apologies up front for having metric calculations (from australia). my ingredients are english malts and australian malts but substituting american equivalents would give a very similar tasty beer.
english ales are notoriously low carbonated, and australian bitters (now mainly lagers) are often highly carbonated. i prefer the higher carbonation and a very slight carbonic bite.
ingredients:
3.45kg joe white pale ale malt (american 2-row would substitute well)
220gm joe white wheat malt
200gm simpsons medium crystal (crystal 60)
48gm pride of ringwood (pellets, 5.6 aa%, 60 mins)
1 pack danstar windsor british ale yeast, hydrated
1 tablet whirlfloc or irish moss etc
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient
process
* my brewhouse efficiency is 70%
* single infusion mash for 90 minutes at 149F (65C)
* boil for 90 minutes
* ferment for 10-14 days at 61-62F (slightly higher if you REALLY like the english esters)
* cold crash in primary for 4-5 days
* no secondary required, will clear in keg/bottle
* i bottle condition for about 4 weeks with 2 coopers carbonation drops
* if kegging, or bulk priming, get to about 2.7 for higher carbonation
extract version
substitute the pale ale malt with light DME and the wheat with dried wheat malt. steep the crystal as normal
notes
this was named the "pretty ordinary bitter" as i didn't expect much from it. in all my brewing experience my friends have never loved any beer so much as this one. isn't it always the way? it showcases typical australian pride of ringwood bitterness with higher carbonation (bitey), against a lovely and gentle, almost nutty, english ester from the yeast. they both compliment each other perfectly.
if your windsor finishes on you early as it is known to do, simply rehydrate a pack of US-05 and pop it into the fermenter. it will finish off the fermentation cleanly with no additional tastes, while still keeping the english esters, and allow it to get to the desired FG. my first one finished at 1.014 and it was still very nice. anywhere from 1.014 to 1.008 would be in style and taste amazing. try to keep it at about 4.5-4.8% abv.
more info
http://sexyfuntimebrewing.weebly.com/pretty-ordinary-bitter.html
terrible picture (thanks to my phone but i'll post a clearer one when i have it)
