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Post by Megary on Mar 14, 2022 9:09:18 GMT -6
Hello all. Comments appreciated on this (very) Ordinary Bitter. Hoping to make something Andy Capp would be proud of.  I do have some Medium British Crystal available (≈60L). Also, could opt for Magnum to bitter. Batch Size - 3gallons (fermenter) OG - 1.039 FG - 1.010 (ish) ABV - 3.8% IBU - 25-30 SRM - 8 93% - Maris Otter 5% - Torrified Wheat 2% - Pale Chocolate (220L) 25 IBU's - EKG at 60 .5oz - 4.5aa EKG at 5 WY1318 Water - Bru'N Water's "Amber Dry", about 50ppm Cl, 110 SO4. Thanks in advance. |
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Post by Ken on Mar 14, 2022 9:34:57 GMT -6
Hey Megary: Good to see you here and glad to see you could join and post without issue. That beer looks very good. I make this style occasionally and I got it in my head that pale ale malt, some amount of british crystal and torrified wheat go into my bitters but occasionally I will use some pale chocolate and/or midnight wheat to get it a little darker. It says that 2% pale chocolate gets you to 8 SRM which is right in the kill zone, IMO. Cheers Brother.
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Post by Megary on Mar 14, 2022 10:01:23 GMT -6
Yeah, if I were to use the Medium Crystal instead of the Pale Chocolate, I would need almost 8% to get to that same color. No laws against using a bit of both of course, but I can't see the point...unless the Crystal is absolutely necessary to the style. I don't think it is, so I went the way I did. Brew day is Sunday, so I still have time to be convinced otherwise!
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Post by tommymorris on Mar 14, 2022 10:17:09 GMT -6
I use dark chocolate a lot in English beers for color. I think it adds a bit of nutty flavor that I like.
I use caramel but it is definitely not necessary.
I think it’s good for these small beers get most of their flavor from the yeast and hops.
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Post by Ken on Mar 14, 2022 10:21:05 GMT -6
I started playing with double-roasted crystal for a bit. A brewer I know told that it "absolutely MADE a brown ale". I tried it and it was quite "roasty" for a crystal malt. That character mellowed over time which is good for me because I generally do not care for an overly roasty beer. I have a pound of pale chocolate sitting in my specialty malt bin and I keep rubbing my chin about what to use it in. I have some S-04 working for me right now so maybe I should design a bitter based on Megary's recipe. I have some very nice Goldings too. * rubs chin and daydreams *  |
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Post by Megary on Mar 28, 2022 8:17:08 GMT -6
A week late, but this one is now in the fermenter. With such a thin mash, I ended up with much higher efficiency than I’m used to. I was aware that this might happen but stubbornly refused to change my recipe to compensate. After my pre-boil gravity came in high, I decided to shorten the boil. But OG (1.043) still finished high AND I had extra volume! I guess there are worse problems to have. Shooting for about 8 SRM, this might be a smidge lighter than that.  |
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Post by Ken on Mar 28, 2022 15:05:22 GMT -6
A week late, but this one is now in the fermenter. With such a thin mash, I ended up with much higher efficiency than I’m used to. I was aware that this might happen but stubbornly refused to change my recipe to compensate. After my pre-boil gravity came in high, I decided to shorten the boil. But OG (1.043) still finished high AND I had extra volume! I guess there are worse problems to have. Shooting for about 8 SRM, this might be a smidge lighter than that. <button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> That looks great. I put my bitter on tap over the weekend and it came out very nicely with S-04. I hope yours comes out great. Cheers. |
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Post by cliffs on Mar 29, 2022 16:37:53 GMT -6
Interesting. What does 5% torrified wheat bring to the table?
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Post by Ken on Mar 29, 2022 18:20:02 GMT -6
Interesting. What does 5% torrified wheat bring to the table? Not answering for Megary but... Nutty, bread-like flavors and aroma and improved head formation and stability. I have a book (BEER CAPTURED?) that has an extensive list of british ale recipes and many of them contain some percentage of torrified wheat. Since seeing those recipes I use 2-3% in bitters, ESBs, EPAs, etc. |
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Post by Megary on Mar 29, 2022 18:25:37 GMT -6
Interesting. What does 5% torrified wheat bring to the table? I think it brings a nice conversation starter… I’m assuming, what with the proteins, it will aid in mouthfeel and head retention. And be neutral in flavor and not mess with the MO. But, to be honest, many old school Bitter recipes included it, so who am I to argue? A couple days in on fermentation and I’m noticing 1318 is behaving a lot like other English strains…quick to get started and just as quick to finish. Does this sound par for the course for this yeast? |
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Post by Ken on Mar 29, 2022 19:43:36 GMT -6
Interesting. What does 5% torrified wheat bring to the table? I think it brings a nice conversation starter…  I’m assuming, what with the proteins, it will aid in mouthfeel and head retention. And be neutral in flavor and not mess with the MO. But, to be honest, many old school Bitter recipes included it, so who am I to argue? A couple days in on fermentation and I’m noticing 1318 is behaving a lot like other English strains…quick to get started and just as quick to finish. Does this sound par for the course for this yeast? It does sound par for the course. I just brewed FIVE batches in FIVE weekends with S-04 and it starts quick and wants to drop quick. But I know that English strains are likely to produce diacetyl so I move these beers to a warmer spot and rouse them for 2-3 days at/near the end of fermentation. Activity usually starts back up during that time which is good. Then I move it somewhere cooler prior to transferring to a keg. Also, your reason to add the TW to English recipes is the same as mine... many British recipes call for it and I'm a student of this hobby so... I add it. |
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Post by cliffs on Mar 30, 2022 8:03:52 GMT -6
Interesting. What does 5% torrified wheat bring to the table? I think it brings a nice conversation starter… I’m assuming, what with the proteins, it will aid in mouthfeel and head retention. And be neutral in flavor and not mess with the MO. But, to be honest, many old school Bitter recipes included it, so who am I to argue? A couple days in on fermentation and I’m noticing 1318 is behaving a lot like other English strains…quick to get started and just as quick to finish. Does this sound par for the course for this yeast? No clue as to that yeast. I've never used it. But that certainly sounds like english ale yeast behavior. |
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Post by Megary on Apr 23, 2022 18:45:38 GMT -6
Just for completeness… Here’s the first pour from the above recipe:  The positives: Bready backbone, but not “malty” sweet. Perfect bitterness. My favorite part of the sip is that kiss of bitterness towards the end. A dry bite to balance the malt. Just yum. Light body, smooth, clean, very drinkable. Nice head, nice lacing. The negatives: The EKG is leaning a bit too earthy, there’s some some spice and a touch of floral, but not the pleasant English “pop” that I’ve had with this hop before. It was an “Artisan” pack from MoreBeer, so there’s that. The beer is clear-ish, but not as clear as I hoped. Could be brewer’s error, could be 1318, could be the torrified wheat… Very little English “fruit” character from 1318. Not sure this is really a fault, but the description from Wyeast had me thinking I would get a bit of flavor from the yeast. I believe fermentation went swimmingly, 76% attenuation, temp held in the mid to upper 60’s, the malt and hop character of the finished beer is solid. Maybe I need to get that temp into the low to mid 70’s for some fruit?? Overall I’m quite happy with this effort. This keg will disappear quickly. Next pass, I don’t think I will touch the grain bill. I certainly will make sure I have a fresh pack and a trusted source for the hops, and I *might* opt for a different yeast. I’m thinking 1469, if I do change. |
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Post by tommymorris on Apr 23, 2022 21:20:00 GMT -6
Earthy is all I get from my US Goldings. I switched to Willamette for the last several beers and am much happier.
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Post by Megary on Apr 24, 2022 6:09:23 GMT -6
Earthy is all I get from my US Goldings. I switched to Willamette for the last several beers and am much happier. I use Willamette a lot and love them. I have had some good luck with EKG in the past (Fuggles, not so much) and I just couldn’t see making a Bitter without them. I’ll blame MoreBeer and the “Artisan” brand this time, but will certainly consider an appropriate American hops in the future if I can’t get a more trusted source for the EKG. Which begs the question: what American hops would be a nice addition to an Ordinary Bitter? Willamette, Sterling, Cascade… |
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