(Not So) Ordinary Bitter | Small Batch Brewing

[@boojea10981]

Thank you for switching to relative quantities! That makes scaling it so much easier. Cheers to another fantastic video and beer!

[@yitznewton]

I have a smallish hop basket that I use with my 8.5 gallon kettle; I use some copper wire around the hooks and kettle handle to allow it to reach near bottom for small batches.

[@andrewedwards3426]

Martin, I love watching your videos. I recently got back into home brewing, and these are not only informative, but a great deal of fun! Thanks for the videos!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thank you!

[@rpguitar]

My home brewery is entirely scaled for 2.5 gallon batches, from the 10L Braumeister to 2.5 gallon kegs. I'm the only drinker in the house so it just makes sense. Expressing grain bills with percentages is the way to go, too. And I like hop alpha acid units (AAU), where you multiply the weight by the AA%, either metric or English, as long as you stay consistent. For example, 1.5 oz. of a 5% AA hop would be 7.5 AAU. Other brewers can divide the AAU by the AA% of their specific hops to come up with weight. Crack on! Cheers

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Oh that’s a handy way to calculate things.

[@morris1891]

Everybody should move to %, thanks for making the move

[@chriscamarillo8914]

I think that percentages of malt and IBU of hopping are much more effective ways of sharing recipes. I can take into consideration my brewhouse efficiency and AA% of the hops I buy. Thanks for the video and info on smaller batch brewing.

[@damiankowalski4731]

Showing malt bill ass % is great, dosen't mayter you are using imperial or metric units or you brew 2,5 gallons or 20 liters. It's so universal.

[@MarkWilson-bx9gg]

As someone who is about to start homebrewing in next few months once i have the equipment. Thanks for making the vids. I enjoy them

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Awesome. You’re going to have a lot of fun.

[@曾繁祺]

Looking foward to your best bitter and ESB recipe~ I am also trying to brew those English style

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I’m looking forward to tasting them too.

[@rayw9067]

I just cracked the first bottle of this today and it was absolutely sensational so so good!! Cheers for the recipe

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

So pleased you gave it a try.

[@rayw9067]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge I’ll be sure to put this one on rotation do love a low fizz British style beer cheers have a good one and good brewing

[@altaibskt1]

As always, thank you 😊

[@JoeGraves24]

Loving the Brit beers. They really brew it right.

[@fathersavage]

I just had this beer at my local brewery, Turtle Mountain in Rio Rancho New Mexico. Delicious! I want to make this beer next! 🍺

[@chrisz8532]

This is a great brewing channel 👍 Having watched every single one, I know I made the best choice when I purchased the Grain Father brewing system, so much better and with zero of the problems to work around than what I see here. The fermentasaurus closed conical fermenter is also brilliant for a heap of reasons too. Cheers!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yeah really enjoying the fermzilla

[@shacowboy]

I love the smaller batch idea. I brew 2.5-3 gal batches. I learned that more is not better. I run four taps and always have something different. Unless,I mess up a brew then it’s three.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

That’s just another excuse to brew again 😀

[@canelohillshomebrewery4328]

i was stationed in england from 1975 to 1979 my fav beer was bitter beer.. pumped from the cellar... this other than the foam looks like i remember wish i could have a taste...

[@pauldeluiaard1638]

Finally the ingredients in percentages! Lets keep it that way :)

[@carlosprite]

Thank you! Percentages are where it’s at!

[@sergiosilberman366]

Thanks for sharing! Greetings from Argentina!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thank you 🇦🇷

[@atomictyler]

I've used IBUs in beersmith for scaling hops and it seems to work out well. Looking forward to your best bitter and will likely make it in the next few weeks for spring time day drinking!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Good to hear that BeerSmith will be able to make sense of this.

[@mrow7598]

I find when I make my own recipes, I have to use: www.madalchemist.com/chart_data.html which shows the standard "BU:GU" and "Relative Bitterness" or bitterness ratio on Beer Smith. This allows me to adjust a beer style so its a little maltier or hoppier than normal. Before I started using those, I'd either get a IPA or a Caramello beer.

[@Bigpete9000]

I like percentages and relative values since anything specific is to your setup only .. This way people can scale it to there equipment and don't have to worry about it.

[@ForgetU]

Small batch is where it's at.

[@MrWimbli]

Thanks !

[@smitty7592]

Use %’s for your grist and IBUs for hops in brewing and you’ll be a better brewer. If you have your efficiency down, all you need is IBUs to complete the recipe. Hops are so variable in AA that adding based on IBU contribution is far better than actual amount. Well done for pointing this out. You should use this going forward.

[@CountDrunkula]

Percentages make learning recipe formulation much easier, too. I bought the new version of the Greg Hughes book recently and was so disappointed that there are no percentages. I'm having to go through and scribble them all in. Would be nice if you put the percentages in the recipe in the description, too.

[@Kdive]

Loving the videos, really high class every time! Already sad thinking about when you hit recepite 99. You must keep on making good recepite videos after that also!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Haha thanks. Still a long ways til I need to worry about that.

[@dimash244]

lol i am not his mom, i watch because the videos are informative and pleasant to watch

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks for watching 😀

[@michaeldeneault7308]

Really like those classic english pub style dimpled glasses. When the home game room is finished, you bet those will be hanging from the ceiling over the taps!

[@ashagon]

I will give this a try, my kind of beer.

[@Elias-vs2dx]

Your mum is awesome. Take my upvote

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

😀

[@jcinsaniac]

ESBs are one of my favorite beers...As to the 5 gallon problem - I've only started doing 5 gallon batches and for 2 years did 2 -2.5 gallon batches all the time. The biggest issue is storage - using (2) 5 liter mini kegs is a good solution, albeit an expensive one...but I loathe bottling. 2.5 gallon kegs cost the same as 5 gallon ones...just not fair.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yeah I’ve noticed that too - half size kegs being the same price as full ones. No fair!

[@prpunk787]

one of the reasons I'm considering the 6.5 gal system from anvil, I do small batches and these all in one systems do not work well for that, and I've seen no other all in one that caters to the small batch brewers like me.

[@mrow7598]

I've been waiting for your bitters. I love a good bitter and no breweries around me make any that are repeatedly drinkable. The only two around me, one is Cask and is just OK and other other is closer to a barley seltzer from white sugar they add to the mash.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

We’re lucky to have a brewery that specializes in cask ales here (Fortnight). Can’t beat a good cask bitter.

[@vell0cet517]

I’ve been looking forward to this style for a long time. It would be cool to serve this on a nitro tap. It’s one of my favorite styles to drink.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Oooh nitro bitter. Yes please!

[@MatthewHerrold]

Nothing beats wlp002 for a bitter. Well done scaling down

[@moose1689]

Found myself liking bitters after tasting Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker. Trying to replicate that on my next brew 😋 The recipe is quite close to this one, except using yorkshire ale yeast.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Not familiar with that style. Will look out for it.

[@JohnnyReverse]

I use my 15 gallon system to brew 2.5 all the time. My only issue is chilling, i have an immersion chiller and it barley makes contact even when i recirculate , need to get a plate chiller like you have.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

That’s impressive... a one sixth size batch for the system.

[@JohnnyReverse]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge took some. Tweaking to get it matches up w my beersmith #'s but so far so good

[@thegingerpowerranger]

Have you considered switching to 6 or 9L kegs for the rest of this series?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

That’d make sense but it means buying a whole new set of kegs.

[@thegingerpowerranger]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge when have you been against accumulating more beer brewing equipment? :) This series shows you trying a new bit of gear in every second episode!

[@TryfonPleianthos]

Have you ever tried mastic for something unique?

[@chickenanham8261]

Love watching your series mate. I can see you're working you're way through the styles in numerical order pretty quickly, one question, how are you going to tackle the styles that require aging eg Flemish Red?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yes those are coming up eventually. Maybe I should get on those soon to allow a bit of age.

[@bojankavcic650]

Hallo , you have very nice video.

[@petercatto9795]

hello buddy Peter Australia I love your videos they're very informative and funny

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thank you!

[@Duci1989]

Any problems with having half batches in 5gal/20L kegs?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Kegs run dry quicker? 😀 But no not had any problems

[@claymore252]

I was surprised that you didn't have your father there for the tasting. I hope to see him for some of the British ales!

[@sergiosilberman366]

Yeah! I was expecting him to be in this video too

[@gekeen1]

I’d love to but unfortunately I live 10000 miles away. I’m hoping there’ll be some left for me to try on my next visit.

[@sergiosilberman366]

I didn't know that. It's a pity, I really enjoyed your testing feedbacks and your comparison between commercial beers you've tasted vs homebrewing, as well. I hope you'll be with Martin soon again. Cheers!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks Sergio. Yeah I’ll be plying my Dad with beer when he’s next over in the fall.

[@sergiosilberman366]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge Spot on! I'd love another testing session with your dad. I'm looking forward to. Keep on making these great videos. Cheers!

[@dimash244]

awesome!

[@danielfiskarborre9551]

All i brew is 2.5 gallon batches. I what to brew as often as possible often once a week and cant possibly consume bigger batches in that high rate.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Exactly!

[@MichaelAHall-ur1eg]

Wondering did you auto tune the system for the smaller batch size?

[@thebeecher1]

I brewed a Best Bitter (4.5%) and I tasted my first bottle 3 weeks after bottling. It was very tasty but did not have any foam at all and it was kind of watery. I carbonated very low (1.7 / used dextrose) and this is probably the reason. How did you carbonate your bitters?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I force carbonate. Low carbonation is the way to go with this beer style. Hope you’re enjoying the best bitter.

[@mdswan47]

Is that the 10 gal or 20 gal Clawhammer? Have you ever done a review of their equipment?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

That’s the 10 gallon. I don’t have a review video - just sharing my experiences as I work through brewing these beer styles.

[@Saintsdevotee]

I like the % and AA additions, but please keep the weights as well. It's a good reference point that easily clicks while watching.

[@TheGabun]

Thank you!! Hello from Russia)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

За здоровье!

[@Waymeytc]

Very murky, you didn't use Irish Moss? Low Gravity Ales below 1044OG tend to be murky without finnings.

[@joshlyons7653]

Im a newbie to homebrewing made this over the weekend. my fermenter stopped bubbling at 24 hours is this normal?

[@matejbraz2649]

Hi. Big fan of the channel here. Do you always mill your grains twice?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks. I’ve been double crushing recently to see if it has an effect on brewhouse efficiency.

[@ptdlg8698]

Love your videos! Keep going! Greetings from the dolomites :)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thank you!

[@dack4545]

Dude just make a beer 🍺, we all know big systems can't really make a small beer ,without watching it like a hawk

[@Christoph1888]

Everyone prefers percentages. Cheers.

[@JohnSproull]

"Sounds Expensive"! hah so true

[@JB-pk8vm]

ow please make an old speckeld hen for us!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Ooh I love that beer!

[@mrow7598]

For 5 gallons: 8# Pale 4oz Wheat 12oz 55L crystal @150F for 90 add 8oz white sugar bring to boil 1oz challenger 7.7AA for 60min 0.5oz East Kent & 0.5 Challenger & Irish moss for 15min 1oz East Kent for 1 min. Cool, then use Irish Ale or London Ale yeast. IBU 35 SRM12 ABV 5.2

[@wimvanarkel7976]

Clawhammer ships to europe?

[@ClawhammerSupply]

Our controller is designed for North America-- but shoot us an email and we can see what we can workout.

[@wimvanarkel7976]

Clawhammer Supply i did last week but no reply yet.

[@ClawhammerSupply]

@@wimvanarkel7976 I don't see an email from you. Can you send it again? info at clawhammersupply.com

[@wimvanarkel7976]

Clawhammer Supply oke, i will send you another email,

[@melloman8210]

Martin ffs, I’m 100% down for brewing and tasting British beers. Since Fortnight Brewery stopped brewing their 3Lions British Best Bitter, I’ve been looking for a teammate on this. I only every 3 Lions or Pendragon Porter. My family and I miss the spirit of this brewery. Now it’s just “hazy” beers, seltzers, and slushies. Homebrewing is the only way to get to the commercial versions. So sad and disappointed at the basic beers that were abandoned by the OG brewery. I used to buy CASES of beer. Since the switch to popularity, no penny has been spent to progress this company. Slushies……really?!?

[@daveswinburne7946]

Only 3% ABV??? That's like drinking water... (joking) I think I'll stick with Best Bitter, like Timothy Taylor's Landlord or Sharp's Doom Bar, or an ESB next time I drink a pint, or three, of English Bitter down the pub. Even Brain's Bitter is 3.7% ABV and Traditional Welsh beers are known to be really weak. ;-)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Stronger bitters are coming. I enjoy Doom Bar too.

[@daveswinburne7946]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge If you ever venture north of Brum, I'd highly recommend Timothy Taylor Landlord for a Northern Best Bitter. ;-)

[@mrmathman]

I am afraid you are not quite right in regards to fermentation pushing out oxygen. Gases mix, this is a fact. When fermentation happens and co2 is produced it will mix with the air in the fermenter. As the pressure increases this mixture will start to be expelled through the airlock. As fermentation continues this mixture will become more and more co2 heavy but it is not the case that co2 replaces the air that was already present, it just dilutes it. A good way to think about it is if you have a glass of water and you add some cola to it. The cola and gas will mix and become homogeneous. As you add more and more cola the percentage of cola to water will increase but it will still be homogeneous. As the liquid mixture reaches the brim, liquid will spill out. If you keep pouring cola in through the solution will continue to become more cola than water. We need to move away from anthropomorphising co2! I hear it all the time on brewing podcasts and articles etc :) It does not form a blanket and it does not push anything anywhere. Apologies for the rant!

[@StoneyardVineyards]

Can't brew a small batch , nope can't do it , you know no such thing as to much beer . Prost

[@hedgerowpete]

fook me the first time you brew a beer in 18 months other than black lagers and all that rubbish and you do it half heartedly and whimp

[@SuperBournio]

It's like there's a structure or something... I have a feeling the next but 1 and the sevent video coming up may be more your thing

[@martinruffell4077]

hedgerowpete I'm of the opinion that as a content creator and brewer, he can do whatever he likes. Personally I'm a fan of English Bitters, Dark Lagers, Sours, NEIPAs, Belgian beers etc, so any video is good! Maybe putting forward a suggestion of what you would like to see on the channel would be a little more constructive :)

[@ClawhammerSupply]

I bet you are fun at parties

[@stevefowler3398]

I had to switch off mate. Please stop using your hands when you are talking. And switch off the annoying music.