Brewed an Ordinary Bitter...

[Steveruch]

I believe he's in Germany. With that said my LHBS by my house carries it.

Did not know that.

 

[Miraculix]

Did not know that.

It is kind of funny that it is harder for me to get this malt here in Germany than for you guys in the US although UK is in relatively short distance to me.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

It is kind of funny that it is harder for me to get this malt here in Germany than for you guys in the US although UK is in relatively short distance to me.

Special relationship.

 

[Bluekat]

HB honey porter. AIH all grain kit, not as dark as I thought. Very crushable though!

 

[Doctordregz]

I have just a few more pours of the Best Bitter I brewed a while back. Trying to save a couple pints for my son to try, he'll be flying out here in two weeks. You're absolutely right - so easy to make and so damn delicious. And I believe it was one of the cheapest beers I've ever brewed. I will definitely brew it again soon.

Taken a few weeks ago...
View attachment 806898

 

[Doctordregz]

That’s a a beautiful looking pint, I have the same problem here in France, ive managed to turn a couple of the locals onto bitter, but theyre not too keen on overly hoppy beer, although they are all over the IPA’s (Bottled) I serve my beer at room temp but in a pressoir with a dirt floor and no windows!

 

[Cameronl]

Care to share it! I’ve been into ESB’s at the local brewpub.

9 lb - Pale Malt, Maris Otter
1 lb 4.0 oz - Caramel/Crystal Malt - 50L
12.0 oz - Wheat Malt, German Pale

2.00 oz EKG - 60 minutes
1.25 oz Fuggle 15 minutes

S-04 SafeAle English Ale Yeast

 

[Miraculix]

9 lb - Pale Malt, Maris Otter
1 lb 4.0 oz - Caramel/Crystal Malt - 50L
12.0 oz - Wheat Malt, German Pale

2.00 oz EKG - 60 minutes
1.25 oz Fuggle 15 minutes

S-04 SafeAle English Ale Yeast

Simple recipes like this one make usually the best beers!

 

[dwhite60]

It's weird to me that this style hasn't been promoted in the US as a standard everyday drinking beer yet. Marketing teams can surely find a way to make it seem like an American style to the public, if that's even important. It's so easy to make and so very much more delicious than any Bud or Coors etc. product . I guess it's more expensive to produce than our pale lagers? Cool, but there must be some middle ground between Bud Light and imports or craft beer where this sort of drink could shine. I'd buy the **** out of it.

Many years ago AB bought Bass and Co. Took about a year before good ole AB turned Bass Ale into Bud, basically. I emailed them and complained. They of course said nothing had changed and it was still the original recipe. No, I think.

For bitter to get popular here it's going to be the smaller breweries to do it.

I'm not sure AB still makes their version of Bass Pale Ale.

 

[hout17]

Many years ago AB bought Bass and Co. Took about a year before good ole AB turned Bass Ale into Bud, basically. I emailed them and complained. They of course said nothing had changed and it was still the original recipe. No, I think.

For bitter to get popular here it's going to be the smaller breweries to do it.

I'm not sure AB still makes their version of Bass Pale Ale.

They do I had some last November.

 

[eshea3]

We even have that here in England with mild ales. If you call a beer a mild it doesn't sell. So breweries call them something else. So in Manchester we have Hydes Black and Holts Black. Both dark milds obviously.

But has anything better than English Bitter ever emerged form England?! I've hit my 60s and it's been my favourite English thing ever since I was a teenager.

What's your favourite thing to have come out of England?!

Like @Miraculix I like English and American pale ales and alternate between them but my American pale ales are mostly like English bitters with US hops, and around 4 to 4.5%. And I often use a blend of English and US hops in these beers, it works great for me.

My daughter has lived in England for 12 years and I visit there about 2-3 times per year. Bitter and milds are my favorites, but the influence of American hops has exploded over the last few years. Still love to find a Taylor's on cask in the vicinity of her home, most often Landlord. Was lucky enough last spring to find a pub with a freshly tapped cask of Boltmaker as well. Another highlight of my visits was the Fuller's tour (pre Asahi) which ended in the cellar below the brewery where the guide freely pulled samples for about 30 minutes.

 

[TyTanium]

This is a great thread. What are your go-to recipes? The one above looked great.

There's a brewpub in my town (Texas hill country area) that focuses on British cask ales...bitters/milds, all with hand pumps. Apparently the owners spent some time in the UK and had the same reaction all of us had - these beers are amazing and amazingly drinkable. So they tried to bring that feel here. Just missing the accents and meat pies.

And ditto on the pub ale story. There's another brewery near me that made a special bitter, and it just sat. They changed the name to pub ale and it sold out that day.

+1 to Landlord. I seek that out every time I go to the UK. And Belhaven up in Scotland. So so tasty. Also a big fan of the half pints...good for sampling but still feels like a proper beer instead of a little taster glass.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

My daughter has lived in England for 12 years and I visit there about 2-3 times per year. Bitter and milds are my favorites, but the influence of American hops has exploded over the last few years. Still love to find a Taylor's on cask in the vicinity of her home, most often Landlord. Was lucky enough last spring to find a pub with a freshly tapped cask of Boltmaker as well. Another highlight of my visits was the Fuller's tour (pre Asahi) which ended in the cellar below the brewery where the guide freely pulled samples for about 30 minutes.

There are lots of cask ales featuring American hops now. But still plenty that only use English. Boltmaker is good, ive had it a few times recently, I'm only about 30 miles from the brewery but on the right (left) side of the Pennines.

I had a couple of wonderful pints of Black Sheep bitter yesterday, very fresh cask ale. Another Yorkshire brewery. Some good Yorkshire ales out there.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

This is a great thread. What are your go-to recipes? The one above looked great.

There's a brewpub in my town (Texas hill country area) that focuses on British cask ales...bitters/milds, all with hand pumps. Apparently the owners spent some time in the UK and had the same reaction all of us had - these beers are amazing and amazingly drinkable. So they tried to bring that feel here. Just missing the accents and meat pies.

And ditto on the pub ale story. There's another brewery near me that made a special bitter, and it just sat. They changed the name to pub ale and it sold out that day.

+1 to Landlord. I seek that out every time I go to the UK. And Belhaven up in Scotland. So so tasty. Also a big fan of the half pints...good for sampling but still feels like a proper beer instead of a little taster glass.

It hardly needs recipes I think. Bitters vary mostly due to three things I reckon:
Yeast: cleaner or fruitier, and attenuation.
Crystal: amount and colour
ABV: bitters are mostly 3.5 to 5 % here in the UK. And 3.8 to 4.5% covers the majority you'll see on tap.

Winter will see more dark bitters that use darker crystal malts. Summer sees pale/golden bitters with pale or no crystal.

Some bitters have no late hops. Just bittering. Most will have a late addition though and many have a small amount of dry hops added to the cask.

Landlord is all pale malt with a bit of colouring. Invert sugar iirc.

SNPA is kind of like an Americanised bitter made with Cascade hops and Chico yeast, I'd say. A strong bitter. Cascade appears in quite a few English bitters now.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

would you mind sharing your recipe?

thanks!

90% Maris Otter
7% Extra Dark Crystal
3% Special Roast

1.5oz EKG 4%AA @ 60min
0.5oz EKG @ 30 min
0.5oz EKG @ 1 min

WLP002 English Ale @ 68F

A hair under 2 vols CO2.

 

[WesBrew]

I was happy to see a bitter thread pop up. Excited about my upcoming 10g best bitter attempt. Is there a must-use crystal, particularly when using Invert? I put C60 in the recipe but have 80 and 120 also

 

[BongoYodeler]

I was happy to see a bitter thread pop up. Excited about my upcoming 10g best bitter attempt. Is there a must-use crystal, particularly when using Invert? I put C60 in the recipe but have 80 and 120 also

I'm not sure if there's a "must-use" crystal, but in mine (pictured above), I used 4.8% of crystal 120.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I'm not sure if there's a "must-use" crystal, but in mine (pictured above), I used 4.8% of crystal 120.

I used C120 as well.

 

[TyTanium]

For me the key is using UK malt instead of US malt, regardless of color. And for my palette I prefer lighter crystals, but many use 120L+ and love them.

 

[WesBrew]

I'm a little afraid of raisin flavors which i hate but will switch to C80 for now. If I happen to be near the Distant Homebrew Shop i might pick up some UK dark crystal.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

English bitters typically have 5% crystal. Ot thereabouts. Don't go too heavy IMO.

 

[Miraculix]

I'm a little afraid of raisin flavors which i hate but will switch to C80 for now. If I happen to be near the Distant Homebrew Shop i might pick up some UK dark crystal.

You do not have to use crystal at all. Just use 5-10% medium invert, pale malt and if you like a dash of black malt or midnight wheat for colour adjustments. You can include 5-10% torified or flaked wheat for head retention. Keep the ibus around 30 and the abv at max at 4.3% and you'll have a nice British bitter with the right yeast.

 

[Miraculix]

I was happy to see a bitter thread pop up. Excited about my upcoming 10g best bitter attempt. Is there a must-use crystal, particularly when using Invert? I put C60 in the recipe but have 80 and 120 also

Btw. There is a UK ale thread going on since some time, I would suggest to continue there to keep the information at one central place. Easier to find afterwards.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...-favorite-recipe.472464/page-95#post-10196482

 

[WesBrew]

Btw. There is a UK ale thread going on since some time, I would suggest to continue there to keep the information at one central place. Easier to find afterwards.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...-favorite-recipe.472464/page-95#post-10196482

I'm on there. this was specific to bitters so i gave it a shot. I'm still pumped for a big batch of bitter.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Just seconding what others have said, crystal very much has a place in bitters, but use it with moderation, around 5% and ~10% some quality darker variety cane sugar, maybe a few percent amber malt goes a long way in a darker bitter.
Only base and some sugar is enough in a lighter colored one.
If you want something along Tim Taylor, Samuel Smith etc(Northern Style Bitter), going easy on crystal and getting a decent high 70-low 80% AA and relatively high bu:gu ratios is recommended.

 

[duncan_disorderly]

You do not have to use crystal at all. Just use 5-10% medium invert, pale malt and if you like a dash of black malt or midnight wheat for colour adjustments. You can include 5-10% torified or flaked wheat for head retention. Keep the ibus around 30 and the abv at max at 4.3% and you'll have a nice British bitter with the right yeast.

Indeed, plenty of bitters have zero crystal malt. I never go above 8% in my own bitters and I do 0% crystal bitters cos i was a big Boddingtons lover as a young man, and that's a great model for low abv refreshing simple bitters. There are Bodd recipes from various years on the Shut Up About Barclay Perkins blog.

 

[hout17]

Indeed, plenty of bitters have zero crystal malt. I never go above 8% in my own bitters and I do 0% crystal bitters cos i was a big Boddingtons lover as a young man, and that's a great model for low abv refreshing simple bitters. There are Bodd recipes from various years on the Shut Up About Barclay Perkins blog.

When I attempt Ron's 71' Bodds again after this last iteration I am going to do 50/50 maris otter and chevallier and see how it comes out. I love the recipe as is but want to see what some Chevallier will bring to the table.

Just picked up some more turbinado sugar (6lb bag) to satisfy my invert needs.

 

[Miraculix]

When I attempt Ron's 71' Bodds again after this last iteration I am going to do 50/50 maris otter and chevallier and see how it comes out. I love the recipe as is but want to see what some Chevallier will bring to the table.

Just picked up some more turbinado sugar (6lb bag) to satisfy my invert needs.

View attachment 807198

Do yourself a favour and use Chevallier on it's own. No MO. It is probably the greatest bitter malt to be, it deserves the whole stage for itself.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Do yourself a favour and use Chevallier on it's own. No MO. It is probably the greatest bitter malt to be, it deserves the whole stage for itself.

I had never heard of Chevallier. I read up on it, and now I'm VERY intrigued!

 

[Miraculix]

I had never heard of Chevallier. I read up on it, and now I'm VERY intrigued!

It is the most flavourful base malt I know of. IF I would have to choose one base malt, it would be that one. it tastes basically like what we expect when we add a bit of crystal malt to a modern base malt. I just ordered 10 kg from the uk. My next two all grain beers will be a bitter and a london porter, the bitter will be 90% chevallier, rest wheat, the porter will be 30-50% Chevalier, rest imperial.