Ordinary Bitter Ol' Bitter Bastard (2013 NHC Gold medal)

I am excited to post this recipe for my Standard/Ordinary Bitter, which just won a gold medal in the final round of the 2013 National Homebrew Competition! I hope you enjoy brewing it and, of course, drinking it as much as I have. If you have any success with it in competition, please share the news!


Recipe: Ol' Bitter Bastard
Brewer: Patrick Collins
Asst Brewer:
Style: Standard/Ordinary Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (45.0)

Recipe Specifications
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Boil Size: 7.74 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.037 SG
Estimated Color: 8.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type %/IBU
0.25 tsp Gypsum (Boil 60.0 mins Water Agent -
6 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) 83.7 %
9.0 oz Crystal 15 (15.0 SRM) 7.0 %
7.0 oz Crystal Malt - 85L (Thomas Fawcett) 5.4 %
5.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) 3.9 %
0.70 oz U.S. Goldings [4.70 %] - First Wort 13.8 IBUs
0.60 oz U.S. Goldings [4.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min 10.8 IBUs
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min 5.2 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.60 oz U.S. Goldings [4.70 %] - Boil 10.0 min 3.9 IBUs
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs
0.40 oz U.S. Goldings [4.70 %] - Boil 0.0 min 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale Yeast

Process/notes:
Mash at 152 F for 60 minutes. I batch sparge. As you begin to drain your second runnings, add FWH. I add Gypsum, dissolved in warm water, at the beginning of the boil for a little more control than you might get from a mash addition. Note that I use U.S. Goldings (produced by Indie), which I get from my LHBS. I like these better than EKG. If you can get your hands on some, I highly recommend them. If not, no biggie. The Crystal 15 is domestic, but definitely source a British malt for the darker crystal. The Belgian biscuit was a tweak I made when I re-brewed for the final round. I think it gives it more character than Victory malt. I love Wyeast 1469, and use it for most of my bitters, porters and stouts. For this low OG, you do not need to make a starter. As with most of my beers, I ferment at around 67 for 3 weeks, then keg at around 2.3-2.5 volumes. Enjoy!

Congratulations, again, and thanks for sharing the recipe!

This sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, and congratulations. I'll be brewing this one this week!

OldAtHeart said:

This sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, and congratulations. I'll be brewing this one this week!

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Thank you! Enjoy your brew session, and please let me know how it turns out

Thanks Patrick and congratulations on the gold medal! What about US Goldings do you like over the EKG? Is it simply freshnes or some other quality? I'm interested in replacing my imported hops with domestic and EKG might be on the list although I should say I just bought Challenger and Northdown...

14thstreet said:

Thanks Patrick and congratulations on the gold medal! What about US Goldings do you like over the EKG? Is it simply freshnes or some other quality? I'm interested in replacing my imported hops with domestic and EKG might be on the list although I should say I just bought Challenger and Northdown...

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Thanks! It's been quite a while since I used EKG so I couldn't describe specific differences, which are probably subtle. However, from what I've tasted in beers that use EKG, it tends to be woodier, sharper, even a bit metallic at times. But that might just be my palate, or lack thereof. I think what you said - freshness - is probably more important and possibly noticeable. Regardless, I find that a good dose of the US Goldings are needed when used as bittering, hence the FWH and 60 minute addition plus gypsum. Not sure if original EKG would require the same.

That was my next question, regarding the FWH. Sounds reasonable! About the EKG, I've heard that the amount you use (and/or how you use it) can result in "orange marmalade". I can't say I've gotten that from mine, but the pound of leaf hops I got several years ago did not sit well with me. Can't say it was woody or metallic, but maybe a harshness or rough spiciness I wasn't expecting. My water could also be a contributing factor. I will say though that Styrian Goldings (1oz/5gal @ 5 min) resulted in judges' comments as being "too citrusy/American for the style, but acceptable". Thanks for the reply!

14thstreet said:

That was my next question, regarding the FWH. Sounds reasonable! About the EKG, I've heard that the amount you use (and/or how you use it) can result in "orange marmalade". I can't say I've gotten that from mine, but the pound of leaf hops I got several years ago did not sit well with me. Can't say it was woody or metallic, but maybe a harshness or rough spiciness I wasn't expecting. My water could also be a contributing factor. I will say though that Styrian Goldings (1oz/5gal @ 5 min) resulted in judges' comments as being "too citrusy/American for the style, but acceptable". Thanks for the reply!

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The FWH I use to both dial in my target IBUs and I feel it gives my beers a smoother bitterness. The gypsum helps make the necessary bitterness pop. You're guess is as good as mine re: EKG; all I know is I prefer the US. I can Styrian throwing off some judges, so I'd switch to Goldings or Fuggles. We have great brewing water here in Greensboro, NC -- Campden is required, but that's about it.

Thanks for the recipe. Just starting my brew day right now, brewing it today using BIAB. Had to settle for EKG, but oh well. Was looking for a nice session beer, and after an amazing bitter at Magnolia in San Francisco recently, I was inspired to brew one. Excited to try it, looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Brewddha said:

Thanks for the recipe. Just starting my brew day right now, brewing it today using BIAB. Had to settle for EKG, but oh well. Was looking for a nice session beer, and after an amazing bitter at Magnolia in San Francisco recently, I was inspired to brew one. Excited to try it, looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

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Awesome! Let me know how it turns out with the BIAB method!

PattyC said:

Awesome! Let me know how it turns out with the BIAB method!

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Well, ended up with 1.034 starting gravity with BIAB, so off to a good start. The gravity sample tasted good! If all goes well the rest of the way (*knock wood*) should be a tasty bitter. Now comes the hard part - waiting.

Planning on making a version of this, but challenging myself to work with my ingredients on hand, so I will need to make some substitutions. I will post my recipe.

Thanks for posting this, and congratulations!

Brewddha said:

Well, ended up with 1.034 starting gravity with BIAB, so off to a good start. The gravity sample tasted good! If all goes well the rest of the way (*knock wood*) should be a tasty bitter. Now comes the hard part - waiting.

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Sounds like you're on track! Good thing about this beer -- you can get away with packaging in 2 weeks thanks to the low gravity.

libeerty said:

Planning on making a version of this, but challenging myself to work with my ingredients on hand, so I will need to make some substitutions. I will post my recipe.

Thanks for posting this, and congratulations!

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Thank you! Please do post that recipe. Always fun to work with what you have. I need to do that more often. I think I still have hops from last year in the freezer.

PattyC said:

The FWH I use to both dial in my target IBUs and I feel it gives my beers a smoother bitterness. The gypsum helps make the necessary bitterness pop. You're guess is as good as mine re: EKG; all I know is I prefer the US. I can Styrian throwing off some judges, so I'd switch to Goldings or Fuggles. We have great brewing water here in Greensboro, NC -- Campden is required, but that's about it.

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I can relate, I prefer US Fuggles to the UK version.

Congrats Patrick!

Do you have any experience bottle conditioning with this yeast strain? I've had 1968 over-carb and dry out in the bottle

smizak said:

Congrats Patrick!

Do you have any experience bottle conditioning with this yeast strain? I've had 1968 over-carb and dry out in the bottle

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Thanks!

As far as I can recall, I've only kegged with this strain. I'd just be conservative about your sugar addition when bottling. I don't have as much experience with 1968, but I can say that I think 1469 holds the malt and body a bit better, so give it a shot and go from there.

Well, I'm finally drinking my version of this brew. Due to brewing on a tight timeline and the limited bulk grain availability at my local shop, I had to make quite a few substitutions. The grain available was all Breiss, so I used C10 and C90 instead of the C15 and C85. I also used English Kent instead of American, and the one part I most regret having to sub was S-04 for the 1469 yeast. I'd really like to try that Yorkshire yeast sometime soon.

So, even with all those little adjustments, this is a really good beer. It's got a nice maltiness, fermented nice and dry, and is very easy drinking. There's a homebrew competition coming up soon, and I'm going to enter this one along with a few others. I'll post up that turns into anything.

Thanks again for sharing your recipe, PattyC!

OldAtHeart said:

Well, I'm finally drinking my version of this brew. Due to brewing on a tight timeline and the limited bulk grain availability at my local shop, I had to make quite a few substitutions. The grain available was all Breiss, so I used C10 and C90 instead of the C15 and C85. I also used English Kent instead of American, and the one part I most regret having to sub was S-04 for the 1469 yeast. I'd really like to try that Yorkshire yeast sometime soon.

So, even with all those little adjustments, this is a really good beer. It's got a nice maltiness, fermented nice and dry, and is very easy drinking. There's a homebrew competition coming up soon, and I'm going to enter this one along with a few others. I'll post up that turns into anything.

Thanks again for sharing your recipe, PattyC!

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Awesome sauce. Sometimes the best beers come from unsuccessfully attempting to replicate someone's recipe due to limited ingredient availability. Sounds like it turned out nice! That said, yes, give 1469 a try sometime, as well as the British-sourced dark crystal. They are essential, IMO. In the meantime, good luck in the comp! :rockin:

This is a great recipe, thanks for posting. It’s very similar to an OB that I’ve brewed twice, based on Ray Daniel’s great book, and I just didn't like what I made. But I think you’re fixing here what I don’t like about my recipe! I’m not a huge fan of EKG’s bittering and I think your slight bump in caramel/crystal is helpful too (I’m at ~9% and you’re at ~13%).

I too have Marris Otter, medium English caramel malt, and biscuit. We depart with the rest. You’re using more crystal/caramel % over all, and some U.S. crystal to boot. I’m using EKG & Fuggles, you’ve replaced EKG with a U.S. version.

I’ve never used the 1469 yeast but I’ll be damned if the info on it doesn’t sound perfect for the style!

Although, I do use flaked barley, which adds some nice rich mouthfeel, and a pinch of aromatic (I’m an aromatic junky and it’s just a pinch)….I’ll keep those.

And I’ll absolutely track down some U.S. Goldings to try over EKG!

sorry for my noobie ness but what does "FWH" stand for?

First wort hopping

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-1.html

Hi Pat -- congrats and thanks for sharing!

I see you ferment at 67. Do you pitch at 67 or pitch low and ramp up?

mb2696 said:

Hi Pat -- congrats and thanks for sharing!

I see you ferment at 67. Do you pitch at 67 or pitch low and ramp up?

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Thanks!

I try to pitch at around 65. I don't have the ability to "ramp up" temps because I ferment everything in my basement, which usually sits at around 67. But, yeah, it's better to pitch lower and raise temp if you have the means.

Just brewed this a few days ago, looking forward to trying it. Thanks for the recipe!

I brewed this in late July and entered it in 2 recent contests.

3rd place in English Pale Ale categrory - 38.0 points

1st place in English Pale Ale category - 38.5 points
Moved on to Best of Show tasting

Judges' comments included:
Very nice balanced beer. Very drinkable - Professional Brewer

This is extremely refreshing pale bitter. It is very clean. I like the acidity and the malt is well done. Commendable beer. I'd probably finish a 5 gallon batch in a week - Honorary Master (who is from England)

Thanks for such a great recipe!

just brewed this a 10 gallon batch today for a my wife and I baby shower.. thanks for the reciepe

taalhiker said:

I brewed this in late July and entered it in 2 recent contests.

3rd place in English Pale Ale categrory - 38.0 points

1st place in English Pale Ale category - 38.5 points
Moved on to Best of Show tasting

Judges' comments included:
Very nice balanced beer. Very drinkable - Professional Brewer

This is extremely refreshing pale bitter. It is very clean. I like the acidity and the malt is well done. Commendable beer. I'd probably finish a 5 gallon batch in a week - Honorary Master (who is from England)

Thanks for such a great recipe!

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Fantastic news! Congratulations! I'm happy the recipe helped out, but remember it's all about who brewed it, so this is YOUR success! Cheers!

tommyguner03 said:

just brewed this a 10 gallon batch today for a my wife and I baby shower.. thanks for the reciepe

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Baby Shower Bitter? Brilliant! Let me know how it turns out.

i am drinking one right now and its a little early and its only been in fridge for about 10hrs. i can see this beer being great!! i think i should go and get another .. thanks for the reciepe

This is a damn good beer. I usually don't repeat brews, but this is one that I'll be doing again very shortly.

For tweaks (because I can't ever brew something the same!), I might try increasing the mash temp a bit, or try WY 1968. However, this recipe doesn't need anything. It's great!

Thank you for sharing your terrific, award winning, and amazing Bitter recipe. I just brewed my first Bitter, but next time, I will use your recipe in hopes of my brewing an outstanding Bitter.

Well done, I'll give 'er a go. Thanks

This recipe looks great. I'll have to try it out sometime.

hodge said:

This is a damn good beer. I usually don't repeat brews, but this is one that I'll be doing again very shortly.

For tweaks (because I can't ever brew something the same!), I might try increasing the mash temp a bit, or try WY 1968. However, this recipe doesn't need anything. It's great!

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Let me know how it works out with the tweaks. It's always fun to experiment a little, but yeah, I have no reason to do so with this one! I would be curious about the body vs. bitterness with the higher mash temp.

Congrats on your gold medal! That is a huge accomplishment.

One question: in Zymurgy the IBU's are estimated at 19.5, but you give one in the 30's. Obviously something in the 30's is more appropriate for style. So should I assume the Zymurgy version is a typo?

PattyC said:

Let me know how it works out with the tweaks. It's always fun to experiment a little, but yeah, I have no reason to do so with this one! I would be curious about the body vs. bitterness with the higher mash temp.

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I'm interested in how you developed this recipe. Where did you start? How many iterations did you go through before it ended up to your liking?

Thanks again!

I've been looking for a good Ordinary Bitter recipe--one of my favorite styles. I was at 2013NHC and the ordinaries that I tasted on club night were....ordinary. Gonna put your recipe on my brew list.

gbarron said:

Congrats on your gold medal! That is a huge accomplishment. One question: in Zymurgy the IBU's are estimated at 19.5, but you give one in the 30's. Obviously something in the 30's is more appropriate for style. So should I assume the Zymurgy version is a typo?

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You know, I didn't even notice that (and I'm an editor as a side gig). Yes that's a typo. Who knows, I may have typed it in wrong on the online form when I entered it. Anyway, the recipe I posted here is correct so definitely go with that version. Good looking out!

Congrats on the win. I'll be adding thus to my brewing schedule for sure