Cornish style bitter
Cornish style bitter
I'm interested in producing a traditional Cornish style bitter - something along the lines of Spingo Middle, Sharpe's Special or St Austell HSD.
Drinking Middle in The Blue Anchor, Helston recently, I thought I detected a distinct peppery flavour (which I've also tasted with Sharpe's Special) so I'm assuming a long boil with something like Goldings would be called for? Any suggestions?
Drinking Middle in The Blue Anchor, Helston recently, I thought I detected a distinct peppery flavour (which I've also tasted with Sharpe's Special) so I'm assuming a long boil with something like Goldings would be called for? Any suggestions?
Re: Cornish style bitter
I'm not sure what makes a Cornish bitter a Cornish bitter but you could go the route of propagating some St Austell yeast. I had some but can't really remember where I got it from. Possibly one of the Marks and Spencer's range of bottle conditioned ales. Seems like a reasonable assumption to me.
I'm not really being much help, am I?
I'm not really being much help, am I?
Re: Cornish style bitter
The only yeasts I know with a real peppery taste are saison yeasts. They're very dry and the beers are highly carbonated which adds to it. Goldings is a popular hop in them so I'd stick with that bit maybe look for a yeast that attenuates well (but probably not as well as a saison).
Re: Cornish style bitter
I'm assuming that the pepperyness which I get with both Sharpe's Special & Spingo Middle comes from the hops, rather than the yeast? HSD, for example, has progress & goldings (according to the St Austell website) - but then, I don't get the pepperyness with that. All are fairly old style beers so I wouldn't expect anything fancy in the ingredients - but who knows?
- charliemartin
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Re: Cornish style bitter
I've cultured up yeast from a Marks & Spencer Cornish beer before. It was a beast of a yeast. Very vigorous fermentation and quite high attenuation iirc. I made one of my best beers (a bitter) with that yeast. Can't recall any peppery flavour from it though.
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Altonrea Homebrew
- alix101
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Re: Cornish style bitter
Lots of crystal....low esters and clean water...
"Everybody should belive in something : and I belive I'll have another drink".
Re: Cornish style bitter
The bitters brewed by Cornish brewers are all traditional English bitters so there is no Cornish style bitter per se. There's nothing distinctively Cornish about them so I'm at a bit of a loss to tell you what the taste you're picking out is.
Each of the brewers you describe use different yeasts. Sharps and St. Austell Burtonise their water, I suspect Blue Anchor also do. I'd suspect it's a hop flavour you're picking out.
Each of the brewers you describe use different yeasts. Sharps and St. Austell Burtonise their water, I suspect Blue Anchor also do. I'd suspect it's a hop flavour you're picking out.
Re: Cornish style bitter
..which is why I suggested goldings?Matt12398 wrote:The bitters brewed by Cornish brewers are all traditional English bitters so there is no Cornish style bitter per se. There's nothing distinctively Cornish about them so I'm at a bit of a loss to tell you what the taste you're picking out is.
Each of the brewers you describe use different yeasts. Sharps and St. Austell Burtonise their water, I suspect Blue Anchor also do. I'd suspect it's a hop flavour you're picking out.
Re: Cornish style bitter
Progress in the boil with late Goldings to finish would be my choice.
Cheers
Steve
Cheers
Steve