Which Bittering Hop For An English Pale Ale

[cpsmusic]

Hi,

I'm planning to brew a very basic AG English pale ale using 95% pale ale malt and 5% crystal. I plan to use EKG as the aromatic hop but I'm undecided as to which hop to use for bittering.

One option is to use EKG for bittering but I was wondering about people's opinions of other English hop varieties suitable for bittering an English pale ale.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Phoney]

Fuggles or Northdown.

 

[Lecterfan]

Gday - although there were many other variables (grain and yeast), I tasted some lovely AG english pales and ESBs on the weekend that incorporated Target and Challenger. I would tell you more but things got a bit blurry after a while...

 

[keifer33]

US Northern Brewer is a decent bittering hop for English styles.

 

[Bribie G]

Target, if you are too heavy handed, can give you a bitter twang - Admiral is a good hop derived from Target and is fairly neutral and a great bitterer. Challenger is my pick however, nearly all my two hop UK bitters are along the lines of Challenger/Styrians, Challenger/EKG etc .

 

[cpsmusic]

Thanks, I'm leaning towards Challenger at the moment.

 

[malt_shovel]

Hi,

I'm planning to brew a very basic AG English pale ale using 95% pale ale malt and 5% crystal. I plan to use EKG as the aromatic hop but I'm undecided as to which hop to use for bittering.

One option is to use EKG for bittering but I was wondering about people's opinions of other English hop varieties suitable for bittering an English pale ale.

Cheers,

Chris

Northdown has made a nice IPA for me.

I have a Northdown single hop pale ale on my list to do soon.

Cheers

:icon_chickcheers:

 

[Fatgodzilla]

I use EKG for bittering and heaps of styrian goldings at end for a nice brew. What final IBU range you thinking off? Northdown is good, Brambling Cross (if you can find it) has been a great hop for a number of us.

 

[cpsmusic]

Originally I was thinking of only using EKG - I'm still tossing up whether to do this or not.

I'm aiming for an IBU in the range 30-35.

 

[glaab]

had a couple of best bitters that I used only EKG with last night and it was very tasty. The recipe is from brewing classic styles but I had to sub a couple of things, heres the recipe if anyone is interested. I was a bit worried because there isn't enough enzymes for conversion but it turned out really well. the 200g LME was to get the BG right for 5L, fg was actually 1015-16, Cheers

View attachment recipes.bsm

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Best Bitter, Jamils , I'm not Bitter I'm thirsty
Brewer: Chris
Asst Brewer:
Style Name: English Special or Best Bitter
Category Number: 4
Subcategory Letter: B
TYPE: Partial Mash
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 23.00 L
Boil Size: 5.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.048 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.57 %
Estimated Color: 10.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 34.5 IBU
Bitterness Ratio: 0.726
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %


Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
0.20 kg Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 5.31 %
3.00 kg Light Liquid Malt Extract [Coopers] (2.7 Extract 79.58 %
0.23 kg Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 6.10 %
0.23 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 6.10 %
0.11 kg Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 2.92 %
56.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 29.7 IBU
14.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (20 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
14.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (1 min) Hops 0.3 IBU
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Safale English Ale (Fermentis #S-04) Yeast-Ale

 

[felten]

EKG works well, so does fuggles

 

[Bribie G]

Until the massive big-brewery takeovers, attempts to replace cask ale with filtered pasteurised keg beers of the 1950s and 1960s, Fuggles and Goldings were the principal hops used in the UK.
The new varieties such as Target and Challenger etc came into being to make mega beers and lagers as cheaply as possible. They do have a place however as our palates have become used to them in our favourite UK beers.

It's no coincidence that this was happening at around the same time as Pride of Ringwood was bred over here.

Nothing wrong with an all EKG / Fuggles brew but we are a little constrained in Australia as we can't get the flowers.

 

[beerbrewer76543]

what is a good amount of Styrians to dry hop?

I have an ESB fermenting on 1469 at the moment and a pack of styrians await... :beer:

 

[RdeVjun]

what is a good amount of Styrians to dry hop?

I have an ESB fermenting on 1469 at the moment and a pack of styrians await... :beer:

"Bribie??!! ... there's someone at the door for you!"
In all seriousness, about 1g/L dry hop should be quite OK, 2g/L is perhaps a bit OTT but you probably won't have too many regrets if you try that. :icon_drool2:

 

[cpsmusic]

Until the massive big-brewery takeovers, attempts to replace cask ale with filtered pasteurised keg beers of the 1950s and 1960s, Fuggles and Goldings were the principal hops used in the UK.
The new varieties such as Target and Challenger etc came into being to make mega beers and lagers as cheaply as possible. They do have a place however as our palates have become used to them in our favourite UK beers.

It's no coincidence that this was happening at around the same time as Pride of Ringwood was bred over here.

Nothing wrong with an all EKG / Fuggles brew but we are a little constrained in Australia as we can't get the flowers.

So am I right in thinking that the main reason for the introduction of higher AA bittering hops was because of cost?

 

[felten]

Exactly, more bittering for the buck.

 

[HoppingMad]

This needs a poll! Tastes are subjective.

But EKG is the standout. Some of the other suggestions are sound.

Fuggles? bleurch! Not a fan.

 

[drsmurto]

Nothing wrong with an all EKG / Fuggles brew but we are a little constrained in Australia as we can't get the flowers.

Plugs are just compressed flowers Bribie :icon_cheers:

I use target for bittering most english pale ales other than the Landlord which uses Fuggles.

Challenger and EKG also work very well.

 

[gone_fishing_]

Dr. Smurto,

Do you know how the plugs get into Australia v's flowers? Is it just that the plugs have been compressed and hence, kill some sort of insect/

GF

 

[drsmurto]

Dr. Smurto,

Do you know how the plugs get into Australia v's flowers? Is it just that the plugs have been compressed and hence, kill some sort of insect/

GF

Most retailers sell plugs. If they don't, ask. I have no idea how they are treated.