Basic Bitter

[JabbA]

After last weekend off the 'lets build up some stocks' champaign will be in full swing again this Sunday! I really must make the effort to get my arse out of bed early one of these days and get a double brewday in...

I've not done a basic bitter since my first attempt at AG so it's about time for one



I've got a 2l starter of WLP002 - English Ale on the go for the magic.

Cheers,
Jamie

[RichardG]

Isn't that a rather large starter? Everything else seems perfectly dandy, but it might be worth while seeking opnions on whether you risk over-pitching. However, I'm by no means an expert of such matters, and if it's worked for you before, I'm sure it will again.

[Barley Water]

Actually, I don't think that will cause problems per se but you may really not need that much, why work harder than needed? An O.G. of 1.040 is pretty low and I don't know that it would bother me to just pitch the tube, assuming of course the the yeast was fresh and all. What I like to do is back to back brews, do the low gravity beer first them use the yeast cake on the stronger beers, I especially like to do that with lager yeast since you need so much more to get decent attenuation.

[Rookie]

Isn't that a rather large starter? Everything else seems perfectly dandy, but it might be worth while seeking opnions on whether you risk over-pitching. However, I'm by no means an expert of such matters, and if it's worked for you before, I'm sure it will again.

It really takes a LOT to over pitch.

[RichardG]

That's good to know. In that case I reakon JabbA's ready to rock!

[mysterio]

The only concern would be pitching the entire starter, as 2L is nearly 10 % of the batch, starter wort can be a bit funny tasting. With WLP002 it's not a problem as you can literally pour out the starter beer and the yeast wont move an inch.

[JabbA]

Yep that was the plan Mysrerio- actually I never pitch a whole starter, I just chill the DJ (the WLP002 is currently in the shed!) and pitch the slurry once it's warmed up.

Cheers,
Jamie

[coatesg]

Actually, I don't think that will cause problems per se but you may really not need that much, why work harder than needed? An O.G. of 1.040 is pretty low and I don't know that it would bother me to just pitch the tube, assuming of course the the yeast was fresh and all.

Trouble is that over this side of the pond, the tubes are rarely that fresh, and so a starter is usually required. At 1040, I would probably only use a starter a bit over half that amount, but as mysterio says, it's fairly hard to overpitch in this way.

Nice simple recipe - gonna be a sweet malty beer, but should have some great flavour