Holy shizz I love bitter

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philrose

philrose

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I tapped the batch of ordinary bitter I've been conditioning for the last week.

It's the best pint I've had in months. Why don't more breweries make this style?

I need another pint- I sucked that one down without even thinking about it.

Cheers!
 
Famous movie quote (Almost) :- "I love the smell of epiphany in the morning." :D

Edit: Oh yeah, I have a pint of bitter in front of me too! :)
 
You asked why more craft brewers don't make that style. I think they should! It is a perfect gateway drug to bring more beer drinkers over to the "Dark side"

After a few pints of bitter, the BMC drinkers will soon realize that the world is their lobster (Oyster if you prefer) and start on all the other brews that exist outside of titty bars. :)

It's an evil plan, but it could work! :D
 
I agree. Bitter are great beers. Definition of a session beer. You just want to drink and drink and drink...and you can!
 
Haven't had a bitter yet.

***** Creek ESB by Grand Teton is about as perfect a beer for me, that I have found.

Attempting a clone at the moment.

Will be looking for a normal bitter also.

:mug:
 
philrose said:
I tapped the batch of ordinary bitter...
Click to expand...

Would you be willing to share the recipe?

I just bottled my first attempt at an ordinary bitter, although I'm a bit pessimistic about this one. I tried .75 lbs. of amber malt, and my taste at bottling seemed pretty whole wheat bread grainy...we'll see what happens with time though.
 
philrose said:
Why don't more breweries make this style?
Click to expand...

In the US? The unwashed masses wouldn't drink it because it is different or because it has a lower alcohol content. That leaves the beer nerds. Go check out Beer Advocate and see how popular ordinary bitter is among that crowd.

Basically there aren't enough British expats and beer style geeks (vs big/weird beer geeks, of which there are many) to make it worth while.

A lot of places will make things they call a bitter or even a mild with 5% abv (which of course makes them more like an ESB or a brown ale) but authentic lower gravity versions are pretty darn rare. I wish it were different but it won't be until people will line up outside for hours to get a historically important style versus an over the top imperial stout.
 
A good ordinary is a real joy. I have one queued up to brew tomorrow. If you every get the chance to enjoy one cask conditioned and hand pulled...well you will be really be hooked.

One reason you don't find them on the American side of the pond is most people have no idea what they are. You have to go to the source to get them. You can find the ESB's and the bigger export versions, but the lower gravity ordinaries and best's don't travel well. And I would also suppose some marketing egghead would claim (correctly) that the term "bitter" doesn't market well.

And I would rank an ordinary bitter as one of the best gateway beers for those who drink the pale yellow fizzy stuff. The first response is invariably "it doesn't seem all that bitter". At this point refrain from starting a discussion on IBU's and refill their glass.

As for brewing them, they are not just lighter versions of the pale ales and ESB's. It is a base malt-centric beer, and it should finish dryer than the bigger ales, hence the "drinkability". Limit the amount of crystal to 5-7% and if you like, no more than 10% of a "character" malt like biscuit, munich, victory, or even wheat. Mash low at about 150. Hop early and late and be a bit restrained on the late. I FWH the bittering hops and add a flavor/aroma at 15 min. and dry hop with the same. And crucial...low carbonation and serve a bit warmer, I like 50 degrees or so.
 
I haven't had an ordinary bitter yet, but last night for the first time I had an ESB -- Fuller's, to be exact.

Wow. I could not stop raving about it. My wife is not a big beer drinker, but since she's slowly coming around (and liked the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout) I thought she might enjoy it. I told her that, despite the name, it really wasn't bitter at all.

She took one tiny sip, puckered her lips and said, "Oh, that's bitter."

Oh well, I loved it. I'll be looking for more of the style soon, as well as the ordinary bitter.
 
All the English pale ales are a tasty brew to treat yourself on. I agree I wish more American breweries would brew some. My only BOS beer was a Bitter, man I love that stuff.
 
I dont believe I have ever had a bitter (as per the classification here) before. Ive seen the Red Hook ESBs a couple of times, but our beer selection here is limited at best.
I have a loose interpretation of an IPA right now that was FWHed with an oz of magnums.
THAT my friends is bitter...
LOL
-Me
 
remilard said:
In the US? The unwashed masses wouldn't drink it because it is different or because it has a lower alcohol content. That leaves the beer nerds. Go check out Beer Advocate and see how popular ordinary bitter is among that crowd.

Basically there aren't enough British expats and beer style geeks (vs big/weird beer geeks, of which there are many) to make it worth while.

A lot of places will make things they call a bitter or even a mild with 5% abv (which of course makes them more like an ESB or a brown ale) but authentic lower gravity versions are pretty darn rare. I wish it were different but it won't be until people will line up outside for hours to get a historically important style versus an over the top imperial stout.
Click to expand...


That's the problem with a lot of European styles. Unless they're extra strong, extra bitter or have some name recognition (i.e. Urquell), most of them will be overlooked in the US. You really have to have an appreciation of the beauty of the beer styles and how they developed to really search out and alt or a kolsch or a helles, etc. Even among beer geeks, I bet the majority couldn't tell you what makes a kolsch or alt or bitter.
 
ghack said:
. And I would also suppose some marketing egghead would claim (correctly) that the term "bitter" doesn't market well.
Click to expand...

I pity the guys who first used the terms "Bitter" and "Mild'

In those simpler days, who could have suspected what a future marketing nightmare they were creating? :cross:

Edit: "Bitter" and "Mild' make great tattoos for lady's nipples though. :)
 
artguy said:
Would you be willing to share the recipe?

I just bottled my first attempt at an ordinary bitter, although I'm a bit pessimistic about this one. I tried .75 lbs. of amber malt, and my taste at bottling seemed pretty whole wheat bread grainy...we'll see what happens with time though.
Click to expand...

I made this recipe word for word. Only "substitution" was using the cargill ESB base malt instead of a british maltster's base malt. I tasted the two british pale ale malts side by side at my LHBS, and it seemed more flavorful than the briess equivalent.

The beer has these tiny roast and cocoa notes in the flavor. I'll be brewing this beer regularly. :rockin:
 
ghack said:
As for brewing them, they are not just lighter versions of the pale ales and ESB's. It is a base malt-centric beer, and it should finish dryer than the bigger ales, hence the "drinkability". Limit the amount of crystal to 5-7% and if you like, no more than 10% of a "character" malt like biscuit, munich, victory, or even wheat. Mash low at about 150. Hop early and late and be a bit restrained on the late. I FWH the bittering hops and add a flavor/aroma at 15 min. and dry hop with the same. And crucial...low carbonation and serve a bit warmer, I like 50 degrees or so.
Click to expand...

This is pretty in line with my bitter on tap at the moment, I primed with half my usual sugar I'd use when kegging and raised my keg fridge's temp a smidge.

The character malt in that recipe is special roast. It plays well with the base malt.

The brewing classic styles book is really outstanding for recipes. Buying it was a smart 20 bucks.
 
philrose said:
I made this recipe word for word. Only "substitution" was using the cargill ESB base malt instead of a british maltster's base malt. I tasted the two british pale ale malts side by side at my LHBS, and it seemed more flavorful than the briess equivalent.

The beer has these tiny roast and cocoa notes in the flavor. I'll be brewing this beer regularly. :rockin:
Click to expand...

half a pound of crystal 120?!

I would think that would make it too "raisiny" and thick
 
Last year we made a couple of lower-strength beers along the lines of a bitter and I also enjoyed them very much. With one or two specialty malts (we used crystal 80 and victory) and hops to balance, it was as you describe...a nice easy drinker that didn't leave you on the floor if you had a few, but still plenty of taste to know you weren't drinking water. We just put on a low-OG saison (1.039, IIRC) to pair with the oktoberfest (OG 1.062) as a counterpoint for this reason.

Another thing I liked about making the session beers was I could use homegrown hops (which in the first year didn't produce enough to make that IIPA) without overwhelming them with malt.
 
I always have a mild either in a keg or on the way. After I get my taps onto my kegerator I'm going to seriously look into a beer engine.
 
The slight roast is the main flavor. Works really well with the sweetness from the 120. I can't taste raisin at all.

If you're concerned about thickness, don't worry. After all there is a scant 6.75 pounds of malt for 5 gal. If you really wanted it dry you could use a more attenuative yeast and that would also thin it out a bit. Nottingham would work. It would have a different character but I think it would taste pretty good.

Me? I'm good, this beer is delicious.
 
Just started carbonating my Special Bitter last night. Pulled a sample and it's definitely nice. A little diacetyl that will hopefully clear up as the yeast drops.

This keg is still going to go quick, I can tell.
 
I tend to notice the ordinaries and best really hit their stride about six weeks after fermentation. I brewed one for a party and ended up drink nearly half the keg beforehand. Drinkablity strikes again.

If you can get Maris Otter or Golden Promise, this is a beer that really can showcase them.

And there are a lot of fun British hop strains out there that don't get a lot of use that are wonderful in these beers. It's not all EKG and Fuggles. Challenger, Brambling Cross, First Gold (a new favorite of mine) all have very interesting flavors and are usually overlooked.
 
I love me some bitters! Nearly half of the beers I brewed this year have been bitters of some sort.
 
I've only used the First Gold twice, in bitters. They have a nice spiciness with an EKG grassy/floralness.
 
artguy said:
Thanks for posting the recipe link. I'm going to try this with what I have on hand, which (in terms of adjustments) now means splitting the Crystal to .25lb. Crystal 120L & .25lb. Crystal 60L, and swapping the EKG for First Gold hops. Psyched to give it a try!
Click to expand...

Sounds like a fine ale!:mug:
 
ghack said:
I tend to notice the ordinaries and best really hit their stride about six weeks after fermentation. I brewed one for a party and ended up drink nearly half the keg beforehand. Drinkablity strikes again.

If you can get Maris Otter or Golden Promise, this is a beer that really can showcase them.

And there are a lot of fun British hop strains out there that don't get a lot of use that are wonderful in these beers. It's not all EKG and Fuggles. Challenger, Brambling Cross, First Gold (a new favorite of mine) all have very interesting flavors and are usually overlooked.
Click to expand...

This keg will certainly dry by then :). I agree with what you said about the base malt as well.
 
philrose said:
Gplutt- mild exchange, interested?

I'm making one next brewday.
Click to expand...

I did some "experimenting" and played with water chemistry and used about 1/2 pound of homemade crystal malts in this one. I usually use 1275 or 1968 to ferment my mild, this time I used Nottingham. I just tried a hydro sample..Its a bit dryer than I usually like it, and it has an interesting smoky flavor. I kinda wish I'd have used a bit more crystal. I'll clear it and carb it and get back to you. If not this one, then definely the next!
 
Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:
Edit: "Bitter" and "Mild' make great tattoos for lady's nipples though. :)
Click to expand...

lol.gif
 
gplutt said:
I did some "experimenting" and played with water chemistry and used about 1/2 pound of homemade crystal malts in this one. I usually use 1275 or 1968 to ferment my mild, this time I used Nottingham. I just tried a hydro sample..Its a bit dryer than I usually like it, and it has an interesting smoky flavor. I kinda wish I'd have used a bit more crystal. I'll clear it and carb it and get back to you. If not this one, then definely the next!
Click to expand...

That's cool, I brewed a red ale today instead of the mild & with thanksgiving coming up I doubt I'll have a mild ready to go for a few weeks anyway. Maybe we could target some time before xmas?
 
Brewed up my first bitter today based on Jamil's recipe. Only problem is that my efficiency is ridiculously high (like low 90's) on low gravity beers, so the hydro sample read 1.044 at flameout instead of the 1.038 I was shooting for. I guess I'll dilute it with some extra water in the fermentor, but that takes off some IBU's :(
 
Some brewers are discovering that they can make a Bitter or another small beer for less money and sell it for the same price. They also see it pulling sales from BMC, which means more money in their pockets. Less alcohol also means lower taxes in many states. Monster IPAs may give them bragging rights, but the bottom line is important.
 
david_42 said:
Some brewers are discovering that they can make a Bitter or another small beer for less money and sell it for the same price. They also see it pulling sales from BMC, which means more money in their pockets. Less alcohol also means lower taxes in many states. Monster IPAs may give them bragging rights, but the bottom line is important.
Click to expand...

How many times have you given a "Dark" beer to a BMC drinker and they automatically assume it has a high ABV? In a state where it is not mandatory to put the ABV on the label (I'm guessing all the states) This would be an easy way to trick the little fookers over to the good stuff! :D
 
Ahhhhh...the pleasure of a homebrew ordinary bitter, a beer I have not drank for two years. Screw you travel/work, I'm just happy to be back home with MY beer.
 
Not English, but I brewed the BYO clone of Bitter American and it tastes great!

People can't believe that it's 4%.
 

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