This Friday I’ll be doing my first of two holiday brew days. I’m going to continue with my trend of low gravity session beers, but will be back to all grain for a Best Bitter.
Below I’m going to post the basic recipe I have so far (I usually keep them as simple as possible). But I am interested to know what everyone else has had success with in the past. It is a very broad category so I’m sure there are lots of good ideas out there. One thing I might be interested in is deepening the color a little, so keep that in mind if you have any suggestions.
Here is my “Publican’s Best Bitter” - a tribute to one of the better beers the Upper Canada Brewing Company used to make about 15 years ago.
46l Batch (12 US gallons)
7.25Kg Marris Otter
0.5 Kg Carastan (30l)
0.5 Kg Amber Malt
0.5 Kg Wheat Malt
100 g E.K. Goldings (60 min)
14 g E.K. Goldings (20 min)
4g E.K. Goldings (2 min)
I will probably dry hop half of the batch.
Don’t have a yeast picked out yet, so I’m up for suggestions - will likely be one of the White Labs London strains.
I like the West Yorkshire and 1968, but I’ll add the Thames Valley to that list as top-notch bitter yeasts. British Ale (1098) can make a good one too.
My top choices for ESB (other than my house yeast of unknown provenance) are definitely WY 1968 and WY1056. I especially like the 1056 after it has gone through 7 or 8 generations of brewing.
As far as the grainbill goes, I almost always use some Wyerman Munich and CaraAroma in mix.
[quote=“BryanH”]Right now my favorite is one made in the style of Bluebird Bitter. It’s very simple and very good.
:cheers: [/quote]
I’ve done that with 1469 and loved it.
I have one carbing that was 93% Maris Otter, 7% Fawcett Medium crystal, Challenger to bitter, EKG at 15, Styrian Goldings at flameout and 1968 yeast. It tasted great at bottling.
[quote=“The Professor”]
My top choices for ESB (other than my house yeast of unknown provenance) are definitely WY 1968 and WY1056. I especially like the 1056 after it has gone through 7 or 8 generations of brewing.
As far as the grainbill goes, I almost always use some Wyerman Munich and CaraAroma in mix.[/quote]
I am shocked to hear you using 1056 in an ESB. I’ve never done it but I assumed it would come across more like an American Amber.
My recipe is usually something like:
7 lbs Golden Promise (or Maris Otter)
1/4 lb British Crystal
1/4 lb British Extra Dark Crystal
(sometimes I’ll use 2-4 oz of Aromatic, Amber, or Biscuit Malt)
(Sometimes I’ll use 4-8 oz of table sugar)
4.5-6 HBU British hops (I like First Gold here) 60m
4.5-5 HBU British hops 30m
1 oz British Aroma hops 5m
1968, 1469, or 1275 wyeast
.25-1 oz dry hops with East Kent Goldings
My top choices for ESB (other than my house yeast of unknown provenance) are definitely WY 1968 and WY1056. I especially like the 1056 after it has gone through 7 or 8 generations of brewing.
As far as the grainbill goes, I almost always use some Wyerman Munich and CaraAroma in mix.[/quote]
I split a batch and used US-05 in one that I was very surprised by. Very delicious. I think the addition of a small amount of dry hops helped soften some edges, if that makes sense.
Also, I am interested in what the percentages you use of Munich and CaraAroma in your brews are?
Otherwise, to answer the OP: I like Wyeast 1469, and WLP013. 90-95% MO, or Golden Promise. I love Amber malt in a bitter, just remember a little goes a long way. Otherwise, 5-10% british crystal. Personally, I like the dark and extra dark crystal malts a little more.
You can’t go wrong with Maris Otter. I have been experimenting with different English Crystal malts at 5%. I usually can’t tell the difference between 40 Lv and 80 Lv. I have one in the fermenter now that used 5% 120 and I should be kegging it right now, but I am tired. I also throw in a couple of ounces of what ever roasted malt I have around for a little color. I got this idea from Roger Protz’s book about Burton-on-Trent. It was an old Double Diamond recipe. Fuggles for bittering and Goldings for flavor and aroma. Styrian Goldings make a great dry hop if you like a citrusy hop character with out the pine/citrus/cat pee character of American C hops.
I have made good beer with most of the English yeasts I have tried. Wy1968 ESB is old reliable. Wy1469 is Timothy Taylor yeast, and works great with the Styrian Goldings. London Wy1028 and WL 013 also make a nice beer with a bit of a woody character. I have had some fabulous bitters made with WL 026 Best Bitter (maybe it was Premium Bitter) yeast, but my versions (2) have not come out very good. I think this is Marston’s Pedigree yeast, and I hope it comes out soon so I can experiment more with it. I stay clear of 1056 with English hops, but I might experiment more with this later at different temps.
I think 1.043 is a nice gravity for a refreshing pint. I usually go up to 1.048 though because it tastes fresh for 6-8 weeks and that is how long it takes me to get through 5 gallons.
[quote=“Wahoo”] I am shocked to hear you using 1056 in an ESB. I’ve never done it but I assumed it would come across more like an American Amber.
[/quote]
I’m not sure why it’s so shocking.
While the various yeast strains certainly contribute their own character, in the end there are many other manipulations one can do with the other ingredients to achieve the desired overall profile. With minor tweaks to the recipe, the resulting ESBs wind up tasting virtually identical regardless of which yeast I happen to have ready on brew day.
Other than the fact that there is no requirement or rule to use an “English yeast” in an English beer, it could also be argued that since it is very highly likely that 1056 actually originated in the UK anyway (sourced into the USA many years ago by a large American brewery), it’s really not such an unusual choice if you think about it.
Besides (as has been opined by myself and others in the past), ultimately it’s what’s in the glass that matters…not how you get there.
“If it quacks like duck, it’s a duck!” :cheers:
[quote=“Brew Meister Smith”]Thanks for all the responses guys. Here are a few more questions for you all.
Do you think the .5 kg of amber malt a little high for a 46 l batch?
If I wanted to deepen the color a bit, how have people tended to go? A little roast? A little chocolate / Black? None of these?
I do also have a bunch of dark crystal kicking around, but I figured with the Amber, why bother.[/quote]
You can do any or all of the above, however, my belief and advice for this beer style is not to overthink it and keep it simple. If a deeper color is desired I’d suggest an ounce of chocolate malt. :cheers:
Sounds about right. I was leaning towards the chocolate anyway. So I’ll just add a touch of that to what I already have.
Also picked up Wy 1968 (London ESB) after work. Not much selection for liquid yeast in this town, so it was either that or the last two Irish Ale packs. I think it will work fine.
As long as we are talking about bitters, I have a general question for you guys. I have a copy of the book by the British beer writer Protz, Brewing Real Ale I think it is called. There are a bunch of recipes for bitters in the book and I would say the great majority call for quite a bit of sugar. I have been doing this hobby for quite a long time and us old guys have a real aversion to dumping in a ton of sugar, especially in a low gravity beer (I remember those old winey tasting beers you got when you made beer by using a can of liquid malt extract and about 3 pounds of corn sugar…nasty). I make plenty of Belgian style beers and so I am not afraid to add sugar but adding a pound of sugar to a beer with an O.G. of say 1.040 just makes me very nervous. On the other hand, there is a recipe in the book for Fuller’s London Pride that comes out great every time I make it (and I only screwed around with it just a little) and it’s probably my favorite beer. Anyway, my question is; what experience do you guys have adding sugar (or other adjuncts for that matter) to English bitters recipes?
I have a bitter on tap that I added a half pound of sugar to and it turned out alright. I think I’ll forgo the sugar next time because it’s a bit dry but not bad by any means. Northern Brewer’s Innkeeper is probably my favorite kit beer and they use a pound of sugar in their recipe.
Also, I added an ounce or two of chocolate to that recipe to come away with an SRM around 13 which is pushing it for the style but it is a great looking beer.
I’ve added sugar several times to bitter recipes. I like it. I guess my advice is to find (or experiment with) a combination of malt, yeast, sugar, and mash temp to get the OG, FG, body, and mouthfeel that you want. For example, if I want something with an OG of 1.040 and a FG of 1.010, I could try a combo of all malt, high mash temp, and highly attenuative yeast. Or I could try all malt, low mash temp, and low attenuative yeast. Or I could try some malt, a high mash temp, low attenuative yeast, and some sugar. Each approach should get me near my targets. Adjusting your percentage of crystal malt and/or other adjuncts will also have an effect. Each way you do it will give you a slightly different profile. To me, the joy of a brittish bitter is to discover these nuances.
Gents, I want to know what you think of my (not English) Bitter recipe. I created it for my Dad because he truly enjoys Czech pilsners and their clean and crisp flavors. Dad’s Czech . Since I cannot lager, I tried to design an ale that would hopefully capture at least some of that flavor. Dad’s one of my toughest critics and he’s become a big fan of this 5-gallon batch. I’ve made it 3 times so far and it is one I intend on keeping on hand. It could be considered my mainstay “Innkeeper.”
I call it a bitter because it is (mildly). Naturally no fruit comes to play unlike many ESB’s due to the US-05. The rye adds a slight peppery quality and the honey and grits add mild sweetness. I add gelatin prior to kegging, which assists in brilliant clarity. A highly quaffable ale.
One thing I might try next is using a German Ale yeast to see what that might bring to the batch.
. Since I cannot lager, I tried to design an ale that would hopefully capture at least some of that flavor. Dad’s one of my toughest critics and he’s become a big fan of this 5-gallon batch. I’ve made it 3 times so far and it is one I intend on keeping on hand. It could be considered my mainstay “Innkeeper.”