AG#02 - Batham Best Bitter

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Moley

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Well I've brewed two Dark Ales and a Stout from kits and my first AG would have to be classed as a strong red ale, so it's time to go for something paler, starting this weekend.

Graham Wheeler's latest book gives a Batham's Best Bitter clone recipe, so there really is no choice in the matter. It's a local brew which I know quite well, and I went to school with Tim Batham (although from the Family Tree on their History page I never realised he married Linda Cartwright - she was rather nice). It also happens to be the name of our street, although that was named a long time ago after some local councillor and nothing to do with the brewing family.

So, Batham Best Bitter after Wheeler's recipe, but because of copyright I won't list his quantities.

Pale Malt
Fuggle and Northdown hops for the full boil
Irish moss last 10 minutes of boil
A handful of Goldings post-boil
90 minute mash @ 66°C for target OG 1.044

Just one question, Wheeler says 27g of Fuggles, but mine seem rather feeble at 2.6% AA, so should I up that to around 40g?
 
Moley said:
Just one question, Wheeler says 27g of Fuggles, but mine seem rather feeble at 2.6% AA, so should I up that to around 40g?

That is feeble.

I haven't got the book on me, but does Graham give a AA% for the hops in the recipe, or the IBUs?
 
I don't have the book on me, but I think it gives the EBU for each recipe, and when you use the default values (for AA) in his 'Beer Engine' software you get the EBU given in the recipe.

I use the book in conjunction with the software and adjust the hop AA in the software defaults to reflect the AA of what I have to hand, then I can increase or decrease the amount of hops to get the correct EBU.

I have brewed this recipe and I had a pint last night (well, two really) and it was really good.
 
Thanks for the quick comments, I don't have his software yet but I'll get it.

Earlier in the book he lists Fuggles at 4.9%, Goldings at 5.7% and Northdown at 8.3%

Ok, so I will end up listing quantities at this rate, 27g Fuggles + 16g Northdown = 30 IBU
 
Thanks trunky, I've just got home (knock off early on Fridays) but only very briefly as "Dad's Taxi" is on call for various school pick-ups and music lessons, so I will download that later.

However, am I right in thinking I should use 27 x (4.9 / 2.6) = 51g of my cheap but feeble Fuggles?
 
I like a good bottle of Bathams Best, a work colleague of mine used to pick them up for me, sadly he doesn't work with me anymore :(
 
Up early, liquor on (and I remembered the CT this time) and doughed in at 07:25.

Mash temperature held within one degree and I've had another good sparge, spent grains are now on the compost and 30L at temperature corrected 1.038 has just about reached its boil.
 
Thanks folks, everything went just fine.

With my first mash I was surprised at the loss to boil-off, put 28L in and got 20L out (this includes 1.2L dead space and loss to hops). So, this time I though I'd round up the quantities and extract 30L. At 30L I'd still got a temperature corrected 1.011 so I pulled another.

Net result, 31 litres returned to boiler, but for most of the boil I put one piece of the lid on:

PB09060701.jpg


With my first mash and no lid I could only reach a gentle simmer, with that lid I got a rolling boil.

Post-boil Goldings went in when it had cooled to 83 °C, I left it to cool some more while I watched the Grand Prix then tapped off a few litres at a time into sanitised PETs and into my wort cooler:

PB09060702.jpg


I ended up with 25 litres, OG 1.042, S-04 already pitched and showing signs of activity.
 
Excuse me if I'm being dense but this brew seems to have finished, hydrometer hasn't moved for 2 or 3 days and it's clearing in the FV.

Can someone please explain in simple terms why a beer using only crushed Pale Malt, with an OG of 1.042, properly aerated and fermented at a fairly steady 19°C +/- 1° with a (supposedly decent) S-04 yeast should stop at 1.012 ?
 
Because it contains unfermentable dextrins that give the beer body :thumb:
This is one of the benefits of mashing, mashing at a lower temp (amongst other variables) will produce a more fermentable wort, which will give a drier more alcoholic beer. Mashing at higer temperature produces a more dextrin rich wort which bill sweeter and have much more body :party:
You want it to stop at that SG or it would be lacking mouthfeel and residual sweetness :thumb:
It's all good :D
 
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