Ordinary Bitter (Partial Mash Formulation)

Ordinary bitter — great for extraordinary beer drinking sessions with good friends.

Here is another example recipe using the countertop partial mashing method. This is an ordinary bitter, an English session beer, presented in a 5.0-gallon (19-L) homebrew recipe formulated for either partial mashing with a 2-gallon cooler (main recipe) or a 3-gallon cooler (see option). Compared to a bitter made with an extract-with-steeping-grains formulation, this beer has more aroma from the pale malt. Compared to some other partial mash methods, this uses more grains and less extract. Roughly 70% of the fermentables in this recipe come from the partial mash.

This original version of this recipe appeared in an article about going grain-to-glass in 7 days.

Leg of Ordinary Biters

(Ordinary Bitter)

Partial mash (countertop), English units

by Chris Colby

DESCRIPTION

The recipe produces a fairly dark, English-style bitter, with a complex biscuit-like malt character accentuated by raison-like notes from the dark crystal malt. It’s flavorful, and nicely balanced with English hops, but is also dry and very “sessionable.”

INGREDIENTS  (for 5 gallons)

Water

carbon filtered tap water

dilute with distilled water, if needed, to 75 ppm HCO₃^–

add calcium chloride and gypsum (in 1:3 ratio) to make 100 ppm Ca²⁺

Malts (for an OG of 1.036 at 65% extract efficiency and an SRM of 17)

15 oz. UK pale ale malt (3 °L)

1.5 lbs. US 2-row pale malt

12 oz. flaked maize

4.5 oz. biscuit malt

4.0 oz. crystal malt (60 °L)

4.0 oz. crystal malt (90 °L)

1.0 oz. chocolate malt

1 lb. 14 oz. light dried malt extract (English, such as Muntons or similar)

Hops (for 29 IBU total)

First Gold (or Goldings) hops (14 IBU)

0.50 oz. (at 8% alpha acids), boiled for 60 minutes

First Gold (or Goldings) hops (15 IBU)

1.0 oz. (at 8% alpha acids), boiled for 15 minutes

Fuggles hops (0 IBU)

0.75 oz. (at 5% alpha acids), at knockout

Yeast (for an FG of 1.007 and an ABV of 3.8%)

Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast

(with a fresh pack/tube of yeast, you do not need a yeast starter;

alternately, make a 1-qt. yeast starter)

Other

1 tsp. Irish moss, boiled for 15 minutes

PROCEDURE

In your brewpot, heat 5.5 qts. of brewing liquor to 163 °F. Place crushed grains in a large steeping bag and submerge in brewpot water. Mash at 152 °F for 60 minutes, stirring and heating briefly every 10 minutes to maintain the mash temperature. In a separate pot, heat 5 qts. of water to 170 °F. When the mash is done, heat the mash to 170 °F for a mash out. Lift bag and let drip into brewpot until you can move it over to the cooler without splattering too much wort. Scoop or pour the wort from the brewpot into the cooler. Recirculate the wort until it is clear, then run off. Sparge steadily over 60 minutes (collect about a cup of wort from the cooler every 90 seconds) to collect about 10 qts. Add about 2 qts. of water to the brewpot, and start heating it as you collect the wort. You should yield about 3.5 gallons of wort when you’re done collecting it. Stir in roughly half of the malt extract and bring the wort to a boil. Add the first dose of hops and boil wort for 60 minutes. Add other hops and Irish moss nutrients at times indicated. Stir in the remaining malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. (Dissolve malt extract when adding it during the boil.) Chill wort to 70 °F, then rack to fermenter. Add water make about 5.0 gallons, aerate wort thoroughly, and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 72 °F. After fermentation stops, let the beer settle for 2–3 days, then rack to keg and carbonate to 2.0 volumes of CO₂.

3-gallon Cooler Option:

Increase the amount of UK pale ale malt to 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg). Decrease the amount of malt extract to 11 oz. (310 g). Use 8.3 qts. (7.8 L) of strike water and roughly this volume (about 5% less) of sparge water.  Collect about 4 gallons (15 L wort) of wort. 90% of the fermentables in this beer come from the partial mash.

Bottle Conditioning Option:

Add 3.5 oz. (99 g) of corn sugar to prime for bottling. Store bottles warm (around 80 °F/27 °C, optimally) for 4 days, then move to cold storage for at least 3 days before serving. If time is really of the essence, after 3 days of cold conditioning, chill one bottle and open. If it is carbonated satisfactorily, move all the bottles to cold storage.

Dry Hopping Option: 

Adding 0.75 oz. (21 g) of whole Fuggles hops as dry hops will enhance the hop aroma. Contact time should be 4 to 7 days.

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Leg of Ordinary Biters

(Ordinary Bitter)

Partial mash (countertop), metric units

by Chris Colby

INGREDIENTS  (for 19 L)

Water

carbon filtered tap water

dilute with distilled water, if needed, to 75 ppm HCO₃^–

add calcium chloride and gypsum (in 1:3 ratio) to make 100 ppm Ca²⁺

Malts (for an OG of 1.036 at 65% extract efficiency and an SRM of 17)

430 g UK pale ale malt (3 °L)

680 g US 2-row pale malt

340 g flaked maize

130 g  biscuit malt

110 g crystal malt (60 °L)

110 g crystal malt (90 °L)

28 g chocolate malt

850 g light dried malt extract (English, such as Muntons or similar)

Hops (for 29 IBU total)

First Gold (or Goldings) hops (14 IBU)

14 g (at 8% alpha acids), boiled for 60 minutes

First Gold (or Goldings) hops (15 IBU)

28 g (at 8% alpha acids), boiled for 15 minutes

Fuggles hops (0 IBU)

0.75 oz. (at 5% alpha acids), at knockout

Yeast (for an FG of 1.007 and an ABV of 3.8%)

Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast

(with a fresh pack/tube of yeast, you do not need a yeast starter;

alternately, make a 1-L yeast starter)

Other

1 tsp. Irish moss, boiled for 15 minutes

PROCEDURE

In your brewpot, heat 5.2 L. of brewing liquor to 73 °C. Place crushed grains in a large steeping bag and submerge in brewpot water. Mash at 67 °C for 60 minutes, stirring and heating briefly every 10 minutes to maintain the mash temperature. In a separate pot, heat 5 L of water to 77 °C. When the mash is done, heat the mash to 77 °C for a mash out. Lift bag and let drip into brewpot until you can move it over to the cooler without splattering too much wort. Scoop or pour the wort from the brewpot into the cooler. Recirculate the wort until it is clear, then run off. Sparge steadily over 60 minutes (collect about a cup of wort from the cooler every 90 seconds) to collect about 10 L. Add about 2 L of water to the brewpot, and start heating it as you collect the wort. You should yield about 13 L of wort when you’re done collecting it. Stir in roughly half of the malt extract and bring the wort to a boil. Add the first dose of hops and boil wort for 60 minutes. Add other hops and Irish moss nutrients at times indicated. Stir in the remaining malt extract in the last 10 minutes of the boil. (Dissolve malt extract when adding it during the boil.) Chill wort to 21 °C, then rack to fermenter. Add water make about 19 L, aerate wort thoroughly, and pitch sediment from yeast starter. Ferment at 22 °C. After fermentation stops, let the beer settle for 2–3 days, then rack to keg and carbonate to 2.0 volumes of CO₂.