Best Bitter Special Bitter (1st place HBT Comp)

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Boar Beer

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
530
Reaction score
21
Location
Central NH
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Safale S-04
Yeast Starter
No
Batch Size (Gallons)
11
Original Gravity
1.048
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
36
Color
5.4
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
17
Tasting Notes
Crisp and refreshing
Amount Item Type % or IBU
17.50 lb Pale Malt (Maris Otter) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 94.59 %
1.00 lb Crystal 20L (20 SRM) Grain 5.41 %

3.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 29.4 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (30 min) Hops 6.5 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (1 min) Hops 0.2 IBU

Add 1.0 oz of Burton water salts to the HLT (water used for both mashing in and for fly sparging). Mash at 154 for 60 minutes. Add Whirlfloc in the last 15 minutes of the boil. Cool and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 degrees for 2-3 weeks then bottle or keg.

This beer came in right on the cusp between a Special Bitter and an ESB. I decided to enter it as a Special Bitter in the 2009 HBT BJCP competition. This beer tied for 1st in the Bitters category.
 
ok so brewed on 6/5 used wpl002 for yeast. Fermented around 64 ~ 66. The hydro samples tasted great. I kegged on 6/27 and i think i buggered it. Now it has a slight skunk flavor. :( Its not undrinkable but definitely something when wrong. Oh well, let it sit for a while and see if it gets better.
 
Thats too bad not have a great beer. Did you clean your keg real well? It sounds like you may have got a bug during fermentation. let us know how it ends up after you give it some more time.
 
I had a stout in it previously that had been dry hoped (was a kit that was missing the flame out hops was missing) so i took every thing apart to clean with hot water then star san. hmmmm... we will see...
 
I would like to try this recipe for my first all grain. Where do you get your ingredients? I am from NH too, down on the seacoast. I have been ordering from Mt. Washington Home brew supply. I am a rookie, with only a few extract and partial mashes (kits) under my belt. How would I convert the recipe to a 5 gallon batch? Any insight you are willing to offer is greatly appreciated.
 
Stickey,

I posted this beer recipe using my dad's account. I get my grains from the Fermentation Station in Meredith, but I hear there are some good home brew stores in the southern part of the state (I order yeast and hops in bulk online). I think this is a good choice for a first all grain attempt given the simplicity of the recipe. For a 5 gallon batch I would just cut each ingredient in half and ignore the burton salt addition (you should know your water chemistry before you start messing with it). Another good thing about the recipe is that if your efficiency is low, you'll make a nice special bitter. If you have good efficiency you'll have an ESB. Either way, you'll have a great beer on your hands. Since you've done partial mashes already, you shouldn't have any trouble making the leap to all-grain. Just pay attention to hitting your mash temp, don't slack on your sanitation, and you're in for a tasty beer. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Thanks Jumbo. I just ordered the supplies from northern brewer. They didn't appear to have the crystal 20l, so I substituted caramel 20l. If I can find the time I'll run up to Meredith to get the crystal, if not I'll roll with the caramel and let you know how it turns out. I'm still pretty green to home brewing, so I suspect the difference in characteristics wont faze me. I will be mashing in a home made water cooler style MLT, which I will preheat, but I will probably also take the strike temp up a degree or two. Time will tell, I guess.
 
I just ordered the supplies from northern brewer. They didn't appear to have the crystal 20l, so I substituted caramel 20l. If I can find the time I'll run up to Meredith to get the crystal, if not I'll roll with the caramel and let you know how it turns out

That's not a substitution. :D

Crystal grains and caramel grains are the exact same thing. Some places just call it crystal while others call it caramel.
 
That's not a substitution. :D

Crystal grains and caramel grains are the exact same thing. Some places just call it crystal while others call it caramel.

Sweet deal, then I guess the recipe will remain authentic and I will not have a scape goat if I fail. I know, RDWHAHB.
 
I think this will be the first AG I go for. Might might up the hop to make a ESB. Will chat to someone who knows more :)
 
3 Oz of Goldings, East Kent, following your schedule (roughly) . I was a little shy of 5 gallons on my wort produced and it boiled down to just over four. The home made MLT (water cooler w/ stainless screen) seemed to get plugged with the first runnings (less than a gallon collected)Mashed at 1.25 Qt per Lb , but flowed nicely after the sparge (170 F. for 10 min.) Fermentation began by the next morning and is slowing down now. I plan to leave it in the FV for 3 weeks, as the belgian wheat I recently did (partial mash) ceased fermenting (started out as a volcano) for a while, then took off again. I know I over hopped your recipe by a little, but figured it might come in as ESB. Brew day was a blast, tried out the new toys(MLT and wort chiller) and enjoyed a few of those Belgians with my Dad while explaining how it all works. If AG works out, uh oh, time to build more gear.
 
photo

Success! Thank you for the recipe, we have been enjoying this beer. This is a cell picture, the beer is not cloudy.
 
Brewed it this evening. Here's how it went:

Modified the recipe for 5-6 gal:
9.5 lbs Maris Otter
1/4 lb Cara-Pils }
1/4 lb Crystal 40L } LHBS didn't have Crystal 20L
1/2 tsp Gypsum
1/2 tsp K-Meta (to off-gas Chlorine)

2 oz EKG @ 60
1/2 oz EKG @ 30
1/2 tsp Irish moss @ 10
1/2 oz EKG @ 1

Hit my mash temps almost dead on. After letting it settle I measured 155 degrees F.

I hit a snag when measuring the hops. My East Kent Goldings are at 5.8%AA. I'd already added the 2 oz, so hopefully it's not too bitter. My further changes (due to hop bag actual weights): 0.6 oz @ 20 instead of 0.5 oz @ 30; also, 0.8 oz @ 1 instead of 0.5 oz. BeerSmith2 says I'm a bit too bitter for style... but I'm sure it'll be fine... it's not like these beers are APAs.

I'll try to come back to this thread when I crack the first bottle!
 
Bottled this yesterday, but I did drink the entire hydrometer sample! English beers are good with a bit less carbonation anyway (though flat isn't optimal ;)).

It's excellent thus far! A nice bitter beer... since BS2 says I'm on the bitter edge, that makes sense. NOW I'm looking forward to Christmas (well... that and hopefully a Kindle Fire).
 
This is an excellent recipe! It's especially good after it warms up from fridge temps just a bit (so maybe around 45°F). As I expected, it's just a bit on the bitter edge when cold, but balances out as it gets warmer.

The only problem with this beer is that I only have 3 bottles left (plus a 6-pack I'm reserving for a competition coming up). There may be a few more bottles out there somewhere (I left some as gifts), and they'll hopefully be put to good use!
 
Here are the score sheets... I'm too lazy to go to the scanner, and not too lazy to type them out, so here you go:

SHEET 1

Judge: Non-BJCP
Category: 8
Subcategory: (b) Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Bottle inspection: (checked), no comments

Aroma: (10/12) Malty / doughy aroma. Slight sweetness. No hop aroma.

Appearance: (3/3) Medium amber. Slight lacing. Carbonation is persistent.

Flavor: (17/20) Medium biscuity malt flavor. Hops are present as a balance but do not linger. Clean sweetness in the finish. Earthy element present.

Mouthfeel: (5/5) Carbonation works well w/ crisp flavor. Very refreshing.

Overall impression: (8/10) Refreshing mild, pale ale with just enough strength for special/premium status. Fine job.

Total: (43/50)
Stylistic Accuracy: Classic Example o x o o o Not to Style
Technical Merit: Flawless x o o o o Significant Flaws
Intangibles: Wonderful o x o o o Lifeless

SHEET 2

Judge: unknown
Category: 8
Subcategory: (b) Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Bottle inspection: (checked), no comments

Aroma: (10/12) Low fruitiness and very crisp.

Appearance: (3/3) Great color and clarity true to form. Appears refreshing.

Flavor: (17/20) It tastes great, has sweet (fumes?) and mustiness & smoky tart and sour very crisp and sharp

Mouthfeel: (5/5) Great body not too light but not medium a great middle, carbonation great and pleasing taste

Overall impression: (8/10) Great as a session beer, taste is great and gives a refreshing feel. Body allows for good amounts of consumption. Give me another one.

Total: (43/50)
Stylistic Accuracy: Classic Example x o o o o Not to Style
Technical Merit: Flawless o x o o o Significant Flaws
Intangibles: Wonderful o x o o o Lifeless
 
I'm going to try a 5 gal partial mash version of this - hopefully this weekend.

I'm using 5 lbs MO for the base + 3 lbs of LME

I've got Crystal 15 so I'm planning to add a few oz of C40 too for color.

I'll let you know how it turns out in 6-8 weeks
 
Hi! It's my first post in the forum! :fro: I'm a french canadian and i'll try to speak better i can in english! So i brew your (All Grain) recipe yesterday with little bit more malt (2 row) en little bit less hops. I cant wait too bottle and taste that beer!

Thanx for the recipe and i will keep in touch!
:mug:
 
cshamilton said:
I'm going to try a 5 gal partial mash version of this - hopefully this weekend.

I'm using 5 lbs MO for the base + 3 lbs of LME

I've got Crystal 15 so I'm planning to add a few oz of C40 too for color.

I'll let you know how it turns out in 6-8 weeks

Mine has been bottled about 3 weeks now - pretty good so far, a bit of residual sweetness is present. I've also got a hint of something, maybe astringency? Or it could be that it needs a bit more time to condition in the bottle. I carbed it to about two volumes of CO2 in the bottle, so maybe that's part of it - I know on cask the bitters are fairly low in carbonation.
 
OP: When bottling how much Priming did you use?? I'm making this next week as my first AG with my new cooler.

thanks for posting what looks like a great recipe too.
 
I guess this is posted for anyone who has experience:

I was going to split these ingredients in half and use a mixture of northern brew and EKG for hops. If I had half of each which would you used 1st? Also I will probably use Safale English Ale Yeast. I also wanted to point out that my LHBS only has Caramel to use as crystal. I believe that makes it is Breiss product. Is this an even swap?

Do you think This recipe will work out?
 
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