Best bitter recipe

[simonmwhite]

Hello collective beer brewing brains,

I recently took the family to the Blagdon Inn in Taunton and I had a lovely pint of Butcombe Bitter. Maybe the setting and food played a part in tantalising my taste buds but it was so nice it left me wanting more! So I got this itch that I'd quite like to scratch and wondered if anyone has a tried and tested best bitter recipe that they could share.

I've seen a few recipes online and quite a few on Beer Smith but what I'd like to do is replicate someone else's and bring it along to the next meet up for critique.

Thank you ever so kindly,

Simon.

[steve crawshaw]

Hi Si
sorry can't help with an actual recipe. I have brewed bitter but it was a while ago.. I would say general advice would be to keep a simple grain bill, <=8% crystal, british hops and use S04. It clears really well and leaves a bit of residual sweetness. The graham wheeler book, "brew your own real ale at home" is full of recipes for english styles.
Butcombe at its best is a cracking ale, and all the better in a snug somerset pub.
cheers
steve

[rodneygullick]

here is one from wheelers book brew your own real ale at home ,malton double chance bitter, og 1038 ,
single infusion mash ,top fermented
pale malt 4000g
crystal malt 215g
goldings hops 64g start of boil
goldings hops 15g (last 15 minutes)
irish moss 1 tsp (last 15 minutes )
mash time 90 minutes
mash liquor11 liters
mash temperature 65 degrees
boil time 2 hours
final gravity 1009
bitterness 27 ebu
final volume 23 liters

[steve crawshaw]

that looks good, but 2hr boil seems excessive, I think GW recommended this for all the beers in that book. IMO an hour is enough for most styles esp a bitter.
cheers
steve

[rodneygullick]

when i brewed it i used 1.5 hours boil

[simonmwhite]

Thanks Steve and Rodney for the pointers and recipe.

I made my own with BeerSmith based on the pointers given. I didn't have and crystal malt so I used 62% Maris Otter, 37% Munich malt and a 1% chocolate malt (to adjust colour).

Brew day went well, I hit mash and sparging temperatures along with pre-boil volumes. However when I did a gravity test post-boil I seemed to have overshot the SG quite a bit; I was aiming for 1046 but actually ended up with 1050. So this beer is likely to be stronger and not to style. I think I'm stirring too much during the mash phase as I've noticed with previous creations that my SG has been higher.

I used Nottingham yeast as that's what I had available and I finally got round to using some English hops (East Kent Goldings)!

I'll bring it along to February's meeting.

[steve crawshaw]

Sounds like a good recipe. Longer \ fiercer \ open boils may also lead to a higher SG. I often stir once or twice during the mash just to help efficiency, but not really sure if it works. I keep an eye on gravity throughout boil using a test cylinder immersed in an ice bath to collect and cool samples quickly for gravity readings. This way you can adjust gravity on the fly by adding some hot water.
Look forward to sampling the Best bitter.
cheers
steve

[simonmwhite]

The last few brews I've made have been done on our kitchen stove due to running out of propane - I usually boil outside on a 5kw burner. I've found that I need a few rings on to give it some welly so it keeps going . . . and come to think of it I've had the lid off for the majority of the boil so that the extractor can vent the steam otherwise I get nagged at by my lovely wife ;) So that's two out of the three you pointed out. I have only ever done a 60 minute boil.

That's a really good tip about the cylinder in an ice bath, I will make one up for my next brew and take incremental tests.

Thanks for the pointers.

[steve crawshaw]

I plumbed natural gas outside so I wouldn't have to use propane. Cost me £90 and I needed to bore out the jet of the propane burner. Can be worth it if you brew a lot, and saves on earache from the mrs.
cheers
steve

[simonmwhite]

I bet you'd see the cost saving back pretty quickly versus buying 47kg bottles at £60 a time. I recall seeing your gas rig and remember thinking that would be something to have when I find the money to build my dedicated home brewery . . . but that's a long way off yet! I might make some enquiries about getting it plumbed in, I got a family in the trade.

Why did you have to bore out the jet? Is the pressure too high or something? I recall seeing a tap on the end of your gas rig, is this an on and off switch? I'd be interested to find out how you connect it all up.

My wife only complains about the smell and not the taste so this would add weight to getting it installed ;)

Thanks,

Simon.