Long standing brewer always looking to improve

Burnsy said:

I have been doing 20 litre full mash brews for over 20 years in the West Midlands using South Staffs water. I usually aim at a Purity UBU style of ale. They still lack what I would describe as full flavour, they tend to be overly bitter and often rather sharp. Should I be looking to reduce further the amount hops and reduce the aroma second boil to just 5 mins with greatly increased volume? I currently use Topaz as bittering hop and Goldings as aroma hop. Or any more tips?

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Hazelwood Brewery said:

It might be worth posting your recipe, including any water treatments, because that will take some of the guesswork out.

Also, what do you mean by “second boil”?

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Burnsy said:

Hi Hazelwood Brewery
South Staffs water has chlorine but no chloramine so I simply condition 20 litres by standing for a couple of days, with a campden tablet and some citric acid. Here is my last recipe:

Condition 12” water with citric acid and metabisulphite

Starter: Pre-cool and pitch with Ale Yeast

Mash and Sparge:3 kilos pale malt
225 grams Crystal malt
100 grams Torrified Wheat for head retention
2 tablespoons chocolate malt for colour


Boil:100 grams Glucose

300 grams Super Dry Medium dried malt


32 grams Topaz – collect starter wort - boil for 1.25 hours

Add 48 grams Goldings and 1 teaspoonIrish Moss – boil further 15 mins


I add the dried malt extract to increase gravity as my equipment only has room for a 3 kilo mash.

By second boil I mean the 15 minute boil for aroma hop.

Look forward to your comments.

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An Ankoù said:

I've never used Topaz as a bittering hop, isn't it a bit coarse?

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• Topaz has between 13% and 20% AA, so 32 grams boiled for 85 minutes would give you somewhere between 55 and 85 IBU.
• The 48g Goldings boiled for 15 minutes will add another 12-20 IBU.

Hazelwood Brewery said:

Hi Burnsy.

@JockyBrewer has I think pointed out the main issue for you in terms of bitterness. I quite like the character of the bitterness from Centennial hops for English ales but Magnum is considered one of the most smooth bittering hops (again be careful of the alpha acids).

You also asked about getting more hop flavour which generally means adding more hops (possibly at multiple points) but the variety of hops is also important. Ubu uses Cascade hops I believe and they are quite a flavoursome hop.

If you’re generally happy with your choice of hops though go for 10g of Topaz for bittering and leave your 15 minute addition unchanged. This will bring the bitterness closer to your target and the beer will be better balanced.

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