Input on my first recipe, Extra Strong Bitter

[AlecLeamas]

My lovely wife bought me a Coopers Craft Beer Kit ('Bewitched Amber Ale') for birthday present. I still haven't tasted the bottled product but the bug has caught me.

I have now ordered some malt extract, hops and yeast for a new, extract brew.

I made a recipe at Brewers Friend - http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/250213/ls-extra-strong-bitter . I don't know if it is considered de rigeur to put a link to a recipe and expect you guys to follow it so this is what I am thinking:

I want to do an English Extra Strong Bitter. I am, like most regular joes, really a lager guy (favourites are good pilsners), but as long as I don't invest in more equipment I understand I have to start enjoying ales...

I will use my Coopers 2 gallon fermenter, aiming for a 8.5l brew (slightly above two gallons).

I'll start by steeping 0.1 kg (3-4 oz) caramunch for 30 minutes. Then bring to a boil, add 0.5 kg (1 lbs) of light dry malt extract, and then 10 gr of Pioneer hops. I'll boil for 60 minutes, adding 50 gr (2 oz) of East Kent Golding at 15 minutes. By flameout, I'll add the remaining 0.8 kg light dry malt extract. According to the recipe, I should then reach an OG of 1.055, IBU of 32.

I will cool down the wort in my sink with an ice bath. When it has reached pitching temp, I'll pour it into my Coopers fermenter. As far as I understand, the 11.5 gr package of Nottingham Ale Yeast is filled with more than necessary cells, thus making a starter unnecessary (but would get the fermentation going faster, right?).

I'll keep my fermenter in the basement in a room with a temperature of 16-17 C (60-63F).

What do you think? Will it be a tasty brew? The ingredients are already ordered, but I would appreciate any input on the brewing.

 

[DromJohn]

Looks tasty.
Looks well planned.

 

[JKaranka]

2oz of EKG seems a lot for a 2 gallon recipe after 1/3oz of bittering hops

 

[AlecLeamas]

Thank you both!!

I'd rather be conservative with the hops so point taken. Do you think it will be too bitter or too much hop flavour? I aimed for hitting the low end (32 in this recipe according to Brewer's Friend) of the IBU range for the style (30-50).

 

[Cider123]

"I want to do an English Extra Strong Bitter. I am, like most regular joes, really a lager guy (favourites are good pilsners), but as long as I don't invest in more equipment I understand I have to start enjoying ales... "

Well, if you like pilsners and other lagers then start making those. What? You mean you don't want to buy special fermentation chambers to maintain the correct lower temps to ferment and lager? True, you might not be able to win formal competitions and you might anger the purists. But you can get pretty damn close with ale yeasts.
If you find a good pilsner recipe and instead of s-23 you use 05 and ferment at 63F then cold crash, you'd be surprised how good it is. A lager expert could tell the flavor differences, but the average joe won't. And what if you used s-23 at 60F in your basement? I bet it would taste great.

 

[Qhrumphf]

As much as I love Bitters, they're pretty far from your average Lager. Try going for a Cream Ale, as it's much closer to a lager.

Couple points on the Bitter though:

-Agree on cutting back the late hop addition. You might want to cut it in half, bump it up from 15 mins to 20 mins, and then use the other half of the EKG at either 0 minutes or as a dry hop.
-Drop the Caramunich, and if you can, go for a similar color English crystal malt. It may not seem like a huge difference, but the flavor difference is definitely noticeable.
-I'm not a big fan of Nottingham. I very rarely use dry yeast, and others may have a better suggestion, but I don't like Notty for English beers. I also don't have a good suggestion, as I don't like any dry English yeasts. Of the other options I've tried, I'd go for Fermentis S-04 before Notty. And definitely don't use Windsor.

 

[AlecLeamas]

"I want to do an English Extra Strong Bitter. I am, like most regular joes, really a lager guy (favourites are good pilsners), but as long as I don't invest in more equipment I understand I have to start enjoying ales... "

Well, if you like pilsners and other lagers then start making those. What? You mean you don't want to buy special fermentation chambers to maintain the correct lower temps to ferment and lager? True, you might not be able to win formal competitions and you might anger the purists. But you can get pretty damn close with ale yeasts.
If you find a good pilsner recipe and instead of s-23 you use 05 and ferment at 63F then cold crash, you'd be surprised how good it is. A lager expert could tell the flavor differences, but the average joe won't. And what if you used s-23 at 60F in your basement? I bet it would taste great.

I like that and I'll try (but not now) - come winter, I'll have 50F in my cellar!

 

[JKaranka]

I'll.do some calcs tomo, but potentially too much late. Rather keep an oz to dry hop. As a guide more IBU from bittering than late is a safe way to go with traditional bitters. I personally have no complaints with notty: Reliable and easy to use, good temp range, clean, attenuates and flocculates very well. Less character than other yeasts but that's what you have hops for.

 

[lazarwolf]

for dry yeast, english style, i prefer US04 or Windsor. I agree with the always wise Q. I use Nottingham, but I use it for my Pale Ales.

 

[Bosh]

Wait, you`re putting more than two gallons n a two gallon fermenter? You`ve got to leave some head space or it`ll blow out the top.

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

X2 on S04 yeast not Windsor.