Brewing English bitter at home

Name: Brewing English bitter at home
Yield: 20 L
Ingredients: 3.54 kg Pale ale malt; 0.77 kg Caramunich II; 0.08 kg Pale wheat malt; 30 g East Kent Goldings; 32 g Fuggle; SafAle S-04: 10–16 g (0.35–0.56 oz) for 20 L (about 5.3 gal) (50–80 g/hl)

Amber and malty with earthy hop bitterness.

Base recipe for 20 litres (5.3 gal), calculated with the Brauwerkstatt beer creator. With one click you can adapt it to your batch size, bitterness, colour or alcohol content.

Adapt in the beer creator

Typical figures

Alcohol	3.8–4.6 %
Bitterness	25–40 IBU
Colour	16–30 EBC (8–15 SRM)
Carbonation	4.0 g/l (2.0 vol)
Yeast	SafAle S-04 (top-fermenting)
Fermentation temperature	17–20 °C (63–68 °F)
Brewing water	harder, for dark beers

Recipe for 20 litres (5.3 gal)

Original gravity: 10.6 °P (SG 1.043)
4.2 % vol
32 IBU
22 EBC (11.2 SRM)
Final gravity: 2.7 °P (SG 1.011)

Grain bill

Pale ale malt	3.54 kg (7.80 lb)	81 %
Caramunich II	768 g (27.1 oz)	18 %
Pale wheat malt	77 g (2.7 oz)	2 %

Hops

East Kent Goldings 5.5 % α	30 g (1.06 oz)	60 min
Fuggle 4.5 % α	32 g (1.13 oz)	15 min

Yeast

SafAle S-04: 10–16 g (0.35–0.56 oz) for 20 L (about 5.3 gal) (50–80 g/hl)

Mash schedule

66 °C (151 °F) · 60 min

Brewing water

Mash water	15.5 L (4.09 gal)
Sparge water	13.5 L (3.57 gal)
Total water	29.0 L (7.66 gal)

Brewing steps

Clean and sanitise everything that touches the wort after the boil.
Measure out 29 L (about 7.7 gal) of water and treat it with the brewing-water calculator. Dark beers cope well with harder water; aim for a mash pH of 5.3–5.5.
Split the water: mash water 15.5 L (about 4.1 gal), sparge water 13.5 L (about 3.6 gal).
Heat the mash water to 69 °C (156 °F) and mash in 3.54 kg (7.8 lb) Pale ale malt, 0.77 kg (1.7 lb) Caramunich II and 77 g (2.7 oz) Pale wheat malt (gives about 66 °C / 151 °F).
Rest: 66 °C (151 °F), 60 min. Iodine test at the end: no blue colour = starch converted.
Measure mash pH 10–15 min after mashing in (cool the sample to 20 °C / 68 °F). Target 5.4–5.5.
Mash out: heat to 78 °C (172 °F) and hold for 10 min.
Rest 10–20 min, lauter slowly and sparge with 13.5 L (about 3.6 gal) water at 78 °C (172 °F).
Boil the wort for 60 min. At the start of the boil add 30 g (1.1 oz) East Kent Goldings.
15 min before the end of the boil add 32 g (1.1 oz) Fuggle.
10 min before the end of the boil add Irish moss (about 2 g / 0.07 oz, soaked beforehand).
After the boil stir a whirlpool and let it rest for 15 min.
Chill to 17 °C (63 °F), measure original gravity (target 10.6 °P), run 20 L (about 5.3 gal) into the fermenter, aerate well and pitch the SafAle S-04 (amount see yeast).
Primary fermentation 7–10 days at 17–20 °C (63–68 °F).
Measure final gravity (target about 2.7 °P). Priming sugar per bottle from the carbonation calculator (target 4 g/l), then bottle.
Bottle-condition for 2 weeks at room temperature, then keep cool.

Notes

Created with the beer creator (brewhouse efficiency 70 %, final gravity about 2.7 °P).