Simple Session Bitter

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flyangler18

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
5,557
Reaction score
47
Location
Hanover, PA
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
1275 or 1469
Yeast Starter
yes
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
no
Batch Size (Gallons)
6
Original Gravity
1.036
Final Gravity
1.009
Boiling Time (Minutes)
75
IBU
31
Color
8 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 days @ 65
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
N/A
Tasting Notes
I\'m challenging the belief that all bitters must have caramel notes to be \'to style\'.
[size=+2]Simple Session Bitter[/size]
[size=+1]8-A Standard/Ordinary Bitter[/size]
Author: Jason Konopinski
Date: 4/21/09



Size: 6.00 gal
Efficiency: 80%
Attenuation: 76.0%
Calories: 118.09 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.036 (1.032 - 1.040)
|===============#================|
Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.007 - 1.011)
|==============#=================|
Color: 7.57 (4.0 - 14.0)
|=============#==================|
Alcohol: 3.55% (3.2% - 3.8%)
|=================#==============|
Bitterness: 31.2 (25.0 - 35.0)
|=================#==============|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
7 lb Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt
8 oz Oat Malt
2 oz Pale Chocolate Malt
2.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

00:03:00 Dough-In - Liquor: 2.38 gal; Strike: 165.36 °F; Target: 152 °F
01:03:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60 min; Final: 150.0 °F
01:33:00 Lautering - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 150 °F, 10 min; Sparge #1: 3.09 gal sparge @ 175 °F, 10 min; Sparge #2: 3.09 gal sparge @ 175 °F, 10 min; Total Runoff: 7.87 gal

[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3[/size]

I'm challenging the belief that all bitters must have a caramel component to be true to style; this is more akin to golden or summer bitters though I bumped the color a hair with the inclusion of 2 oz pale chocolate. I'll leave the yeast up to you, but I love 1469 and 1275 for most all my English ales.
 
Oat malt is tits. I originally stocked it for the medieval ale I've written about previously, but I've been tempted to brew an all-oat malt bitter. :)

Awesome name, BTW. :rockin:
 
This recipe looks great. I am hosting a "session ale Throwdown" brew-off in the spring, and I was looking for a nice bitter that was just a bit different. I think I will brew this one.
 
I've had this on tap for a couple weeks now and am enjoying it very much. The oat malt definitely adds something unique that I haven't experienced before. Personally, I would like a little somethign extra in there. I'm toying with the idea of adding a touch more choc. malt next time, maybe just 2-4 oz of the standard variety. I also think to myself every so often that it could use some caramel notes. But over all this is a really great session beer! And I bought 3 lb of oat malt so I'll definitely be making it again.
Cheers!
 
This is going to be the next batch I brew, I have one question though. I've never drank a bitter before so I really don't know what one tastes like. When I put this recipe into beer smith I get a .827 bitterness ratio, is this about the norm for this style of beer? The only reason I ask is because I've done a few IPA's that have a bitterness ratio around 1.000. Are these styles of beer supposed to be that close to the bitterness of a IPA? Also I was wondering how I should build my water profile. Should I lean it more towards the balanced side, or should I adjust it to really make the hops stand out? Thanks for any info.
 
Although I've not brewed this, there's not much in this beer to stand up the level of bitterness IMO. Mind you, it's not a bitter bomb and I'd still drink it, I'm sure it is great! I brewed something similar with 3% crystal (no oat malt) and felt that it needed some age to mellow out the bitterness for the other characters to come through. Otherwise it seemed a bit one-dimensional. I like bitter beers, but I guess I like them more when they are more balanced. 0.8-1.0 BU/GU can be "balanced" but for me it needs more malt. There may certainly be a sweet spot in terms of recipe and aging/serving, etc.
 
The style guidlines for Ordinary Bitter have IBU from 25-40 for beers in the 1.032-1.040 range. So as mentioned, that is about .8-1.0 BU/GU

My experience with this style is that the key is good English Pale malt (Maris Otter or the like) and to mash in the 153-155 range for a nice medium-full body to balance the bitterness. Finally, my recommendation to to aim at the lower end for bitterness the first time you brew one-you are more likely to be happy with a slightly under hopped bitter than one that is bracingly bitter.

Cheers!
 
Update: just cracked open a couple of the bottles of this batch on which I used the Thames Valley yeast (Wyeast 1275, as opposed to S-04 in my kegged batch), and wow! What a difference. Much cleaner, and crisper. The hop bitterness really shines through with this yeast. Everything just melded together much better. 1275 is the way to go on this one.
 
How much body does the oat malt impart?

Good to see you liked the Thames Valley strain. I used it once and am kicking I didn't save some for later batches. My current batch I used the 1882 TVII strain in a 12% crystal/carapils grist that was mashed at 155F before I got my hands on it (AHA Rally giveaway). I made the mistake of fermenting warm, which exagerated the esters from this strain. Along with 75% attenuation, the combination makes this "bitter" not as satisfying as it would be in the fall/winter months.

For something more sessionable, I can see why flyangler's recipe works with this yeast :)
 
I don't find that it adds any body, really. This is a very crisp beer, with a fairly light mouth feel. Perfect for sitting outside on a warm day.
 
Well my brewday for this one starts in about an hour. Looking forward to this one with thames valley yeast and a semi burton water profile.
 
This is a awesome brew! We brewed this up about a month ago and just tried the first few bottles today. We did the brew on a semi-burton water profile and it came out great. Thanks for the recipe!
 
Oat malt is tits. I originally stocked it for the medieval ale I've written about previously, but I've been tempted to brew an all-oat malt bitter. :)

Awesome name, BTW. :rockin:

Would an all-oat malt bitter be gluten free? What temp would you have to mash at, and would there be enough enzymes for conversion?
 
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