Ordinary Bitter "Pretty Ordinary" - an Australian/English Bitter

[b-boy]

Brewing this again for a party in August. I usually do the Centennial Blonde, but I thought I'd do this for a change of pace. This time I will pay attention to my IBUs. I really this beer though (even at 60 IBUs). It's good to have a nice low ABV beer around.

Just ordered all the ingredients. Should be about 50 people there, so I will get you some good feedback on this recipe.

 

[themox]

Brewing this again for a party in August. I usually do the Centennial Blonde, but I thought I'd do this for a change of pace. This time I will pay attention to my IBUs. I really this beer though (even at 60 IBUs). It's good to have a nice low ABV beer around.

Just ordered all the ingredients. Should be about 50 people there, so I will get you some good feedback on this recipe.

sounds great mate! throwing a bit of an aussie swing on the party haha. would love some more feedback on it. you have me curious as to how it might taste with 60 but yeah, halve that and you'll be smack bang on the money i reckon mate

 

[themox]

Brewing this again for a party in August. I usually do the Centennial Blonde, but I thought I'd do this for a change of pace. This time I will pay attention to my IBUs. I really this beer though (even at 60 IBUs). It's good to have a nice low ABV beer around.

Just ordered all the ingredients. Should be about 50 people there, so I will get you some good feedback on this recipe.

how'd the beer fare at your party mate? or has the party not happened yet?

 

[b-boy]

Party was tonight. I had a stout, a Hefe, a pale ale, a Kentucky Common and your beer (I called it Aussie Ale). It was a huge hit. I went through about 5 US gallons. I got the most compliments on your beer by far. The Hefe was a distant second. I had several people who don't drink craft beer who absolutely loved it. Everyone kept asking what made it Australian. I told them about the Pride of Ringwood hops. They didn't understand, so I told them I got the recipe from an Australian guy. That they understood.

 

[themox]

Party was tonight. I had a stout, a Hefe, a pale ale, a Kentucky Common and your beer (I called it Aussie Ale). It was a huge hit. I went through about 5 US gallons. I got the most compliments on your beer by far. The Hefe was a distant second. I had several people who don't drink craft beer who absolutely loved it. Everyone kept asking what made it Australian. I told them about the Pride of Ringwood hops. They didn't understand, so I told them I got the recipe from an Australian guy. That they understood.

hahahahaha, that's a classic.

i'm stoked to hear it went down well. i might try it a bit hoppier and see how it goes for me. what was your IBU for it?

 

[b-boy]

This one came in right at 30 IBUs. Good stuff. I will definitely keep a keg of this around.

 

[themox]

happy to announce this beer received 6th place (out of 65 judged beers) in a recent competition in sydney, NSW.

really happy how it's been received!

the new recipe was:

2-row - 86%
crystal 40-60 - 7%
wheat - 5%
victory/amber - 2%
same hop addition
wlp013 at 68F

 

[b-boy]

Congratulations!

 

[tgif]

Bbeerr

 

[brisboy]

Looks tasty as! Have drunk plenty of beers with Pride of Ringwood and it's the proper Aussie bittering hop, hey. Must be time to get some as I haven't actually brewed with it yet.

My only dissapointment with this recipe is the apology for using metric. Don't make it too easy for 'em, mate.

 

[themox]

Looks tasty as! Have drunk plenty of beers with Pride of Ringwood and it's the proper Aussie bittering hop, hey. Must be time to get some as I haven't actually brewed with it yet.

My only dissapointment with this recipe is the apology for using metric. Don't make it too easy for 'em, mate.

haha, yeah mate, give it a go. it's super simple. when you've had enough of ipa fruity bombs or malt forward beers, this guy just hits the nail on the head.

and true; i'll keep on with metric. makes it a sh!tload easier

 

[b-boy]

You people and your metrics.

Actually, I've tried cutting over to metrics. I have a science background, and I'm very comfortable using metric units. When I was in school in the 70s, we were all taught metric, and were told that the US would switch over in a few years. It never happened.

I've tried to find metric tape measures and tools. They are almost impossible to find. Plus, any blueprints or plans you use are in US units anyway, so you have to convert everything.

I recently took a welding class. Everything was in US units. I asked why they didn't switch to metric units for simplicity and they looked at me like I was nuts. Try adding 3' 7-3/4"+3-14/16"+9-3/8"+1' 3-1/8" inches in your head. It's insane.

You just can't do it in the US. I don't see it happening anytime soon.

 

[b-boy]

It's been a few years. I'm doing this one again.

 

[themox]

It's been a few years. I'm doing this one again.

only just saw this (i rarely log in anymore).

how did it go? any changes?

i think i'll have to re-make this one. i prefer the version with wlp013

 

[b-boy]

It came out great. I made it with the correct # of IBUs this time.

My friend and I split the batch. He liked it as well. It's good stuff!

 

[z-bob]

I have some Australian hops in the freezer; been wondering what to do with them. But they are Super Alpha (a.k.a. Dr. Rudi) instead of PoR. Might give this a go anyway because I think I have all the other ingredients.

 

[b-boy]

It's a nice, mild beer. Very drinkable.

If you like English bitters, you'll love this.

 

[themox]

I have some Australian hops in the freezer; been wondering what to do with them. But they are Super Alpha (a.k.a. Dr. Rudi) instead of PoR. Might give this a go anyway because I think I have all the other ingredients.

nice! let me know how it goes mate.

i've tailored the recipe a bit but the original is still great. i prefer wlp013 for the yeast, if you can source it.

 

[themox]

this is the most recent picture

 

[Westeinder Brouwerij]

apologies up front for having metric calculations (from australia). my ingredients are english malts and australian malts but substituting american equivalents would give a very similar tasty beer.

english ales are notoriously low carbonated, and australian bitters (now mainly lagers) are often highly carbonated. i prefer the higher carbonation and a very slight carbonic bite.

ingredients:
3.45kg joe white pale ale malt (american 2-row would substitute well)
220gm joe white wheat malt
200gm simpsons medium crystal (crystal 60)
48gm pride of ringwood (pellets, 5.6 aa%, 60 mins)
1 pack danstar windsor british ale yeast, hydrated
1 tablet whirlfloc or irish moss etc
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient

process
* my brewhouse efficiency is 70%
* single infusion mash for 90 minutes at 149F (65C)
* boil for 90 minutes
* ferment for 10-14 days at 61-62F (slightly higher if you REALLY like the english esters)
* cold crash in primary for 4-5 days
* no secondary required, will clear in keg/bottle
* i bottle condition for about 4 weeks with 2 coopers carbonation drops
* if kegging, or bulk priming, get to about 2.7 for higher carbonation

extract version
substitute the pale ale malt with light DME and the wheat with dried wheat malt. steep the crystal as normal

notes
this was named the "pretty ordinary bitter" as i didn't expect much from it. in all my brewing experience my friends have never loved any beer so much as this one. isn't it always the way? it showcases typical australian pride of ringwood bitterness with higher carbonation (bitey), against a lovely and gentle, almost nutty, english ester from the yeast. they both compliment each other perfectly.

if your windsor finishes on you early as it is known to do, simply rehydrate a pack of US-05 and pop it into the fermenter. it will finish off the fermentation cleanly with no additional tastes, while still keeping the english esters, and allow it to get to the desired FG. my first one finished at 1.014 and it was still very nice. anywhere from 1.014 to 1.008 would be in style and taste amazing. try to keep it at about 4.5-4.8% abv.

more info
http://sexyfuntimebrewing.weebly.com/pretty-ordinary-bitter.html

terrible picture (thanks to my phone but i'll post a clearer one when i have it)

Thanks for doing it in metric, finally.... lets note, the world is metric now and its really a pain to convert every recipe written from the old world into the new world

 

[z-bob]

nice! let me know how it goes mate.

i've tailored the recipe a bit but the original is still great. i prefer wlp013 for the yeast, if you can source it.

Spoiler: Here's what I brewed:

Title: Australian Bitter

Style Name: Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.038
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 4.55%
IBU (tinseth): 34.43
SRM (morey): 6.69

FERMENTABLES:
6.25 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (89.3%)
6 oz - American - CaraCrystal Wheat Malt 45L (5.4%)
6 oz - American - Munich - Light 10L (5.4%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Dr. Rudi, Pellets, AA: 8.5, Boil for 30 min

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal
2) Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Time: 10 min, Amount: 2.3 gal

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
6 ml - Lactic acid, 88%, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
2.6 ml - Phosphoric acid, 85%, Type: Water Agt, Use: Other

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - General/Belgian Yeast S-33

NOTES:
The phosphoric acid was for the sparge. I brewed this with alkaline Minnesota tapwater (HCO3 = 317)

Generated by Brewer's Friend - https://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2017-12-28 16:51 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2017-10-11 18:31 UTC

This was a 4 gallon batch, so about 15 liters. The yeast finished in 2 days, or so it seemed. I gave it a week and then fined with gelatin, and that woke the yeast back up and it started fermenting again. Took forever to clear. But eventually it did, and after a couple of weeks in the bottle it's sparkling clear and tastes wonderful. A bit lighter-bodied than I generally drink, so next time I might increase the Munich and crystal malt to 8 ounces each. I don't know what the yeast's problem was, maybe I finished the fermentation too cool.

 

[b-boy]

I generally ferment this at ~16C. the yeast usually performs pretty well at cooler temperatures.

 

[themox]

Spoiler: Here's what I brewed:

Title: Australian Bitter

Style Name: Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.038
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 4.55%
IBU (tinseth): 34.43
SRM (morey): 6.69

FERMENTABLES:
6.25 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (89.3%)
6 oz - American - CaraCrystal Wheat Malt 45L (5.4%)
6 oz - American - Munich - Light 10L (5.4%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Dr. Rudi, Pellets, AA: 8.5, Boil for 30 min

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal
2) Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Time: 10 min, Amount: 2.3 gal

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
6 ml - Lactic acid, 88%, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
2.6 ml - Phosphoric acid, 85%, Type: Water Agt, Use: Other

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - General/Belgian Yeast S-33

NOTES:
The phosphoric acid was for the sparge. I brewed this with alkaline Minnesota tapwater (HCO3 = 317)

Generated by Brewer's Friend - https://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2017-12-28 16:51 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2017-10-11 18:31 UTC

This was a 4 gallon batch, so about 15 liters. The yeast finished in 2 days, or so it seemed. I gave it a week and then fined with gelatin, and that woke the yeast back up and it started fermenting again. Took forever to clear. But eventually it did, and after a couple of weeks in the bottle it's sparkling clear and tastes wonderful. A bit lighter-bodied than I generally drink, so next time I might increase the Munich and crystal malt to 8 ounces each. I don't know what the yeast's problem was, maybe I finished the fermentation too cool.

sorry for me extremely late reply!

yeah i've not used s-33 so can't compare it sadly.

have you tried a re-brew as yet?

i did this recently and used s-04 which wasn't as nice as wl013 but nicer than the windsor.

 

[z-bob]

I have not done a rebrew yet; I have used S-33 again, though (in an American porter.) I fermented cool for a week or so, then raised the temperature to 72 degrees F for a week. It did much better that way.