Jennings Bitter

[gyleable]

I was introduced to this beer by my local B&M store where they're flogging it for £2 for two 500ml bottles. Didn't think I liked 'brown beer' but it's lovely and I'm inspired to try and recreate it. It has a pronounced nutty aroma and flavour. I haven't been able to find a clone recipe anywhere.

It's 3.5% ABV. Has a deep red brown colour. Jennings website says "Brewed with English pale Ale and Amber malt, to give a nutty flavour that supports a subtle blend of English aromatic hops."

My thoughts are:
Malts: 75% Pale, 15% Brown, 7.5% Amber, 2.5% roasted barley
Hops: Fuggles or EK Goldings to give 30 IBU.

I'm a novice AG brewer so any advice would be appreciated.

[timbo41]

Go for it. Perhaps a decent yeast as well!

[oakwell]

hi, I don't think that recipe will get you anywhere close. as a novice ag brewer you'd be better off trying a proven recipe rather than relying on guesswork. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but I think there's less chance of disappointment and a few successful brews will serve to motivate rather than deter you. i'd suggest either looking at some of the recipes on here or maybe getting a copy of Graham Wheeler's book Brew Your Own British Real Ale. good luck.

[gyleable]

Hi Oakwell,

It wasn't entirely guesswork; I have been reading about the various malts I proposed and obviously the inclusion of some Amber was driven by the description on the Jennings website. I don't have a copy of Wheeler's "Brew Your Own British Real Ale" but I do have his "Home Brewing, The CAMRA Guide". It has a Nut Brown Ale recipe but it doesn't feature Amber malt.

Please don't be concerned about damping my enthusiasm; I'm supping a Jennings Bitter as I write and am as enthused as ever!

[oakwell]

if you've not seen this you might find it helpful.
http://www.brupaks.com/ingredients.htm

[Eric]

That beer is a favourite of mine too and I've failed to replicate it. I feel it has changed and is lighter in colour since the brewery was damaged by floods a few years since, but the recipe is said to still be the original. I've heard both bitter and mild are made from the same mash. Amber malt is definitely there, but maybe just 2.5% and I suspect the rest of the colour comes from dark sugars.
Hops, agree, probably EKG and Fuggles.

[seymour]

I agree that amber malt is delicious in this kinda dark, nutty English bitter. However, I have four Jennings recipes in my database and they all call for varying quantities of pale malt, wheat, black malt, and invert syrup. This recipe should get you awful close to what you're drinking, some amber malt would almost certainly improve upon it.

Jennings Bitter
OG: 1035
ABV: 3.5%
IBU: ≈27
Colour: 18°SRM/36°EBC, dark copper
Grainbill: 80% Pale, 15% Wheat, 2.5% Black Malt, 2.5% Invert Syrup
Bittering Hops: Bramling Cross and/or Challenger
Aroma Hops: a little bit of Fuggles, Goldings late in boil
Yeast: I don't know, does anyone else? Marstons (possibly akin to White Labs WLP026) or Brakspear/HenleyWychwood (possibly akin to White Labs WLP023) are good guesses

[gyleable]

That's really helpful guys - thanks!

Regarding the invert syrup, Seymour, would that be carmamelised to any degree? If not, I guess I could just use ordinary cane sugar since - according to what I've read - there's not a lot to be gained from using invert.

Based on the input so far, my recipe plan is looking like this:

OG: 1035
IBU: ˜27
Grainbill: 80% Pale Malt, 12.5% Wheat Malt, 2.5% Amber Malt, 2.5% Black Malt, 2.5% cane sugar
Bittering Hops: EKG
Aroma Hops: Fuggles
Yeast: Safale S-04

I won't be brewing this for a couple of weeks yet (fermentation chamber currently occupied with a Belgian Blonde) so please do chip in with any further suggestions, anyone.

[seymour]

Regarding the invert syrup, Seymour, would that be carmamelised to any degree? If not, I guess I could just use ordinary cane sugar since - according to what I've read - there's not a lot to be gained from using invert.

You can certainly add straight table sugar, or even better, brown sugar to the boil kettle. However, Invert Syrup produces better results because the sucrose has already been "inverted" to a mixture of glucose and fructose, which is easier for the yeast to digest, thus placing less stress on it which might otherwise cause off-tastes. Invert Syrup is also perceived as sweeter and less prone to crystallize, so it dissolves more quickly and evenly.

Invert Syrup is super-easy to make, so there's really no reason not to. You simply mix your table sugar and water in a sauce pan with a few drops of citric acid (lemon or lime juice from your fridge are perfect), then boil for awhile. There are plenty of online "Do-It-Yourself Guides", and yes, sometimes it's caramelized by simply boiling it longer and hotter. You can cook it until it darkens if you're hoping to add some colour as well. Don't worry, it's not an exact science. It saves indefinitely in the fridge, too, so there's no need to obsess about the weights you're creating. When it's done, measure what you need, and save the rest for next time. I think this is a fun experimental step for all homebrewers to try at least once, and I bet you'll get smoother final beer compared to dumping straight sugar into the boil.

Keep in mind, Invert Syrup contains water and sugar, so the weight is no longer entirely sugar exactly. In this Jennings Bitter recipe, let's say 2.5% of the overall grainbill weight is 115 grams. If you use 115 grams of straight sugar instead of Invert Syrup, you're actually using a higher percentage of simple sugars, see?

One last thought, here's a quick-and-dirty way I sometimes do it on the actual brewday. Mash your grains as always, and when the time comes to sparge, drain a little of the first runnings into a pot, add your sugar and a few drops of lime juice, and boil hard on your stove top, while your typical sparge process continues into the standard boil kettle. When the time comes, bring your main batch to a boil, add hops as always, etc. Before too long, your stove-top Invert Syrup should be nice and thick and fragrant, at which point you pour it into the main boil, proceed as usual. I'd say this is an enhancement to ANY English Ale recipe, contributing to those irresistable caramelly, rummy, toffee-like flavours that go so well with marmalade-y hops. Mmmmm, who's ready for a pint?!

Best of luck, and happy brewing!

[Barley Water]

Humm.....that gives me an idea. I have a can of Lyles laying around that somebody gave me. Maybe I'll fool around with a bitter recipe and carmelize some of that stuff just to see how it comes out.

[seymour]

Humm.....that gives me an idea. I have a can of Lyles laying around that somebody gave me. Maybe I'll fool around with a bitter recipe and carmelize some of that stuff just to see how it comes out.

Definitely. Lyle's Golden Syrup can even be a great short-cut to add as-is to many English ale recipes.

[Hanglow]

Just be careful not to burn the sugar if you decide to invert it/make brewers syrup - keep the temp below 120C

I'm drinking some tea with some homemade no3 in it, very tasty is too

[Eric]

Just be careful not to burn the sugar if you decide to invert it/make brewers syrup - keep the temp below 120C

I'm drinking some tea with some homemade no3 in it, very tasty is too

Very worthy advice not to burn the sugar, but in this particular case I feel the invert Jennings might use could come close to that. I understand their water is very soft, yet their original beers are all quite dark and doubt their colour all comes from highly kilned malts or grains.

[zgoda]

I made invert from 1 kg demerara, 100 gms glucose and 2 ml 80% lactic acid. Kept for 90 mins in 115-118c, that gave me 1100 gms dark syrup, comparing to EBC strips it's 100 EBC or so. Strong ale with 15% invert tastes damn fine, but required additional 4 week's conditioning to mellow.

[seymour]

I made invert from 1 kg demerara, 100 gms glucose and 2 ml 80% lactic acid. Kept for 90 mins in 115-118c, that gave me 1100 gms dark syrup, comparing to EBC strips it's 100 EBC or so. Strong ale with 15% invert tastes damn fine, but required additional 4 week's conditioning to mellow.

That's awesome, sounds perfect! Out of curiosity, why lactic acid, does it bring something special?