English bitter - opinions

[Slash]

Hi all

Just picked up a can of the new Coopers English Bitter in Coles this afternoon and noticed that it calls for 500g LDME only. Researched a little on the net to find that ordinary bitters are mid-strength so I thought I'd keep it simple for the sake of authenticity. Anyway I'm thinking the following might produce a decent brew and I'd appreciate any input/opinions:

Coopers English Bitter
500g Light liquid malt
15g Goldings, 15 min
15g Goldings, flameout
Safale S-04
2 weeks in primary followed by bottle conditioning 3 months.

Cheers

[warra48]

Sounds good to me.
I do like English Bitters, and Goldings hops will add an authentic character to the beer.

[drsmurto]

Looks good to me.

I dont age my lower gravity bitters much tho, generally a 14 day primary ferment, rack, crash chill for a few days then into the keg. Bigger beers tend to need time to smooth out rough edges.

Start tasting once they have carbed up and report back

[Slash]

Just got back from local HBS and could only buy light liquid malt in 1L quantities. I guess I'm now making a Best Bitter rather than Ordinary. So with my original recipe, will this present a problem re: bitterness?

[warra48]

You will increase the body and alcohol content of your beer with 1 litre of liquid malt.
It will make a nice beer though.
I'd add another hop addition, say 15 gr Goldings for 30 minutes.
Yum.

Or you could just use ½ litre as originally planned, and freeze the rest until you need it for your next brew.

[Slash]

Cheers Warra, I think I'll just use the whole lot. Putting this one down tomorrow, wish me luck!

[Zuma]

http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... 085#p90085

This is one of my faves now.

You can leave the peat malt out if you don't like the smokiness.

[Slash]

Just cracked one of these, not too bad for a green beer! Nice strong ale with roasty flavours and a crisp bitter finish. Should round out nicely over the coming months! Cheers to all for your help.