carb to use?

Isn't bi-carb sodium bicarbonate? If so, you might want to think about trying a different salt. Perth water is already pretty high in sodium and you don't want too much in your water or it will start to taste salty.

Your water in Freo could be quite different to mine, since south of the river tends to get a higher proportion of it's water from the de-sal plant. Once you know what's in there already, you can determine which salts to use by reading the chapter which Stuster recommended. The Water Corp can give you this info or PP probably has it already.

 

[drsmurto]

Brewing a bitter this weekend, west yorkie is on the stir plate.

Havent used Simpsons med xtal yet but after chewing on some i am quite excited, more toffee/caramel flavour than the bairds xtals.

My bitters are becoming simpler by the batch.

Plan is 90% TF Maris otter, 5% simpsons med xtal and 5% torrified wheat.

OG mid 40s
All bramling cross to about 30-35 BU (i normally go 1g/L at 20 and 1.5g/L at FO)

Salts - not 100% sure yet but prob a combo of CaCl2/CaSO4 and CaCO3 with the aim of balancing the malt and hops (and yeast). How hard could that be?

My little bro (in age only) is bring his new wife and her parents back from the UK and i am hosting his Oz wedding bash. Since his wife and her parents are poms (her old man sounds exactly like Geoffrey Boycott) thought what better chance to test out my bitter brewing skills than on a yorkshireman fresh off the plane

Will probably brew a low gravity bitter as well but use ringwood for that.

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[therook]

Brewing a bitter this weekend, west yorkie is on the stir plate.

Havent used Simpsons med xtal yet but after chewing on some i am quite excited, more toffee/caramel flavour than the bairds xtals.

My bitters are becoming simpler by the batch.

Plan is 90% TF Maris otter, 5% simpsons med xtal and 5% torrified wheat.

OG mid 40s
All bramling cross to about 30-35 BU (i normally go 1g/L at 20 and 1.5g/L at FO)

Salts - not 100% sure yet but prob a combo of CaCl2/CaSO4 and CaCO3 with the aim of balancing the malt and hops (and yeast). How hard could that be?

My little bro (in age only) is bring his new wife and her parents back from the UK and i am hosting his Oz wedding bash. Since his wife and her parents are poms (her old man sounds exactly like Geoffrey Boycott) thought what better chance to test out my bitter brewing skills than on a yorkshireman fresh off the plane

Will probably brew a low gravity bitter as well but use ringwood for that.

Cheers
DrSmurto

Let us know how it turns out DrS....

I did a mild with this yeast and it turned out fanatastic...didn't like the bitter i did with it though.

Rook

 

[drsmurto]

I do have a small confession to make.....

Have only ever used the west yorkie in my TTL

 

[sam]

Havent used Simpsons med xtal yet but after chewing on some i am quite excited, more toffee/caramel flavour than the bairds xtals.

Looking forward to trying the Heritage Crystal from Simpsons - made with Maris Otter. Bintani have a little bit of info here.

Bitter on.