Barn Floor Best Bitter

[Janx]

We were going to make our house common bitter as the second batch of the day yesterday (another story entirely), but it was such a mind-numbingly gorgeous day to be outside in Northern California yesterday that we decided to try our hand at a Best Bitter (Also called Special Bitter).

18 lbs British Pale malt
2 lbs. Flaked Barley
.5 lb 60L Crystal malt
1 oz Black Patent malt

3 oz Fuggles(3.4%) - 60 minutes
2 oz. East Kent Goldings(4.5%) - 60 minutes

The numbers are dead-on for style. They look like this (calculated):

OG - 1.044
IBUs - 30
SRM - 7.2

Standard infusion mash. We mashed it pretty hot, about 156-158. Pitched it onto the slurry of White Labs British yeast we had going and it was fermenting hours later. Airlock is going 3-4 times per second this morning.

 

[rightwingnut]

The more I read about your daily life, the more I envy you, ya bastard. Workin' from home with taps in sight...40 acres, gorgeous weather, brewing weekly...sounds like Eden, for cryin' out loud! Good for you, man.

 

[uglygoat]

what size batch is this for janx? 12 gallon? i'm gonna break it down to a five gallon batch cause bitter was next on my list. i'm thinking about pitching it ontop of a whitelabs german ale/kolsh yeast slurry so it technically wouldn't be a true bitter, but i think it will be good enough for me

so 12 gallons or 15 so i can begin my dodgey math equation.

 

[Janx]

12 gallons...sorry...should have said that

 

[uglygoat]

thanks mate!

ok i gathered up my ingredients.

i am still doing mini-mashes/partial mashes so i did like this...

4 lbs british pale malt
1 lb flaked rye, they had no flaked barley
.5 lb crystal
.5 oz black patent

the dreaded three lbs of Light DME

2 oz fuggles
1 oz e kent golding

some whitelabs irish ale yeast...

so it's a bit different than yours but along the same lines it should be good!!!

 

[Janx]

Update:

Well, I kegged this one this weekend after three weeks (one in primary, two in secondary). I am absolutely thrilled with this beer. It's authentically British tasting like nothing I have ever made. I have never used British base malts, and that, combined with the hops and yeast strain makes this taste very much like something out of a Sam Smith's bottle. I have a hunch that the White Labs English Ale yeast (this is the actual strain I used...not the British as listed above) is Sam Smith's yeast strain.

In any event, it has this great, nutty, toffee kind of flavor. It has a nice bitter backbone, but not too much. It fermented dry as a bone, and seems to be fairly potent. This one is gonna get served on the nitrogen tap in a week or two.

I'm no Michael Jackson...I've never played "peek-a-boo" with a little boy. I'm also no Michael Jackson and I can't describe beer flavors like most of us can describe the weather. The bottom line on how this one tastes to me is lots of rich, toffeeish malt. A medium brown color. Solid hop bitterness. Unmistakably, undoubtedly British as all hell. There is no way you'd mistake this one for an APA.

Cheers!

 

[esquimaux]

If your yeast was the White WLP002 "English Ale", a lot of people say that's Fuller's yeast. I love this style of beer and will be trying your recipe soon!

 

[ScionOfZion]

I'm going to brew this bitter next Monday when I transfer the IPA--using its WL London Ale yeast cake.

Bitters are my favorite. I haven't been good about keeping a keg because most of our friends prefer the APAs/IPAs.

What did that Nitro system set you back, Janx?

 

[Janx]

I got everything I needed at morebeer.com...you just need a shank, the nitro faucet and a CO2 regulator. Beer gas, at least in my neck of the woods, goes in a CO2 tank, so the regulator is the same as the one you already have. I got another so I could use both gasses at once, and I lease the tank.

So, I'm not sure what it totalled, but no more than $150 for the parts I don't think. It's by FAR my favorite tap, and I kind of wish I had two of them sometimes. It pours sooo nice. This Best Bitter is on tap on it right now and it pours a nice creamy long-lasting head. Yum! Cheers!