Ordinary Bitter Pride of Raubsville

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Bob

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
3,928
Reaction score
167
Location
Christiansted, St Croix, USVI
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
S-04
Yeast Starter
if liquid
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
Ringwood; Windsor
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.040
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
34
Color
8
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
until it\'s finished
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
until i\'s bright
Additional Fermentation
n/a
Tasting Notes
Relatively light body, nice smack of hops in the finish.
Pride of Raubsville

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 7.50
Anticipated OG: 1.040 Plato: 10.03
Anticipated SRM: 7.7
Anticipated IBU: 33.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.47 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.034 SG 8.57 Plato


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
80.0 6.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) Great Britain 1.038 3
10.0 0.75 lbs. Crystal 55L Great Britian 1.034 55
10.0 0.75 lbs. Demerara Sugar Generic 1.041 1

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Target Pellet 10.00 33.6 60 min.
1.0 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 4.75 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

DCL Yeast S-04 SafAle English Ale; Wyeast Ringwood; Windsor - all have been used successfully. From a flavor standpoint, I prefer S-04.


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 6.75
Water Qts: 8.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 2.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.19 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 152 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 175 Time: 10


Total Mash Volume Gal: 2.54 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

Further Notes:

This was designed years ago from Designing Great Beers and looking at other recipes. It's a pretty basic English draught ale.

Avoid overcarbonating. No more than 2 volumes in bottle, and 1.8 if draught. Too much carbonic acid gas will mask the hops flavor and negatively impact bitterness.

To calculate for extract/steep or partial mash, simply replace Pale Malt with Pale extract by the following formula:

1 lb Pale Malt = 0.75 lbs LME = 0.6 lbs DME

Enjoy!

THIS JUST IN: I set the recipe up at BMW. There's one for all-grain and one for extract/steep.
 
Well Bob, you've been preaching the 80/10/10 pale/crystal/adjunct formula for a british bitter so long that I've decided to give it a try this weekend. I'll be doing this recipe with only slight modifications in order to utilize ingredients I already have. I'll be bittering with willamette since I have a bunch and it shouldn't affect the outcome, I'll be using wlp002 yeast as I like it a bit more than s-04 in a bitter, and I may have to use Sugar in the Raw in place of the demerara, unless I can find some around here. Looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about!:mug:
 
Sugar in the Raw is Turbinado which, in my experience, is only slightly different than Demerara. In the proportions specified, it shouldn't make a bit of difference.

If an American hops variety must be substituted, I don't think you could make a better choice.

Yeah, I do pitch the 80/10/10 a bit strongly, don't I? :D

Anyway, I wish you all the success in the world. Kindly let me know how it works for you, preferably in this thread.

Cheers!

Bob
 
Will do! I stopped by the local organic supermarket and found some demerara although my butt still hurts from the price rape. Also saw some "barley malt sweetener" in there for $6/lb. Maybe I should start a company reselling DME to hippies!
 
Got it brewed up today and it looks good. Only problem was I forgot to add the flameout hops until after it had been cooling for a couple of minutes. Not much hop aroma in the sample but it's always hard to tell when it's unfermented. I may have to make a hop tea to add after fermentation if it seems to be lacking at that point. Otherwise everything went smoothly. I'll keep you updated with its progress.

3392847097_7f17e0e605.jpg
 
If you find the flavor/aroma low, try dry-hopping with a half-ounce of Goldings per five gallons. Seven days does the trick. When I've dry-hopped it, I've added the pellets to the carboy, racked on top of them, added finings, and had star-bright beer after seven days.

I hope you enjoy the finished beer!

Bob
 
It's been a while since I brewed this one but I'm finally getting around to reviewing it. As stated above, I forgot to add the flameout hops until after the wort had already been cooled a bit, so I didn't have much hop aroma in the wort. Once I fermented, it still didn't have much so I made a hop tea from (if I remember correctly) a half ounce of EKG and added that to the keg and dry-hopped with another ounce of EKG. Well I think the hop tea gave it a bit of an astringent hop flavor so I set the keg aside to age until now. The astringent flavor is completely gone and I can confirm that this is a GREAT bitter. The balance between malt and bitterness is spot on. The crystal malt comes through in flavor, though there is no detectable sweetness. Instead, the beer is dry, but with great body and perfectly balances the bitterness from the hops. Actually, there is a bit of sweetness, but only if you look for it. It's really nice. The overall impression is completely sessionable dryness. It really is wonderfully balanced. The beer is a beautiful, crystal clear medium gold, and poured with a fluffy, dense white head that persisted to the bottom of the glass. Mouthfeel is rich and creamy with a full mouthfeel that belies the low OG. Thick lacing rings the glass. I should have tasted this one a bit sooner. I would have sent it into hte HBT contest instead of my recipe!
 
Wow, that's high praise indeed! Thanks, and I'm gratified my recipe has given satisfaction.

Isn't it wonderful how simplicity can be really, really pleasant? :mug:

Bob
 
NQ3Xs: I've been trying your 80-10-10 using 2 row-crystal-demerara and have enjoyed the results. I haven't gone as low as 6lbs but think I may give it a go soon. Will let you know. Simple recipes often are the best

knigbrian: nice looking hydrometer reading
 
Bob, thanks for your take (in another thread) on nut browns and wild turkey slow-simmered with Vindaloo sauce :)

Does Pride of Raubville exhibit any diacetyl? Reading an article by George Fix I found that lower free amino nitrogen (FAN) levels in wort can lead to increased levels of diacetyl, especially in lower gravity worts that have adjuncts as high as 33%. Of course, your 80/10/10 mantra is not 33% but I wonder, what is your experience? If none, what would you do to increase it?
 
This recipe looks pretty good and I want to get a cake of S-04. I think I am going to have to brew this. Now to find some of this Demerara sugar.


I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Ryan,

You can substitute Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw) without incident. I do that all the time. You can often find Demerara in natural foods shops.

14th Street,

You and Dr Fix are right. However, this recipe's relatively low sugar amounts don't invoke that result. As diacetyl is mainly a function of yeast metabolism, so long as a sufficient quantity of healthy yeast is pitched no excessive diacetyl will result. The only time I encounter diacetyl is when I pitch a yeast like Ringwood, which by its nature exhibits elevated levels of diacetyl. Modern 2-row pale malts (and all crystal malts) contain sufficient FAN to avoid diacetyl production with "normal" ale yeasts in this grist.

Good question!

Bob
 
Bob -

I, too, have noticed your "80/10/10" formula floating about (!) and have been wanting to try it for a while now. Just washed some WLP002, so that should be good to go; hopefully I should be able to get to this one next week. A few questions for you, if you don't mind:

1) If I want to up the recipe's OG a bit (I'm looking for something that comes in at just under 5% abv), I'm assuming I'd just keep the Gravity/IBU ratio the same? I know this takes me into Best or ESB territory, so it won't exactly be the beer you've posted - hope you're not offended!

2) I'm definitely looking for a beer that has that nice bready English quality to it - would you say that this one has it as written, or would you recommend adding in 1 lb or even 0.5 lb of biscuit to get it?

Thanks much - definitely looking forward to brewing this one!
 
Offended? Heavens, no, my dear fellow! Any recipe is a template.

Yes, I'd keep the BU:GU ratio the same, at least for experimental purposes. I'm not certain I'd go above 0.6-0.7, though (the recipe as written is ~0.8); I prefer the higher-OG Bitters to have less bitterness and more hops flavor and aroma.

The recipe as written has whatever "bready" character imparted by Maris Otter pale malt. It might be a neat idea to add a touch of Biscuit. I'm cheap, though; I'd just toast a half-pound of the pale malt in my own oven. ;)

Good luck! Let me know how it turns out!

Bob
 
Alright, I am finally getting around to brewing this. I have all the ingredients and tomorrow is the day. I can't wait!!

Just for reference, this is an ordinary bitter, correct?
 
Allright - just finished brewing this bad boy. Ended up adding some biscuit malt, and used Northern Brewer + Willamette hops for bittering, cause, well, that's what my freezer was a'rockin'. Ended up being a really easy brew day.

Here's the recipe I ended up going with:

OG 1.051

7# British Pale
1# British crystal 55
0.75# Biscuit
0.8# Demerara

60 min - 1 oz N. Brewer 8.1%, 0.5 oz Willamette 4.5%
0 min - 1.5 oz EKG 4.5%

WLP 002

Color was spot on. I'm hoping that the 002 can take it down to 1.013 or so ... we'll have to wait and see. I'll be sure to post back in a few months when I crack the first few open. Thanks for the help - I'm really excited about this one!
 
I about to start a 3 gal / week progression of British ales. I'm going to make an ordinary bitter, brown, porter, sweet stout, and dry stout, in that order, all derived from highly rated recipes here on HBT.

I'm following your recipe as a template for my ordinary bitter. It's my first all grain attempt (though I've done many almost-all grain partial mashes - so it isn't a momentous occasion). I scaled the recipe to 3 gal. I'm following the 80:10:10 base:crystal:sugar rule of thumb, except subbing 8% biscuit in place of base malt, so it will be 72:8:10:10 base:biscuit:crystal:sugar. Not too much biscuit I hope, but I wanted to get enough in there to taste it, for educational purposes. Anticipated OG: 1.039, 34 IBU (Fuggle & EKG).

Going to start brewing it right now!
 
Bob I have to give you credit for an AWESOME recipe. This is a great beer. I have already bought the ingredients to brew it again. I did use WLP002 instead of S-04 though.
 
...the beer is dry, but with great body...Mouthfeel is rich and creamy with a full mouthfeel that belies the low OG.

Where do you think this is coming from? With the low OG, the sugar and lowish mash temp, I would not think this would come out creamy. I've made 2 bitters before and they seem a bit on the thin, dry side.
 
I finally got around to brewing this today. Went smooth. Ended a little higher SG but I boiled off a little too much. Used Magnum hops for boil instead of Bobs original recipe but the rest of the recipe is pretty close. Will post when I taste it down the road.
Thanks NQ3X'(AKA...Bob) for the recipe
Charlie

Type: All Grain
Date: 4/25/2010
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.30 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 80.03 %
0.78 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 9.99 %
0.70 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 31.9 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, B.C. [5.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.78 lb Dememera Sugar (2.0 SRM) Sugar 9.99 %
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale
 
Jeez, guess I never posted a review. Apologies Bob! Anyway, this beer turned out really great. It's superbly balanced, so that you can taste everything (malt, hops, crystal, etc.) without any one element overwhelming the overall experience. For this reason, I think, this beer is also super quaffable - it's very easy to drink 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6 ...) without getting tired of it. It's thirst-quenching, but also interesting, and really really really gets that British feel right. As right as I've been able to get it, at least!

I had 0.75 lbs of Biscuit in my recipe, but honestly, I couldn't really taste it. I think the MO does fine by itself for that British bread-y quality; next time I'm just going to leave the biscuit out. I should also say that after 3 weeks in the bottle my batch tasted pretty grassy (not sure why...?); after another 2-3 weeks or so, though, the grassiness mellowed out a lot, and instead became the enjoyable Goldings earthiness that I'm more familiar with.

I also personally like the fact that this is such a simple and basic recipe - I'm planning on making this one my base to try out different ingredients and techniques to see how they impact the final product (next time I'm going to try mashing a little higher, eg). This is not to discourage anyone from making the recipe as is, though, since while it makes a fantastic canvas, it's also simply outstanding on its own. Many thanks, Bob!
 
I'm planning of giving this recipe a go this weekend. On a whim, I'm thinking of throwing in some toasted coconut. Good or bad idea?
 
Thanks for the review, Palefire! I'm glad it worked out for you. :mug:

Charlie, let us know how it worked, will ya?

DCP - I really couldn't advise it.

Cheers, all!

Bob
 
I'm planning on brewing this up on Sunday. SWMBO might have other plans though, so hold thumbs!

Also, I'm subbing a local hop for bittering (switching Target for Southern Promise) since I can't get Target easily and Fuggles instead of East Kent Goldings (I have in stock).

Will post pictures of brewday and tasting notes when available.
 
Just pitched this one.

I substituted Southern Promise for the Target bittering hops and fuggles for aroma. I love Fuggles, and Sourthern Promise is roughly the same AA as target anyway.

Since it's a variation from the original, I'm going to call it "Pride of Raubsville - The Vuvuzela Herald" :p

Also accidentally let the boil go on too long (before adding the bittering hops thankfully) as I got distracted :mad: Just means I have a little less beer than I really should and the OG is a little high (1.050).

P1070114_thumb.jpg
 
I brewed this a few weeks ago, and since I've learned that some nasty bug has set up camp in my brewery. My fermenter has the same smell, so it is going down the drain. However, I was so excited about this one i'm going to grab the stuff for another batch while I'm replacing my plastic equipment. Hopefully I nipped this sucker in the butt!
 
Oh noez! I hope you have better success with the next batch.

The wise brewer replaces his plastic equipment periodically anyway; it's just smarter that way. I turn mine over once a year.

Bob
 
I may be trying your 80/10/10 model on Wednesday, Bob. I've been playing around with a small bitter recipe for a while, but there's always been just a little something off each time. Not bad, but I keep thinking it could be better. Sometimes it seems tough to get the small beers right. Maybe this formula is the ticket.

Do you still prefer the S-04 for this recipe, or have you moved on to anything else?
 
Here's the recipe I brewed yesterday:

80% MO
10% Crystal 120L
10% Torrified wheat

Phoenix, bittering to 32IBU
Fuggles at flameout

S-04 to make the booze

I overshot my gravity a bit and hit 1.042-43, but it was close to the 1.039 I was shooting for. Still, I guess I can't complain about 80%+ efficiency (except for it being a surprise and all). It's fermenting along nicely, though a bit warmer than I would have liked. Let's hear it late summer heat waves!
 
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