My second bitter

[Ian Grant]

Bitter #2
8-C Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

Size: 5.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 206.53 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.062 (1.048 - 1.060)
Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.016)
Color: 11.71 (6.0 - 18.0)
Alcohol: 6.1% (4.6% - 6.2%)
Bitterness: 50.9 (30.0 - 50.0)

Ingredients:
10.0 lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
8 oz Amber Malt
12 oz White Wheat Malt
.5 lb Crystal Malt 60°L
.5 oz Nugget (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 m
1 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 20 m
.5 oz Northern Brewer (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10 m
1.0 oz Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 m
1.0 ea WYeast 1056 American Ale™

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m

01:10:08 Untitled Step - Liquor: 3.67 gal; Strike: 163.44 °F; Target: 151.0 °F
01:25:08 Untitled Step - Untitled Sparge: 3.18 gal sparge @ 185.0 °F, 15 m; Total Runoff: 5.61 gal

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.20

[Ian Grant]

Well finished this keg tonight.  I was very pleased with it and can't wait to make it again.  I'm gonna try all EKG hops next.  

Gonna keg the smoked porter  tomorrow.

[Chris Craig]

Sounds tasty.  I think and ESB is my next brew.

[Ian Grant]

Bumped for brew

[brew]

Thanks Ian - so you were thinking to sub EKG for the NB? Or for everything?

I was thinking maybe Magnum or Centennial for the 60 min, then US Goldings (gotta get rid of it) for the middle and end?

Going to use the 1968 ESB from our library as well (I have one of the last ones so I dont think there will be more unless Thomas can make more slants when our new tubes arrive).

[Chris Craig]

Thanks Ian - so you were thinking to sub EKG for the NB? Or for everything?

I was thinking maybe Magnum or Centennial for the 60 min, then US Goldings (gotta get rid of it) for the middle and end?

Going to use the 1968 ESB from our library as well (I have one of the last ones so I dont think there will be more unless Thomas can make more slants when our new tubes arrive).

Getting pretty close to an APA with a recipe like this, aren't you?

[Richard]

Not if he uses 1968.

[brew]

Getting pretty close to an APA with a recipe like this, aren't you?

Not sure - I've never made a bitter before - is this not a "bitter" type recipe? To be honest, I'm not even sure what makes a "Bitter" a "Bitter" - is it the first addition hops at 60? The yeast? More than that?

[Chris Craig]

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style08.php

I would expect Maris Otter instead of 2 row for the bready flavour, and moving away from English hops to Centennial...well, the only thing left is the ESB yeast.

[brew]

Honestly I was expecting to sub at least part of the 2-row with the Weyermann Pale Ale (practically the same as MO). As for the Nugget -> Magnum substituion, I didn't realize Nugget was an English hop. No matter, I don't have any Nugget - I'm told I need something with High Alpha for the 60 minute addition so I thought magnum or centennial. I can sub that though, I'll see what I have - any recommendations?. The US Goldings are a Golding, maybe not as good as the EKG (I can only describe it as dirtier - oooo I like it already!), but its still a golding hopefully will fit the style...

[Chris Craig]

Northern Brewer would be great for the bittering.  It's 9ish %.  

You don't need a high alpha for the bittering. The idea is that using a higher alpha hop at 60 means you'll get less flavour from that addition, but all the bittering.  This isn't really true.  The more hops by weight you use at 60, the more of its flavour comes through.

So, if you use 2oz Fuggles (4.5% AA) @ 60, you get the same bittering as 1oz Northern Brewer (9% AA) @ 60, but since there's more hop matter in the Fuggles, you'll get more of the flavour from it...more so than with the NB.

In any case, use whatever you like.  An all-Fuggles bitter is great.  NB with Fuggles is also great.  If you want to stay close to style, just pick English hops varieties.

[HappyHax0r]

It's been my experience that using 2oz of hops at one AA instead of 1oz of hops at a higher AA such as in your example doesn't yeild the same bittering result either, regardless of what the math says . I've experienced this and can think of one other brewer in the club that has also (and they shall remain nameless until they wish to speak up).

I'm not sure why this is the case, but I would *really* like to know.

[Richard]

I got EKG and Nugget if you need 'em.

Brent: I'm not convinced, since it has been the other way around (double hops = less than double the AA) in my experience... I know what you're referring to, and I'm not entirely convinced that a single example proves much. FWIW there is more than AA, there is also beta acid and some other stuff in there that complicates things when you go cultivar to cultivar.

One for the experimentalists

[HappyHax0r]

I got EKG and Nugget if you need 'em.

Brent: I'm not convinced, since it has been the other way around (double hops = less than double the AA) in my experience... I know what you're referring to, and I'm not entirely convinced that a single example proves much. FWIW there is more than AA, there is also beta acid and some other stuff in there that complicates things when you go cultivar to cultivar.

One for the experimentalists

Indeed, now if only we could find a few of those pesky experimentalists who would want to experiment with hops...  

[brew]

Thanks Richard...

I see in the hop chart that substituting Galena for Nugget is a possibility - If I did that, would it ruin the "ESB" character of the beer?

0.5 oz Galena @ 60
1.0 oz US Goldings @ 20
0.5 oz US Goldings @ 10
1.0 oz US Goldings @ 5

Does that sound like an "ESB" hop schedule?