The Quest for the Perfect Bitter

[ukphiltr7]

Lol @Galena i think it took me all this time to find the one that I really like.

 

[Galena]

Right. Enough of this jibber-jabber. There's "going on a quest" and there's "talking about questing". My first recipe is in the fermenter exactly as above except I used Young's Ale yeast. I made a 12 litre sample batch, which, since my sparge consiisted of just sluicing warm water through the bag of grains, gave me 11.5 litres at 1043. Easily adjusted next time and I'm looking forward to trying this one. Thanks Galena.

Good luck, I hope it doesn't disappoint.

 

[Galena]

Lol @Galena i think it took me all this time to find the one that I really like.

You do realise I was referring to your typo ?

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Right. Enough of this jibber-jabber. There's "going on a quest" and there's "talking about questing". My first recipe is in the fermenter exactly as above except I used Young's Ale yeast. I made a 12 litre sample batch, which, since my sparge consiisted of just sluicing warm water through the bag of grains, gave me 11.5 litres at 1043. Easily adjusted next time and I'm looking forward to trying this one. Thanks Galena.

I'm waiting for my CML delivery before having ago at @Dads_Ale prize winning bitter.
Any more amazing recipes will be gratefully received and duly made up unless they're full of crystal malt (yuck). In fact I'm going to do two versions of Dad's Prize Bitter, the second substituting one measure of Double Roasted for both measures of crystal.

The game's afoot.

I’m with you. Got my adjusted recipe brewed today and now in the fermenter.

 

[An Ankoù]

I’m with you. Got my adjusted recipe brewed today and now in the fermenter.

40 IBUs to 24 is quite a drop. I'd be very interesting to know how this turns out. It might be a malt revelation!

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

40 IBUs to 24 is quite a drop. I'd be very interesting to know how this turns out. It might be a malt revelation!

I’ll let you know. I hope I haven’t ruined it!

 

[Simoncbr600steelie]

Cheers, Simon! 70k miles on the clock, and still going strong!

Hi my cbr600 1998 has only 9k on the clock, hopefully a few more after lockdown

 

[Northern Brewer]

I'm just drinking Acorn Brewery's Barnsley Bitter. Mainly for nostalgia as my local pub when I was a kid was called the Acorn and it served Barnsley Bitter and it was next to me when queueing up to up to pay in the co-op.

Label says Marris Otter, crystal and pale chocolate malt with Challenger hops.

Not a bad taste for a 3.8% beer, probably not my favourite bitter but very quafable

 

[An Ankoù]

I'm just drinking Acorn Brewery's Barnsley Bitter. Mainly for nostalgia as my local pub when I was a kid was called the Acorn and it served Barnsley Bitter and it was next to me when queueing up to up to pay in the co-op.

Label says Marris Otter, crystal and pale chocolate malt with Challenger hops.

Not a bad taste for a 3.8% beer, probably not my favourite bitter but very quafable

Drove from Southampton to South Yorkshire some time in the 70s to see our Gran and introduce the then Mrs to Barnsley Bitter only to find they'd stopped brewing it a fortnight earlier. Now, I haven't the faintest recollection of what it tasted like, but it there must have been some attraction. I'll have to get hold of some of this Acorn stuff although the label listing doesn't sound all that typical of beer from those times.

 

[Galena]

I'm just drinking Acorn Brewery's Barnsley Bitter. Mainly for nostalgia as my local pub when I was a kid was called the Acorn and it served Barnsley Bitter and it was next to me when queueing up to up to pay in the co-op.

Label says Marris Otter, crystal and pale chocolate malt with Challenger hops.

Not a bad taste for a 3.8% beer, probably not my favourite bitter but very quafable

There is a pub near us, I have only been in once and some years ago, it was just a spur of the moment thing as I was passing with a mate and it served Barnsley Bitter. I particularly remember it as quite a malty Bitter, very enjoyable. Perhaps I will go back after lockdown.

 

[Rodcx500z]

,

 

[Pezza24]

So based on this very good thread I've just brewed some kind of bitter. I'm not clued up on recipes so I just made it up based on the Greg Hughes Yorkshire bitter and other things I read on here.

11L Batch
1.75kg Maris Otter
175g Medium Crystal
150g Torrified Wheat
100g Vienna
20g Chocolate Malt

15g Challenger Start of Boil
15g EKG 10 Minutes before the end.

Had to cut the boil short to 35-40 minutes so chucked in the last hops and protofloc and let everything sit while I sorted the kids out. Not sure if thats caused any issues but seems fine. Leaving to cool overnight in the FV any will pitch a packet of CML Beoir in the morning. OG 1047 from a sample I cooled in the fridge.

Now I'm in two minds to buy a corny starter kit and get this kegged instead of bottled.

 

[An Ankoù]

It looks a decent recipe. The short boil will reduce the the hop bitterness a bit, but not proportionately, especially as it's an overnight cool. Haven't used Beoir yet, but I've got some on the way. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Galena]

I see you added 100g Vienna to the recipe, will such a small amount make any difference?

 

[Pezza24]

I see you added 100g Vienna to the recipe, will such a small amount make any difference?

I don't have a clue sorry. Purely based on me having some and seeing it in someone's recipe.

 

[Galena]

I don't have a clue sorry. Purely based on me having some and seeing it in someone's recipe.

No worries, I just saw it isn't in the Greg Hughes recipe so wondered.

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

Now I'm in two minds to buy a corny starter kit and get this kegged instead of bottled.

You will never regret it mate.. Don’t get me wrong, bottles are fantastic too. However there is something damn exciting about pouring from a tap at home. Here is a pic of a half of my wheat beer that I sampled yesterday afternoon.

 

[Sadfield]

@An Ankoù Arguments about IBUs aside, as they're just a way of quantifying bitterness that ignores how bitterness is perceived. In you search for pervasive bitterness, have you considered changing bittering hop. Hops high in cohumulone (anecdotally) tend to have a harsher bitterness. Do you have a preferred bittering hop? What hop was used in your best results?

Can't remember where I read it, but there was a suggestion that more hoppy aroma also elevates the perception of bitterness.

 

[An Ankoù]

@An Ankoù Arguments about IBUs aside, as they're just a way of quantifying bitterness that ignores how bitterness is perceived. In you search for pervasive bitterness, have you considered changing bittering hop. Hops high in cohumulone tend to have a harsher bitterness. Do you have a preferred bittering hop? What hop was used in your best results?

I like Golding and Fuggles, I'm experimenting with Phoenix at the moment, I also like WGV, Bramling Cross, Challenger, First Gold, Pioneer, Sovereign, Pilgrim, I found Jester a bit odd so I use it in a light ale- I expect Olicana will be much the same. Oh, Endeavour as well. Aramis makes a good English bitter. I think you can probably see a pattern emerging here. I think (and I might be wrong) that I'm trying to get the malt profile right first. I've discovered I really don't like the residual sweetness of crystal malt if it's used in any quantity. @trueblue suggested using SImpson's Double Roast- I'm going to have a go at that, and others reckon Biscuit Malt adds some good flavours.
I find too much Target can be a bit coarse, especially in late additions. Never used Bullion.

 

[Galena]

You will never regret it mate.. Don’t get me wrong, bottles are fantastic too. However there is something damn exciting about pouring from a tap at home. Here is a pic of a half of my wheat beer that I sampled yesterday afternoon.

What kind of keg is that? I would like to try kegging (I only bottle at the moment) but I don't want to make a Kegerator and I wonder about chilling the beer and also how long it lasts once started as I'm not sure I drink enough.