Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter Clone Recipe

[orlando]

Hi Seymour, Any idea on hop quantities? I plan to give this a go the weekend.... I do not intend in using flaked maze but flaked barley.

That would be an error, flaked Barley will give the beer a slick creamy mouthfeel. I used to keep a Harvey's pub cellar and can assure you it doesn't have that dimension to it.

[chris172]

+1 for the hop quantities... this sounds as though it could be a good one with all the comments it attracted.

I'm looking for some good recipes to fill my newly acquired 5 Corny's

[Clobber]

I stuck to Seymours recipe and it has been my best beer to date... legendary recipe!

[seymour]

Hi Seymour, Any idea on hop quantities? I plan to give this a go the weekend.... I do not intend in using flaked maze but flaked barley.

That would be an error, flaked Barley will give the beer a slick creamy mouthfeel. I used to keep a Harvey's pub cellar and can assure you it doesn't have that dimension to it.

I agree with Orlando. Flaked maize provides pure, clean fermentable sugar, almost like adding white table sugar. Flaked barley is sorta the opposite. Like torrified wheat, rolled oats, etc, it's not nearly as fermentable, and leaves behind fuller body, bready mouthfeel, creamy foam, improved head retention and lace. That substitution would surely brew tasty bitter, but not much like the Harvey original. If you can't find store-bought brewer's flaked maize, simply crush your own dried corn, popcorn kernels, or even supermarket grits or coarse-ground cornmeal, all of which I've used to great effect. Any of you guys grow corn in your allotments?

Cheers!

[molehill]

Hi Seymour, Any idea on hop quantities? I plan to give this a go the weekend.... I do not intend in using flaked maze but flaked barley.

That would be an error, flaked Barley will give the beer a slick creamy mouthfeel. I used to keep a Harvey's pub cellar and can assure you it doesn't have that dimension to it.

I agree with Orlando. Flaked maize provides pure, clean fermentable sugar, almost like adding white table sugar. Flaked barley is sorta the opposite. Like torrified wheat, rolled oats, etc, it's not nearly as fermentable, and leaves behind fuller body, bready mouthfeel, creamy foam, improved head retention and lace. That substitution would surely brew tasty bitter, but not much like the Harvey original. If you can't find store-bought brewer's flaked maize, simply crush your own dried corn, popcorn kernels, or even supermarket grits or coarse-ground cornmeal, all of which I've used to great effect. Any of you guys grow corn in your allotments?

Cheers!

Thank you Orlando and Seymour... Point taken and I will order some flaked maize from the Malt Miller. I would still like to know / find out how much of each hop variety to use?

[orlando]

Thank you Orlando and Seymour... Point taken and I will order some flaked maize from the Malt Miller. I would still like to know / find out how much of each hop variety to use?

Seymour might help there but the yeast is really the key. If you can get hold of some from a cask that Harvey's sell to the public that has the dual strain in it then this will help get that legendary flavour as much as anything else. If you succeed in cloning it I want to know about it, very badly.

[molehill]

I have prepared a Brewlabs Sussex 1 yeast for the task. I am drinking an Old Speckled Hen clone that I modified.... no sugar and altered hops as I write this, the yeast used was a Sussex 1 slant and it has a distant flavour of Harvey's bitter.... and this weekend, I am hoping if I can get the grain bill and hop amounts close, coupled with the Sussex 1 slant I may get closer to the desired flavour I seek?

[seymour]

...I would still like to know / find out how much of each hop variety to use?

Ah, sorry I missed that. Here you go, the full monty:

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

[molehill]

Thank you Seymour ...... You are a star! I will follow this recipe to the word.... well almost My mash will be 90 mins and I batch sparge because I prefer this method as its idiot proof and easier i.e. top up mash to recommended amount @ 80c, stir and sit for 20 mins. drain off repeat @ 80c and 20 min soak. Boil for 90 mins. Everything else will be as your suggest...... Can't wait to get started.

Just a coupler of questions I am hoping you can answer.

1. Should I reduce my sparging to 77c?
2. I have always mashed and boiled for 90 mins ... In your opinion, is there any difference in a 60 or 90 min sparge and boils?

I would gladly change my methods and do whatever it takes to get it close to the original Harvey's!

[seymour]

Thank you Seymour ...... You are a star! I will follow this recipe to the word.... well almost My mash will be 90 mins and I batch sparge because I prefer this method as its idiot proof and easier i.e. top up mash to recommended amount @ 80c, stir and sit for 20 mins. drain off repeat @ 80c and 20 min soak. Boil for 90 mins. Everything else will be as your suggest...... Can't wait to get started.

Just a coupler of questions I am hoping you can answer.

1. Should I reduce my sparging to 77c?
2. I have always mashed and boiled for 90 mins ... In your opinion, is there any difference in a 60 or 90 min sparge and boils?

I would gladly change my methods and do whatever it takes to get it close to the original Harvey's!

I really don't go in for the whole argument between fly sparging versus batch sparging. Both methods make perfectly good beer, so whatever works best for you on your gear...if the beer comes out good, keep doin' it.

1. RE: sparge temp: I think the difference here might be simply that you're describing the temp of the sparge water, and I'm describing the resulting temp of the blended mash. No matter. As you probably know, if it's too cool, you get a slow sticky drain-off, and some sugars left behind, thus a lower mash efficiency. The danger if too hot is extracting harsh, astringent grain tannins, similar to a spent tea-bag. If you ever get those flavours in your beer, work a few degrees cooler. If you're making good beer with good efficiencies, again, just keep doin' what you do.

2. RE: boil duration: I don't care much about the 60 min versus 90 min boil either. I've drunk plenty of delicious commercial beers which used 45 min boils. The scientific data shows a serious drop-off of hops alpha acids usage after 45 min, so unless you've got another good reason to boil so much longer (such as: to reduce the volume via evaporation, concentrate the sugars to hit a recipe target, to reduce haze in an high-percentage-of-unmalted-adjuncts-recipe, etc) then I think you could shorten your brewday and save energy costs. I'm not trying to start an argument. If any of you care a lot about this, you care more than me. Again, if your process works, there's no need to change it. For what it's worth, I've never specifically heard Harvey's uses a 90 minute boil. Have any of you heard about this on the tour?

Anyway, glad you got the details you wanted. Happy brewing and keep us posted on your results!

[molehill]

Hi Seymour.... Thanks again for the valuable input. Using Beer Engine I have had to make some adjustments and came up with the following. I intend in doing 60 minute mash and boil.

23 lt brew = 32.5 lt Total liquor and 10.5 lt mash liquor

Fermentables
88.1% Maris Otter Pale Malt 3680 g
6.8% Dark Crystal Malt 285 g
5.1% Flaked Maize 215 g

Hops
Progress 30 g @ 60 mins (Higher than you recommended but only way of reaching EBU)
Bramling 29 g @ 30 mins (Higher than you recommended but only way of reaching EBU)
Fuggle 15 g steep as suggested
Goldings 15 g (East Kent) steep as suggested
Protofloc 1/2 tablet

Sussex No. 1 Slant stepped 40ml - 400ml - 1.8lt

Stats
OG 1.041
FG 1.010
ABV 4%
EBU 35
EBC 34
Expected efficiency 75%

Brew day Sunday ..... I intend in giving feedback following each process to let you know if I reached my targets, since I know there are a few interested brewers keen on this fine bitter!

[orlando]

Looking forward to it.

[seymour]

Looking forward to it.

+1

[floydmeddler]

Harvey's Bitter also has a soft brown sugar addition. Quite light.

Here's a pic of the exact stuff. Looks darker here:



Other important and reliable info:

Mash at 68c, OG 1.040, ferment at 17c and it should end at 1.008.

It is actually slightly stronger than 4.0% if you do the maths.

I'm pretty sure they send it out to the pubs for drinkin' after around 10 days.

This info was given to me by Hamish Elder during the brewery tour.

[orlando]

Other important and reliable info:

Mash at 68c, OG 1.040, ferment at 17c and it should end at 1.008.

Interesting, is it pitched at 17c and kept at 17 for the entire brew or do they allow it to rise?