USA brewer looking for that "best" english bitter

[Rookie]

if you use pale malt, with 5% to 10% crystal malt and use some English hops for an IBU of between 30 and 40 then you can't go too far wrong.

I do that with 3 to 5% victory malt.
And of course E K Gs.

[homebrewdude76]

Is "St Peters" considered a good beer?
I do see it sometimes in the USA for sale. I think I have actually bought and drank them in the past. But that was years back.

There is no answer to this question!

However, I did a St Peters Bitter clone a few weeks ago and it was very good.

IMO if you use pale malt, with 5% to 10% crystal malt and use some English hops for an IBU of between 30 and 40 then you can't go too far wrong.

My St Peters recipe for 21 litres was:

3.5 kg Pale Malt
0.4 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (240.0 EBC)
0.1 kg Wheat, Torrified (4.0 EBC)
30.00 g First Gold [7.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
25.00 g East Kent Goldings [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min

I added wheat for a bit of head retention and I also serve it a bit colder than is usual for a bitter, at about 6C - 8C, so I'm no purist!

There are some very good, simple bitter recipes in "Home Brew Beer" by Greg Hughes. Very good starting points.

[homebrewdude76]

Is it typical to use Marris Otter 2 row also?

[BigMouth]

Yes, maris otter in an English Best, me lad.

[gobuchul]

Is "St Peters" considered a good beer?

Like everything it's very subjective.

I enjoy their beers.

IMO their Best Bitter is a good example of a simple English bitter.

What exactly are you looking for?

[homebrewdude76]

I used to be able to get Fuller;s beers.
But I don't see them very often.

I always enjoyed the Fullers Vintage Ale that came in the box.

But I am looking to make the typical authentic english bitter
I need to work up some recipes for your opinion.
I have neutral water, so I can adjust as needed to match a water profile

[gobuchul]

Not sure what the "Vintage Ale" is?

Fullers "signature" beer is probably London Pride. The "Vintage Ale" might be the US marketing name for it? There are loads of clone recipes on the web.

This is one take on it:

3.6 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
0.4 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
15 g Target [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
10 g Northdown [8.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
10 g Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 13.0 min

Pretty much fits in the 90% Pale, 10% crystal and 30 -40 IBUs with English hops profile.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

The vintage ale is their limited edition bottle conditioned version of golden pride. An excellent sup, especially when left to age.

Jamil Zainasheff has posted a recipe of Sambrooks Wandle which is a good example of an English ordinary bitter.

[Normski]

Not sure what the "Vintage Ale" is?

Fullers "signature" beer is probably London Pride. The "Vintage Ale" might be the US marketing name for it? There are loads of clone recipes on the web.

This is one take on it:

3.6 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
0.4 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
15 g Target [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
10 g Northdown [8.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
10 g Perle [8.00 %] - Boil 13.0 min

Pretty much fits in the 90% Pale, 10% crystal and 30 -40 IBUs with English hops profile.

Perle ? German Perle in a London Pride, I don't think so.
Im a Londoner born an bred.
Zur iz no Perle in zee pride.
Target, Challenger, a touch of Northdown maybe and loads of EKG
Norm

[gobuchul]

Perle ? German Perle in a London Pride, I don't think so.

This is one take on it:

OK. Swop the Perle for Northern Brewer or Challenger.

Besides, I bet they have used substitute hops from Zee Jermans at some point.

Needs must and all that.

[Normski]

Yeah but not Perle eh. That's not going to help a septic with an English Bitter.

[AnthonyUK]

Besides, I bet they have used substitute hops from Zee Jermans at some point.

Needs must and all that.

I really doubt that a brewery as large as Fuller's would not have their hop supply tied up years in advance.
Besides you could possibly get away with subbing the bittering hop but not the late additions.

[Bazz]

As has been mentioned there is no right answer to this, but I can give you my preferences, Marris otter, 5-10% light crystal, 1% chocolate malt, 5-8% torrified wheat or flaked barley, then equal amounts of Fuggles and EKG at the start of the boil, 20 minutes and flame out totalling 35 IBU's and any English yeast.

[homebrewdude76]

I am attaching a recipe for a 10gal batch

Thoughts?

[AnthonyUK]

I am attaching a recipe for a 10gal batch

Thoughts?

Is there really any need to overcomplicate the grainbill?
Pale and crystal around 90/10 is enough and maybe some wheat for a frothy head.