Ordinary Bitter Recipe wanted

[DaveGillespie]

Hi gents, planning my first crack at a bitter soon which will be fermented with captured Fullers Bengal Lancer yeast and single hopped with 10.9% AA Flyer. I need some advice on the Grain Bill and hop schedule, looking for something in the 3.5%-3.9% ABV range, preferably on the lower end of that. Have plenty of the following grains:

Maris Otter
Wheat
Carapils
Crystal 80
Chocolate
Aromatic
Special B
Amber
Melanoidin
Munich
Vienna
Torri Wheat
Caramalt

[Fuggley Duckling]

I recently brewed this NZ hopped beauty, it didn't last long...

Brew length - 34L
OG - 1.040
FG - 1.012
3.95% ABV
31.3 IBU
Mash - 90 min / 151 deg F
Boil - 90 min

Grain
5.85kg Maris Otter (85%)
700g Pale Crystal (10%)
350g Torrified Wheat (5%)

Hops
30g Pacific Jade (14%AA) @ 60 min - 24.7 IBU
30g Motueka (6.9AA) @ 15 min - 6.1 IBU
30g Motueka (6.9AA) @ 1 min - 0.5 IBU

1 tsp Irish moss @ 10 min

I split this batch with a friend. I fermented my half with white labs burton ale yeast (temp stayed between 18-20 deg C) and my mate used white labs pacific ale yeast. Mine turned out to be a great tasting, easy drinking, pale bitter. I drunk it all in 2 weeks. I didn't get to try my mate's as he'd finished it all before I saw him again.

[Mr. Dripping]

I'd go something like this:

92% Pale Malt
4% Special B
4% Wheat Malt

You can use software to get the alcohol content you want.
Hop to around 30 IBU.
Not too much aroma in an ordinary bitter. So you'd be looking at a 60 or 90 minute addition for bittering with a second addition at 15 or 20 mins from end of boil.
I would go with English hops....challenger, EKG, fuggles etc. But that's just my personal taste for a drink like this.

[Pinto]

You'll be hard pressed to find a finer OSB recipe than the one listed under "all grain" on the header of this page - our founder and patron's House bitter

It was my first AG and after dispatching the last pints in my keg a few days ago, will be one of my next for sure. Simplicity itself !

[Redimpz]

Most of the recipes in "Norm's real ale almanac" will see you right.

[DaveGillespie]

Going to have a pop at this, knocked it together from a few sources:

Target OG 1.037, EBC 34, IBU 31

MO 78.9%
Munich 10%
Crystal 82 6%
Aromatic 3.9%
Torri Wheat 1.2%

Flyer 10.9% 21g @ 60 mins
Flyer 10.9% 10g @ 10 mins

Fullers yeast, 1 litre starter of which is currently chilling in the fridge after 200ml and 500ml steps from 2 bottles of Bengal Lancer. 75% attenuation should put me in the 3.5% to 3.8% range.

Not sure whether the grain bill is too complicated? Got a bit tunnel vision when playing around in beer engine to get the EBC I wanted and have perhaps taken a few too many bits of advice with the inclusion of the Munich.

[seymour]

Dude, you still got Flyer?! So jealous, I loved that sh!t.

If all goes well, I might have a shot at some "Flyer x O.P." offspring in a couple years.

[DaveGillespie]

Yes, I haven't even opened mine yet. The Malt Miller were selling a kilo of it for £5 and I managed to get 800g whilst staying under the low Northern Ireland postage rate. This bitter will be my first brew with it.

[Dave S]

Going to have a pop at this, knocked it together from a few sources:

Target OG 1.037, EBC 34, IBU 31

MO 78.9%
Munich 10%
Crystal 82 6%
Aromatic 3.9%
Torri Wheat 1.2%

Flyer 10.9% 21g @ 60 mins
Flyer 10.9% 10g @ 10 mins

Fullers yeast, 1 litre starter of which is currently chilling in the fridge after 200ml and 500ml steps from 2 bottles of Bengal Lancer. 75% attenuation should put me in the 3.5% to 3.8% range.

Not sure whether the grain bill is too complicated? Got a bit tunnel vision when playing around in beer engine to get the EBC I wanted and have perhaps taken a few too many bits of advice with the inclusion of the Munich.

That will doubtless make a fine ale, but it won't be what I would consider an 'ordinary' bitter. I'd take out the Munich and Aromatic and as someone else suggested, stick to traditional English hops.

My own house bitter is not far off Jim's recipe - MO and Crystal, with equal quantities of EKG and Fuggles, with some additional late EKG.

[JKaranka]

85% Maris Otter, 15% Munich, 120 minute boil, single bittering addition, and small addition at 10m

[Evanvine]

For a bog standard bitter, the above recipe by Dave S will take a lot of beating!