Bitter, Less Special Bitter and Extra Less Special Bitter

[GuingesRock]

I'm English and us English like our bitter. We don't call it ordinary bitter either, It's BITTER.

I should have said something to Strong before he came up with the 2015 guidelines. Where does this "ordinary" come from?

In Cornwall where I am from there is a small brewery who made a bitter called Doom Bar. It became very popular. In all the Cornish pubs people would yell out for "another pint of Doom please".

In 2011they sold out to Miller Coors for 20,000,000 quid = $40 million. Doom Bar can now be found across the UK and in Italy, Sweden, and Japan. It's a very interesting story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp%27s_Brewery" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When I came to Canada, it was a huge frustration that I couldn't get a decent pint of bitter, and that's one of the main reasons I started brewing, and maybe where my dislike of crystal comes from. It's overdone here.

I think people see the words ordinary, special and extra special, and they go for special and extra special, but it's a trick! ordinary = extra special. The other two can take a running jump as far as I'm concerned.

Comments?

[CorneliusAlphonse]

Comments?

i think in your first sentence you should have said "we english" not "us english"

haha other than that, i dunno - the "ordinary bitter" is just a category name. the macro bottles just say "lager" on them, but the style is "american light lager" - it needs a few extra words to disambiguate. same goes for the varieties of bitter.

[MitchK]

Have you ever posted the full recipe for your bitter? I seem to be terrible at the search function today.

[GuingesRock]

Have you ever posted the full recipe for your bitter? I seem to be terrible at the search function today.

“Brit Bit” – English Bitter.

I designed this one for me to drink. It has no crystal apart from a small amount of dextrin malt for head retention. It has my usual signature malt bill of MO and Munich 11, and my 2 ½ minute late hopping addition. I liked it, and was extra pleased the judges liked too.

Awards: Silver, HM, HM, Gold, Gold

Type: All Grain
Batch Size (ferment0r): 12.30 gal
Boil Size: 14.31 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Equipment: Full Volume Mash Pot - Blichmann 20 Gal
Final Bottling Volume: 10.88 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency: 71.00%
Fermentation: Keg Conditioned Ale
OG 1.039
FG 1.012
ABV 3.6%
Colour 6.2 SRM
Bitterness 30.2

Total Water Needed: 15.95 gal

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 50.0 %
8 lbs Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM) Grain 44.4 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.6 %

Water chemistry adjusted with salts to achieve finished water profile of Calcium 75ppm, Magnesium 13ppm, Sodium 19ppm, Sulphate 96ppm, Chloride 88ppm.

Sufficient phosphoric acid added to cold water before heating to strike temperature to produce a mash PH of 5.4.


Saccharification Add 15.95 gal of water at 157.7 F 153.0 F 75 min

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
1.00 oz Admiral [14.75 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 26.3 IBUs
2.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 8 -
1.00 tsp Wyeast Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 9 -
2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 2.5 Hop 10 1.9 IBUs
2.00 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 2.5 min Hop 11 2.0 IBUs

Amt Name
2.0 pkg West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast cultured in a 3.5L starter. Wort oxygenated with oxygen via whirlpool inline carbonation stone, prior to pitching.

[LeafMan66_67]

There's something to be said for keeping the grain bill simple.

[Halifax_Jeff]

I tried this when I visited Mark and it was really good. I might have to give this one ago

[GuingesRock]

I tried this when I visited Mark and it was really good. I might have to give this one ago

Jeff thanks, you had my "special bitter" "Brit Bit Special" I much prefer this one. That one was ok though.