Ordinary Bitter Bitter Brit Ordinary Bitter

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azscoob

Brewpub coming soon!
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
7,446
Reaction score
313
Location
Lake in the Hills, IL
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1968
Yeast Starter
natrually!
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5 Gallon
Original Gravity
1.035
Final Gravity
1.011
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
35 IBU
Color
8.9 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 days at 67 degrees
Tasting Notes
Great malt flavor, fruit esters with earthy hop bitterness and subtle spice notes
Bitter Brit

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines:


08-A English Pale Ale, Standard/Ordinary Bitter

Min OG: 1.032 Max OG: 1.040
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 35
Min Clr: 4 Max Clr: 14 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics:

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 7.25
Anticipated OG: 1.035
Anticipated SRM: 8.9
Anticipated IBU: 35.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grainbill:
5.50 lbs. Maris Otter Malt
1.00 lbs. Toasted Maris Otter Malt**
0.50 lbs. Crystal 20L
0.25 lbs. Crystal 120L


Hops:

0.75 oz. Fuggle 4.50%AA FWH
1.00 oz. Goldings - E.K. 5.30%AA FWH
0.50 oz. Fuggle 4.50%AA 5 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings - E.K. 5.30%AA 5 min.

Irish moss at 5 minutes

Yeast:

WYeast 1968 London Extra Special Bitter


Mash Schedule:

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 7.25
Mash Water Qts: 7.25

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.00

Saccharification Rest Temp : 151 degrees Time: 60 minutes
Mash-out Rest Temp : 212 degrees Time: 10 minutes
Sparge Temp : 170 degrees Time: 10 minutes



Mash at 1:1 ratio for 60 minutes.

Mashout with approx .87 gallon (grain absorption amount), vorlauf and drain into boil kettle.

Split sparge water into two seperate additions, vorlaufing and draining the mash tun between each addition, (total volume of water will depend on your system).


Hops additions are First Wort Hopping for 1.0 oz of East Kent Golding and .75 oz of Fuggles (the hops go into the kettle while the wort is collected)

.5 oz of East Kent Goldings and .5 oz of Fuggle are added at 5 minutes left in the boil.

Chill to 65 degrees and aerate while transferring to the fermenter, pitch yeast starter and ferment at 65 degrees for 1 day, ramp up to 67 degrees for 4 days and rise to 70 for the balance of fermentation. (If this process is a bit much, a simple 67 degrees for 10 days will work fine as well.)

** I toast my own malt by spreading it evenly on a cookie sheet and putting it into a preheated 350 drgree oven for 16 minutes, stirring midway through for even toasting, place in a paper bag for 7-10 days before using to let it mellow out.

Here is a cell phone pic of the beer, I will update with a better image soon!

bitter4.jpg
 
Vongo, you are going like this one! Quite opposite of the mild, it is malty but has a crisp finish, and a nice balanced bitterness.

This is the beer that the cat dumped on me recently, rubbed up on the tap handle in the middle of the night and down the drain tube it went.
 
Looks very tasty!! :D Nicely balanced and a good colour too!

The grain bill is very similar to what I use as my house brew at the moment. I have fallen in love with a base of 11lb of MO per 11 gal. It really does seem to be the sweet spot for my tastes in an ordinary bitter.
 
Looks very tasty!! :D Nicely balanced and a good colour too!

The grain bill is very similar to what I use as my house brew at the moment. I have fallen in love with a base of 11lb of MO per 11 gal. It really does seem to be the sweet spot for my tastes in an ordinary bitter.

Coming from you, that says a lot! I am going to brew this one up again this week if I get a chance.
 
It's nic to see a pic of a beer that isn't overcarbonated. Nothing trashes the flavor of a bitter like carbonic bite. It enrages me.:)


_
 
It's nic to see a pic of a beer that isn't overcarbonated. Nothing trashes the flavor of a bitter like carbonic bite. It enrages me.:)


_

Yup. it's a buggar though trying to photograph a properly carbed bitter as the small bubbles that ARE there rarely show up at all, not even a bit.
 
It's nic to see a pic of a beer that isn't overcarbonated. Nothing trashes the flavor of a bitter like carbonic bite. It enrages me.:)


_

I totally agree. Maybe it's because I'm British, but I think a lot of the interesting new American beer would taste a lot better if it weren't so damn fizzy!

Cask conditioned beer beats kegged, pasturised, and forced carbonated beer hands-down, anyday!
 
MikeFallopian said:
Cask conditioned beer beats kegged, pasturised, and forced carbonated beer hands-down, anyday!

I disagree, having worked in a craft beer bar in the states and living in England, neither kegs or casks are out right superior but both have styles they favour.
 
I really want to this recipe this weekend, however, I didn't toast any MO. I assume I'll be close if I just use an additional pound of MO. Or is there something I can pick up from AHS that will be close?
 
Azscoob,

I followed your recipe but I am wondering now if I need to pitch more yeast. My fermentation fridge was only able to keep the beer in the primary at 64 F instead of 67. It has been 5 days at this temp and the gravity has only gone from 1.042 down to 1.028. i pulled it out of the fridge and set it in the house where the constant temp is 67F. Should I give it a few more days at this temp to see if the yeast start back up or should I pitch another pack of the 1968?

It looks, smells and tastes great at this point but the ABV is way too low.

Thanks!!
 
Try giving the carboy a gentle swirl to get the yeast back in suspension, that yeast is a bit finicky and can stall and drop out if kept too cold, with it warmed up and roused let it go for a week or so and swirl it every now and again, try not to aerate it, just swirl it a bit.

Hopefully that will take care of your issue!
 
This is a lot like I was planning for my second ordinary bitter. The only differences being I was only planning for a half pound of victory and some minor differences in the hop schedule. Well, in addition, I don't have Maris Otter, but was planning to use Weyermann Pale Ale which is 3L.

On your advice here, I'll go for a whole pound of Victory--I like the taste of it and had considered using a bit more.

When you toast your own, you say you leave it in a bag for a week to mellow. I assume there is no problem with toasting some occasionally and storing it for several months or is there?
 
Orthobrewsky said:
This is a lot like I was planning for my second ordinary bitter. The only differences being I was only planning for a half pound of victory and some minor differences in the hop schedule. Well, in addition, I don't have Maris Otter, but was planning to use Weyermann Pale Ale which is 3L.

On your advice here, I'll go for a whole pound of Victory--I like the taste of it and had considered using a bit more.

When you toast your own, you say you leave it in a bag for a week to mellow. I assume there is no problem with toasting some occasionally and storing it for several months or is there?

That is how I do it, I toast it, once it has rested I vacuum pack it in a bag, I add to that bag each time I toast some, so there is older toasted in the bag usually, and it keeps a long while for me.
 
Sorry to see this recipe slip from the first page. It's a solid recipe, and I've brewed it many times (I sub victory for the toasted Maris Otter).

Not only does it taste great, but I've placed in several competitions with it, including the Bluebonnet, the Celtic Brew-Off, and the first round of the National Homebrew Competition. I don't mean to brag; I just want to highlight how good it is.

And I'm making 10 gallons tomorrow.

Thanks, azscoob!
 
Sorry to see this recipe slip from the first page. It's a solid recipe, and I've brewed it many times (I sub victory for the toasted Maris Otter).

Not only does it taste great, but I've placed in several competitions with it, including the Bluebonnet, the Celtic Brew-Off, and the first round of the National Homebrew Competition. I don't mean to brag; I just want to highlight how good it is.

And I'm making 10 gallons tomorrow.

Thanks, azscoob!

You are quite welcome! :mug:
 
I've been working on an Ordinary Bitter recipe myself. I've brewed it three times now. One has been digested, the 2nd is carbing up now, the 3rd is in the fermenter.

Your grain bill looks very similar to mine. I didn't think about toasted malt, but that sounds like a great idea.

I'm using 3% aromatic malt. I believe I got that from a Charlie P recipe somewhere. And I'm using crystal 10L. I'm also going all Goldings, at the rate of 22 IBUs.

I'm probably going to steal a bit of your recipe. I like mine, but the great thing about brewing your own beer, is you can brew it any way you want to.

Thanks for this post. Looks like a very nice beer.
 
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