best bitter #3

The third iteration of the best bitter #1 & best bitter #2 recipes. The goal is a perfect english pale ale which we all know will never happen but is a goal more than worth pursuing regardless. How does this compare to #2? Same ibus (35 vs 36), slightly lighter in color (7.1 vs 7.4 srm), higher og (1.046 vs 1.043) and a lower fg (1.010 vs 1.015) which means this came out at 4.7% vs 3.7%. That puts right at the top of the abv range for the bjcp category. Same yeast (wlp002) which was harvested from #2 and repitched for this one. US goldings this time instead of east kent goldings and the addition of lyle's golden syrup at 8% of the grist in place of some of the base malt (77% vs 85%). Same percentage of simpsons crystal light and flaked maize (6.5% and 8.5% respectively) and the same water profile.

Being a little frustrated with how mild east kent goldings are I decided to try US goldings instead which are the same plant just grown over here. The climate is uniquely suited for hop growing in that area of england and it's where a lot of UK hops are still grown. I've read mixed reviews about whether the US variety is comparable so there's only one way to find out. I used the same bittering hop (target) and to go with the US theme, I used willamette instead of fuggles for flavor in conjunction with the star of the show. For the whirlpool I went with 3 oz of goldings instead of 1.5 oz each of goldings/fuggles to really get a sense of their character. Well let's just say there's no replacement for ekgs. The US goldings aren't bad in this but if ekg is a refined country gentleman, then US goldings are a slightly drunk refined country gentleman. They don't have the almost noble quality that you expect and lean more towards the earthy side than floral/herbal/citrus. They aren't as mild though and this beer has a fair amount of hop flavor and bitterness which is a plus. They are spicy like ekgs but it's a little harsher. Definitely a nice hop though but no match in the end and I'll be going back to ekgs. Even though ekgs are milder and more expensive than their US counterpart, I still think they are worth it.

Lyle's golden syrup is a partially inverted sugar and a somewhat decent replacement (so I'm told) for invert #1. A lot of UK brewers use invert sugar of different grades. #1 being the lightest in color and #3 the darkest. Does invert sugar add anything that regular sugar does not though? Apparently yes which makes sense since it's more expensive and brewer's wouldn't use a more expensive product if they can use a cheaper one and get the same results. Invert sugar is not really available on the homebrew level but you can make your own which I plan to do eventually when I stop being lazy. In terms of what it adds, "Invert sugar has a certain smoother, mellower flavor compared to other products. For brewers, invert syrup made from raw cane sugar is especially conducive to British beer styles. Beers made with this sugar seem to finish dry and clean, and they often develop subtle fruity, treacle flavors that are difficult to obtain with other ingredients. If you’ve ever tried a demerara rum (or demerara sugar, for that matter) you’ll recognize these subtle complexities." (source). Golden syrup is used a lot in baking and supposedly good on pancakes and waffles in place of maple syrup. Right out of the bottle it tastes very very sweet and has hints of butter and toffee. The viscosity is similar to honey. The invert process splits the disaccharide sucrose molecule into glucose and fructose. Both taste sweeter than sucrose (source). Because I was adding a lot of easily fermentable sugar, I raised the mash temp to 156 from 152 to make sure it didn't dry out too much. You still want it to finish on the dry side though to aid in drinkability. 

Overall I really like this beer. It's complex, dry, bitter and has a nice hop presence. It really hits the spot and I really can't get enough of this style right now so I'm already planning #4. For the next round I'm going to go back to ekgs and maybe only use those instead of blending with fuggles and target. The grain bill is spot on and I really like the subtle fruity and toffee flavors the golden syrup adds. I can see why brewers use it.

• og - 1.046
• fg - 1.010
• 4.7% abv
• 35 ibu
• 7.1 srm

Recipe

• 77% maris otter (crisp no. 19 floor malted)
• 8.5% flaked maize
• 8% lyle's golden syrup
• 6.5% simpsons crystal light
• wlp002 1l starter from a 400ml thick slurry harvested from the best bitter #2

• fwh - .5 oz target - 15.4 ibu
• 10m - 1 oz US goldings - 4.5 ibu
• 10m - 1 oz willamete - 5.5 ibu
• whirlpool 10m - 3 oz US goldings - 6.8 ibu
• whirlpool 10m - .5 oz target - 2.4 ibu

Water Profile
ca 55 ppm | mg 7 ppm | na 0 ppm | s04 99 ppm | cl 42 ppm

Brew Day 6/25/17
- mashed at 156f for 60m
- boiled for 60m
- pitched at 70f and fermented at 66f for 60 hours then raised to 69f

Tasting Notes 10/14/17
appearance: golden orange, fluffy off white head that sticks around with good lacing
aroma: fruity, herbal/spicy hops, bready malts
taste: earthy hops, firm bitterness, biscuit, a little toffee, dry finish

Next Time

Ekgs instead of US goldings, lower the og to account for the lower fg from the simple sugars to keep it closer to 4%. I'm pretty happy with the grain bill but the hops still need work. I could always try a different yeast but right now 002 is doing it for me. Maybe try some homemade invert instead of the golden syrup.