#175 "Real Bitter" Real Ale Recipe

Brewed: August 18. 1996

Ingredients for 10 gallons:

15 pounds Great Western Pale malt

3 pounds Hugh Baird 70/80 Crystal Malt

1/2 Pound Belgian Special "B" Malt

2 ounces '94 Cascade, 5.7 alpha, for 90 minutes

1.5 ounces '95 Tettnanager, 5.0 alpha, for 45 minutes

.5 ounce '95 Tettnanger, 5.0 alpha, 15 minutes

1 ounce '95 Willamette, 4.9 alpha, 15 minutes

1 ounce '95 Willamette, 4.9 alpha, end of boil

Dry Hops to taste

Irish moss, last 20 minutes of boil

10 grams Nottingham Ale dry yeast in 5 gallons,

14 grams Whitbread Ale dry yeast in 5 gallons

Citric acid for mash

Mash: Single step infusion, starting temperature 158, dropped to 156 after 1 hour.

Sparge: With 180 degree untreated water fro 45 minutes

Boil: 90 minutes

O.G.: 1.044 at 60 degrees F.

F.G.: 1.016

Racked: August 21, 1996

Kegged: August

Comments

The flavoring malts were added to the mash at the start of the sparge.

This recipe is a refined version of #172. The intent is to keep the alcohol low, the flavor content high, and lower the bitterness, particulary in the aftertaste. 5 gallons of this recipe was "cask conditioned", and served at Real Ale Night, August 31, 1996. Three small plastic ice tea buckets with spigots served as the casks. One cask had no dry hops, the second had loose hops, and the third had dry hops in a bag. The no dry hop version was the most preferred, but not by much. Oddly enough, the dry hop versions were noticeably more bitter in the aftertaste.

The other 5 gallons was kegged with no priming or gas infusion, and served on mixed gas. The results were excellent, considering the low gravity of this ale. It has plenty of flavor, very good malty flavor and aroma, and a balanced finish. This is the closest ever to what real ale taste like, except for the added complexity of the exposure to air for a short period of time.

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