Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

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jaroporter
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by jaroporter » Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:23 pm

Pinto wrote:
orlando wrote:I drank a lot of it at a wedding Saturday (pin on gravity) just superb, in my view uncloneable, sadly. :cry:
Shame you didnt "rescue" said pin at the end of the event m8 - would have been loaded with yeast.....

i've followed this thread with interest, it's my desert island beer. there's a thousand more seductive upstarts that tempt me to play away, but i always end up wishing to stay at home tappin harvey's till death do us part..

so i also had considered it pretty damn uncloneable, but last night i drank something that came feckin close. like, close enough for buddy rich. dude reclaimed yeast from a polypin of sussex best (if i weren't so preoccupied with fuller's yeast maybe i'd have come up with that idea.. ) and damn it now all bets are off.

..there is hope..
dazzled, doused in gin..

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oz11
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by oz11 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:04 pm

I'm guessing you were at the Maidstone Brew Club meeting yesterday then...

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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by scuppeteer » Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:55 pm

And from a guy that was only his third AG! :shock:

Brewers Got Talent!!! :lol:
Dave Berry


Can't be arsed to keep changing this bit, so, drinking some beer and wanting to brew many more!

Sir, you are drunk! Yes madam, and you are ugly, but in the morning I shall be sober! - WSC

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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by jaroporter » Thu Oct 29, 2015 6:37 pm

haha yeeeaaaahh. i'm gonna have to get detailed fermentation notes..
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orlando
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by orlando » Tue Nov 03, 2015 6:04 pm

I remember your tour photographs and was on the tour myself a year ago tomorrow! Time flies, what I didn't think about at the time was some of the items you photographed and their importance in the recipe. For example the colour of Harvey's Best is a deep chestnut mahogany shade, this is not achieved from the malt bill and your picture of Brewing Syrup 731 is the clue, this is actually brewing caramel for introducing colour. The other picture that gave some clues is that of the sugar you saw that tasted of molasses, this is almost certainly invert sugar, probably # 3. Anyway, the yeast is the main key and of course those "Yorkshire" squares. I was just a little disappointed that I didn't have a sterile container as I went slowly by. :D Miles Jenner was our host and has to be one of the great eccentrics of England not just brewing, absolutely loved him, we need more like him.
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by Rubbery » Tue Nov 03, 2015 6:32 pm

seymour wrote:HARVEY'S SUSSEX BEST BITTER/BB
…being Seymour's all-grain, research-based clone recipe of Harvey's/Harvey & Son/The Bridge Wharf Brewery - Lewes, East Sussex, UK

6 US Gallons = 5 Imperial Gallons = 22.7 Litres

FERMENTABLES:
88.1% = 7.75 lb = 3.5 kg, Maris Otter Pale Malt
6.8% = .6 lb = 272 g, Dark Crystal Malt (≈90-115°L)
5.1% = .45 lb = 204 g, Flaked Maize (don't skip this essential adjunct, trust me)

MASH ≈ 152.6°F/67°C 60 minutes or until converted.

SPARGE ≈ 171°F/77°C, collect 7 US gal/5.8 Imperial gal pre-boil, to allow for evaporation

BOIL 60-90 minutes

HOPS:
.9 oz = 26 g, Progress, ≈6.3% AA, 60 minutes
.9 oz = 26 g, Bramling Cross, ≈6.5% AA, 30 minutes
.5 oz = 15 g, Fuggles, ≈5% AA, at flame-out, steep until cooled
.5 oz = 15 g, Goldings, ≈5% AA, at flame-out, steep until cooled

afterwards, STEEP all hops awhile before chilling, transfer to fermentor, aerate, then pitch.

YEAST:
Harvey's proprietary dual-strain, top-cropped and repitched for over 50 years, possibly available as BrewLab Sussex 1, also used by nearby micros such as Rectory

STATS: (assuming ≈75% mash efficiency and 76% yeast attenuation)
OG: 1041
FG: 1010
ABV: 4.0%
IBU: 35
COLOUR: 9°SRM/18°EBC, light amber
I know that post was a while ago now, but...

I just stuck that in BeerEngine and it came out at 33EBC, but if I substitute ordinary Crystal instead of Dark Crystal it comes in at the stated 18EBC.

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orlando
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by orlando » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:18 pm

Yes that changes that recipe, that is trying to get the colour through a malt, you need to use the caramel if you want the colour or just shut your eyes when you drink the clone. It also doesn't use invert # 3 so again there will be differences as invert provides colour as well as a lot of flavour.
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Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

Oaktree

Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by Oaktree » Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:31 pm

Rubbery wrote:
seymour wrote:HARVEY'S SUSSEX BEST BITTER/BB
…being Seymour's all-grain, research-based clone recipe of Harvey's/Harvey & Son/The Bridge Wharf Brewery - Lewes, East Sussex, UK

6 US Gallons = 5 Imperial Gallons = 22.7 Litres

FERMENTABLES:
88.1% = 7.75 lb = 3.5 kg, Maris Otter Pale Malt
6.8% = .6 lb = 272 g, Dark Crystal Malt (≈90-115°L)
5.1% = .45 lb = 204 g, Flaked Maize (don't skip this essential adjunct, trust me)

MASH ≈ 152.6°F/67°C 60 minutes or until converted.

SPARGE ≈ 171°F/77°C, collect 7 US gal/5.8 Imperial gal pre-boil, to allow for evaporation

BOIL 60-90 minutes

HOPS:
.9 oz = 26 g, Progress, ≈6.3% AA, 60 minutes
.9 oz = 26 g, Bramling Cross, ≈6.5% AA, 30 minutes
.5 oz = 15 g, Fuggles, ≈5% AA, at flame-out, steep until cooled
.5 oz = 15 g, Goldings, ≈5% AA, at flame-out, steep until cooled

afterwards, STEEP all hops awhile before chilling, transfer to fermentor, aerate, then pitch.

YEAST:
Harvey's proprietary dual-strain, top-cropped and repitched for over 50 years, possibly available as BrewLab Sussex 1, also used by nearby micros such as Rectory

STATS: (assuming ≈75% mash efficiency and 76% yeast attenuation)
OG: 1041
FG: 1010
ABV: 4.0%
IBU: 35
COLOUR: 9°SRM/18°EBC, light amber
I know that post was a while ago now, but...

I just stuck that in BeerEngine and it came out at 33EBC, but if I substitute ordinary Crystal instead of Dark Crystal it comes in at the stated 18EBC.

Trust me, Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter has a colour of 30 EBU/15 SRM

(How do I know? Ask no questions and I'll tell you no lies.... although you need to use pale malt, crystal malt, amber malt, flaked maize, and sugar inverts #1 & #3...) ;-)

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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by Hanglow » Tue Nov 03, 2015 10:22 pm

Some percentages infront of those ingredients would be wonderful Oaktree :) :)

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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by Pegasus » Wed Feb 17, 2016 6:13 pm

Managed to acquire and purify yeast(s) - there were bacterial contaminants - from the brewery a while ago so gave this another go.

Recipe as Seymour's but with a few v. minor tweaks plus tweaked the IBU up to 42 and boiled the Progress for 90 mins and the Bramling X for 45.
Water profile was for "bitter". Mashed at 67C for 90 mins (ended at 65C). I now BIAB (this is my 2nd) and due to equipment limitations the MO malt (2kg) was supplemented with 650g LME later on. SG 1.040, FG 1.010.

Wort was transferred when cooled into FV (leaving practically all trub behind) and fermented at 17C for 16 days.

Like Bazz, my starter(s) cleared so I thought I'd struck lucky so didn't crash cool or add gelatine :roll:

As the yeast sedimented out nicely in the FV I thought the yeast had flocculated well. Transferred to bottling bucket, primed and bottled. Left 2 weeks at 20C, then in a cool place.

Had my 1st pint after 5 weeks in bottle. It was hazy. The aroma & flavour was not typical of draft BB (never had it from bottles) but it did have a unique, pleasant aroma and a very nice flavour. In fact, if it wasn't for the cloudiness giving me concerns for my insides, I could have easily had at least another 1 as it was so moorish. There was no ill effect on my insides :D

I've found that my brews seem to really improve after 2 months in the bottle so will be patient and then start drinking it in earnest.

In the meantime, I'm going to order some gelatine powder as I want to brew this again soon as summer's coming.

Jim's "how to" pages state that gelatine doesn't work too well for bottled beer. For those of you that have used it, what are your experiences/tips? Any other thoughts?

Cheers

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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by orlando » Wed Feb 17, 2016 6:27 pm

Pegasus wrote:
In the meantime, I'm going to order some gelatine powder as I want to brew this again soon as summer's coming.
As a well known idler I'm always looking for the easy way out and have found the Malt Millers gelatine sheets to be perfect with a minimum of fuss, more expensive of course but not a bank breaker and you are guaranteed not to make a mistake.
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by Pegasus » Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:22 pm

molehill wrote:I have repeated this recipe 5 or 6 times tweaking it slightly to try and improve the end result. I would recommend standard bitter profile and I totally agree with Orlando re.... gelatine. Stir it properly in hot water, leave for 5 minutes then stir it properly again. The water takes on a slightly thicker appearance when it is properly disolved. I now leave my bitters in the the fermentor for 8 days then add the gelatine into the secondary fermentor for a further 7 days... 3 weeks later it is crystal clear, with very little sediment in the bottle.
I've not tried 2ary fermentation before. Do you then transfer to bottling bucket after the "further 7 days"? I'm assuming the "3 weeks later..." is after bottling?

Thanks Orlando, will give that a go. In an earlier post you said you crash cool for 48hrs then add gelatine and leave for further 48 hrs. Have you bottled any of these beers (as opposed to kegging)?

Do they still clear well even after priming?

Also made an HSB clone using Gales yeast (bottle harvested) and notice this hasn't totally cleared yet (3 weeks) - so will need the gelatine for future batches of this. It seems these "recovered" yeasts aren't very flocculent.

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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by orlando » Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:45 pm

Pegasus wrote: Thanks Orlando, will give that a go. In an earlier post you said you crash cool for 48hrs then add gelatine and leave for further 48 hrs. Have you bottled any of these beers (as opposed to kegging)?
Haven't bottled for years now so can't remember but almost certainly did. Although this experiment was on kegged beer the principle is the same as a keg is just a very big bottle.
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Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

ManseMasher

Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by ManseMasher » Sat Mar 12, 2016 11:10 am

This is the recipe I used, and Brewlabs Sussex #1 was the yeast. It turned out very nice, even if I do say so myself!
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Re: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

Post by Clibit » Sat Mar 12, 2016 12:13 pm

ManseMasher wrote:This is the recipe I used, and Brewlabs Sussex #1 was the yeast. It turned out very nice, even if I do say so myself!
Which yeast did you use?

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