Bramling cross bitter

[subfaction]

Hi guys,

Free evening tonight so a late night brew is in order
Its my first time using this hop, so thinking of a tasty bitter, with a nice malt/ hop balance.
How does this sound?

AG#08 Bramling Bitter
Brewer: Mike
Asst Brewer:
Style: English Best Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 34.16 l
Post Boil Volume: 29.31 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 25.00 l
Bottling Volume: 24.60 l
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 20.3 EBC
Estimated IBU: 34.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 83.3 %
0.50 kg Crystal Malt (130.0 EBC) Grain 2 9.3 %
0.10 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (3.9 EBC) Grain 4 1.9 %
0.30 kg Amber Malt (65.0 EBC) Grain 3 5.6 %
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49 Yeast 8 -
40.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 27.3 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Aroma Steep 30 Hop 7 0.0 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Da Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 6.8 IBUs


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.40 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 37.46 l of water at 69.8 C 66.7 C 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

Sparge: Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[seymour]

Sounds really tasty, keep us updated. Wouldn't you expect 9.3% Crystal and 5.6% Amber to make it darker than that, though? Interesting.

[subfaction]

I've got 2nd thoughts due to the love it / hate it threads on bramling cross on the board, I've not had it before, so I was thinking I may as well go whole hog with it!
It did look a bit light, I had a 100g of choc malt in there too before and was surprised at the colour when I removed it.

Seymour - do you think the IBU for that gravity looks about right? I'm after a nice balance.

[seymour]

I think so, especially in light of so much caramelized malt. Typically, when a brewer wants to show-off the hops, a pale IPA is the way to go. I prefer my IPAs maltier than many people, but there are plenty of reputable brewers who'll say never use more than 5% caramelized malt in an IPA. Since you're calling for 9.3% Crystal and 5.6% Amber, I'd think you'll need at least 30 IBU to tip the balance back towards the hops. It appears your recipe concept isn't a pure IPA, but rather a hoppy amber ale, which I think is very interesting in it's own rite.

[subfaction]

Thanks Seymour yes I'm after balance really, and have found I prefer the more complex malty ales rather than super clean light ipas, but at the same time would like this to be refreshing and hop focused...
Hoppy amber ale sounds splendid!

[subfaction]

Right I'm going in - water treated and heating...
Close shave... Forgot the hop filter! arm into thankfully luke warm water, done!

Mash on! - hit target temp spot on
Grabbed hops from freezer, and AA is lower than expected, also threw in more MO than I planned to empty a bag, so new recipe, using challenger to up the IBU, moved BC later:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 34.16 l
Post Boil Volume: 29.31 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 25.00 l
Bottling Volume: 24.60 l
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 20.4 EBC
Estimated IBU: 33.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.66 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 83.8 %
0.50 kg Crystal Malt (130.0 EBC) Grain 2 9.0 %
0.10 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (3.9 EBC) Grain 4 1.8 %
0.30 kg Amber Malt (65.0 EBC) Grain 3 5.4 %
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49 Yeast 9 -
20.00 g Bramling Cross [5.57 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 10.9 IBUs
30.00 g Bramling Cross [5.57 %] - Aroma Steep 30 Hop 8 0.0 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [5.57 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Da Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
30.00 g Bramling Cross [5.57 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 8.1 IBUs
23.00 g Challenger [7.12 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 14.6 IBUs


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.56 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 37.56 l of water at 70.7 C 66.7 C 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

Sparge: Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Notes:
------
water treatment:

alk: 182.5 -measured - filtered water
crs, res. alk: 60
hardness: 378
ca: 151.36
mg: 29
Sodium: 54.88
Carbonate: 109.42
Sulphate: 187.64
Chloride: 105.4

1/2 campden
Burton profile and 37.4l of water = CRS: 24.7 ml

[seymour]

...AA is lower than expected, also threw in more MO than I planned to empty a bag, so new recipe, using challenger to up the IBU, moved BC later...

Even better. Happy brewing!

[subfaction]

Well i wrapped the tidy up around 2am, so typical for one of my brew days.
Disappointed with my efficiency again. Even with a 90min mash, mash-out and bag over the kettle sparge with 5litres... I got mid 60s efficiency.
Really annoying me, I love the biab method, but may have to consider going 3 tiered to get better consistency.
I'm going to look at the Aussie biab forum for tips, it's odd that it can swing from 75% to 60%... There must be something I'm missing. The end beer is great, just not what I dialled in

[seymour]

How fresh was your grain and how long ago was it crushed? Is it possible your mash temperature crept too high?

[subfaction]

I don't think so, I obviously need to calibrate everything to make sure, I'm pretty sure my mash temp was hit bang-on, I don't have notes on me though.
My grain was fairly old though, I was using the bottom of a sack of MO, maybe a year old, kept cool and wrapped close but not quite airtight. could be that, I'll check my figures as from memory my efficiency varies pretty wildly.
I wish I had the time to do side by sides to really dial the system in..

[Steve B]

I think people get too hung up on efficiency. To me, the most important thing is the finished article tastes good!

[seymour]

I think people get too hung up on efficiency. To me, the most important thing is the finished article tastes good!

That's true of course, but we still all want the most bang for our buck. More fermentable sugars from the same quantity grain equals more good-tasting finished article. If you buy a cheap cast-iron Corona grainmill and keep your grain uncracked until brewday, you'll likely see a big improvement in efficiency and fresh flavour.
Even so, your beer should be tasty no matter what.

[subfaction]

Thanks guys, I'll consider a mill, would make sense as I don't get to brew that often.
I really just want predictability, so I can achieve what I set out to, if I had a consistently low efficiency I'd be kinda happy, the problem is it seems to wildly swing.

[tec-9-7]

Is adding DME to top up your gravity really offensive to you?

[orlando]

Hi guys,

Free evening tonight so a late night brew is in order
Its my first time using this hop, so thinking of a tasty bitter, with a nice malt/ hop balance.
How does this sound?

AG#08 Bramling Bitter
Brewer: Mike
Asst Brewer:
Style: English Best Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 34.16 l
Post Boil Volume: 29.31 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 25.00 l
Bottling Volume: 24.60 l
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 20.3 EBC
Estimated IBU: 34.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
4.50 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 83.3 %
0.50 kg Crystal Malt (130.0 EBC) Grain 2 9.3 %
0.10 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (3.9 EBC) Grain 4 1.9 %
0.30 kg Amber Malt (65.0 EBC) Grain 3 5.6 %
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49 Yeast 8 -
40.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 27.3 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Aroma Steep 30 Hop 7 0.0 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Da Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
20.00 g Bramling Cross [6.89 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 6.8 IBUs


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.40 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 37.46 l of water at 69.8 C 66.7 C 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

Sparge: Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey subby how did you copy the recipe from BeerSmith? Not seen this "style" of presentation before.