After a lot of attempts to get this right I think I've finally settled on my house bitter. It's amber in colour, low in ABV, medium bodied and nicely balanced between the First Gold & Fuggle hops and the malts. Perfect for quaffing on Friday night after work.
Drink young to get the most of the tangy orange-marmalade flavours of the first gold hops or leave to mature a few more weeks for a more even balance with the malts and earthy fuggle flavours.
I tried mashing high with this one (69C) to try to get a full body and it does seem to have worked. I ended up with OG/FG of 1.046/1.013 for an ABV of 4.3% and the residual sweetness is in balance with the hop flavour and bitterness. I do like a dry beer though, so maybe 67C next time.
Code:
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l
Bottling Volume: 21.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 21.5 EBC
Estimated IBU: 37.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 87.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type # %/IBU
30.34 l Ashbeck (bitter) Water 1 -
4.14 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 2 -
3.11 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 3 -
3.11 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 4 -
3.02 kg Crisp Clear Choice Ale Malt (5.5 EBC) Grain 5 71.5 %
0.84 kg Munich Malt (20.0 EBC) Grain 6 20.0 %
0.17 kg Barley, Flaked (Thomas Fawcett) (3.9 EBC Grain 7 4.0 %
0.17 kg Crystal Medium - 240 EBC (Crisp) (236.4 Grain 8 4.0 %
0.03 kg Chocolate Wheat Malt (1200.0 EBC) Grain 9 0.7 % (optional: colouring)
10.00 g Magnum [11.10 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 10 12.4 IBUs
11.00 g First Gold [9.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 5.5 IBUs
11.00 g Fuggle [5.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 12 3.2 IBUs
16.00 g First Gold [9.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 13 5.9 IBUs
16.00 g Fuggle [5.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 14 3.4 IBUs
23.00 g First Gold [9.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 16 4.6 IBUs
23.00 g Fuggle [5.80 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 17 2.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) [124.21 Yeast 18 -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 4.22 kg
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Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 25.34 l of water at 72.1 C 69.0 C 60 min
Here's a photograph of a pint from the keg.
View attachment 13696