#177 Fawkes Bitter

I dig a good English bitter, particular a nice low-ABV ordinary bitter when I can find it. Brewed on the fifth of November, it only seemed appropriate to name this session beer after Guy Fawkes.

The recipe for this beer was very simple, though I had to sub in WLP002--the über flocculator--for my preferred WY1469. Mash temp turned out to be extra low, leading to a thin, overly attenuated beer. Things also got tough with dry hopping; I'd planned to go just a few days before bottling, but a cold postponed bottling day until after a trip, leading to sixteen days of contact time. The aromatics were lost and the extra hops may have contributed a harsher vegetal character to the bittering. Add to that the fact that this beer hasn't properly carbonated and we have a fairly unappetizing tipple. Hoping a bit more time in the bottle will add carbonation that will lift it just a bit.

Check out my Nov 5, 2019 instagram post to see a few brewday pics.

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#177 Fawkes Bitter

Batch size: 4 gallons
Projected OG: 1.039
Projected SRM: 6.8
Projected IBU: 28.3
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 87%   

Grains/Fermentables
83.3% - 5 lb Golden Promise
16.7% - 1 lb Carastan

Hops
.5 oz Mandarina Bavaria (10.7%) (30 min)
1 oz Styrian Celeja (3.0%) (5 min)
.5 oz Cryo Loral (22.7%) (5 min)
1 oz Styrian Celeja (dry hop - 3 days)
.5 oz Cryo Loral (dry hop - 3 days)

Yeast
WLP002 - no starter

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)
1/2 tab Whirlfloc

Water (mash)
Profile: Denver (brewersfriend ID: 2CZ8J00)
5 g Gypsum
2 g Epsom salts

Brewday: 5 November 2019
Mash: 11 qts @ 149F for 60 minutes
Sparge: 8 qts @ 212F
Sparge: 8 qts @ 212F
Pre-boil volume: 6 gallons

Transferred 4.75 gallons to fermenter.
Fermented in swamp cooler. Day 1 - 65F; 2 - 66F; 3 - 68F; 4 - 70F; 5 - 72F; 6 - 73F

Dry hop: 7 November 2019
Agitated fermenter several times/day to get yeast back in suspension.

Bottled: 23 November 2019
FG: 1.010
ABV: 3.8%
Bottled with 2.3 oz table sugar.

Sample tasted neutral with a firm bitterness. Not getting a lot of standout malt/yeast/hop characters.