Ball Bearing Bitter

This is a 1999 BJCP style 4c beer.

Recipe: Strong Bitter
Volume: 5 gallons
Dates:

Brew date: Feb 3, 2004
Transfer to secondary: Feb 15, 2004
Kegging: Mar 5, 2004
Bottling: Mar 24, 2004

Ingredients:

Water source: basement utility sink filtered dispenser
Yeast: White Labs WLP023 Burton Ale (pitchable vial)
7 Bridges British Bitter all-grain kit (modified)

Grain bill

	Potential sg pppg	Points per gal
7 lbs Briess pale 2-row malt 1/2 lb Briess Munich malt 1/4 lb Briess caramel malt 3.3 lb Pilsen Light LME	1.037 1.033 1.036 1.037	259.00 16.50 9.00 122.10
11.05 lbs	Ideal: Pre-boil: Target:	406.6 (122.1 + 284.5 (122.1 + 284.5	/ 5 gal = 81.3 >>> 1.081 * 70%) / 6 gal = 53.5 >>> 1.054 * 70%) / 5 gal = 64.3 >>> 1.064

Hops

3/4 oz New Zealand Hallertaur pellet hops - bittering - 7% avg alpha Utilization: 60 minutes @ 1.054 = 22.1%	*IBU = 0.75 7 * 22.1 * 0.75 / 5 = 17.4**
1/2 oz Cascade pellet hops - bittering - 6.3% avg alpha Utilization: 60 minutes @ 1.054 = 22.1%	IBU = 0.5 * 6.3 * 22.1 * 0.75 / 5 = 10.4
1 oz English Kent Goldings hops - flavor - 6.6% avg alpha Utilization: 20 minutes @ 1.054 = 13.4%	*IBU = 1 6.6 * 13.4 * 0.75 / 5 = 13.3**
1 oz New Zealand Hallertaur hops - aroma - 10.7% avg alpha Utilization: 5 minutes @ 1.054 = 4.4%	*IBU = 1 10.7 * 4.4 * 0.75 / 5 = 7.1**
	Total IBU = 48

Other

1/2 teaspoon Irish Moss
20 minutes 2 teaspoons gypsum
beginning of mash

Style check using recipe calculator at BeerTools.com

Activity Log

Yeast Starter:

About 66 hours before brew, boiled 2 oz of pale malt extract in 20 oz of water in flask for 10 minutes. Cooled in ice and water bath in a bowl. Pitched vial of yeast and fitted stopper and airlock. Yeast didn't seem to be active until 48 hours. This has happened with this type of yeast once before.

Mash/Lauter/Sparge:

Added gypsum to 3 1/2 gallons of water, heated to 170 f and added grain. Mashed at 154 f for 30 minutes and tested positive for conversion. Scooped into lauter tun, recirculating until relatively clear. Sparged with 170 f water until 5 1/2 gallons of runoff was obtained. Placed on burners and stirred in liquid extract. Added about 1 gallon of water to yield 6 1/4 gallons for boil.

Boil:

Boiled through first break then added bittering hops. Boiled for 43 minutes then added Irish Moss and whole flavor hops in mesh bag. Boiled for 12 more minutes then added whole aroma hops to mesh bag. Boiled for 8 more minutes then turned off heat and placed pot on basement floor. Sanitized cooling coil in iodophor solution. Cooled to ~65 f with coil and siphoned to fermenter taking a reading of 1.062. Aerated by rocking carboy on folded towel and pitched yeast starter. Fitted with stopper and airlock and put on fermenting bench with temperature controller set to 70 f.

Fermentation:

Observations of primary stage (10 PM start):

8 hours: 1 1/4 inch of foam, 1 bubble per second
1 day 8 hours: 1 inch of foam, 4/3 bubble per second
2 days: 2 inches of foam, 2/3 bubble per second
2 days 8 hours: 4 1/2 inches of foam, 2/5 bubble per second
2 days 15 hours: 5 inches of foam, 1/5 bubble per second
3 days 12 hours: 3 inches of foam, 1/7 bubble per second
5 days 10 hours: 1 inch of foam, 1/11 bubble per second
6 days 8 hours: splochy foam, 1/11 bubble per second
7 days 10 hours: slight film of foam, 1/15 bubble per second
10 days 8 hours: slight film of foam, 1/22 bubble per second
11 days 18 hours: no foam, 1/42 bubble per second

Transferred to 5 gallon carboy and fitted stopper and airlock.

12 days 8 hours: no foam, 1 bubble per 3 minutes
30 days: 1 bubble per 4 minutes 10 seconds

Kegging/Bottling:

Siphoned into 5 gallon soda keg and put under 30 lbs/sq in CO2 in fridge. Took FG reading of 1.020 which puts the alcohol content at about 5.4% ABV.

Bottled and capped 16 bottles from the keg using counter-pressure bottle filler. Used keg immediately out of fridge and chilled bottles.

See Ball Bearing Bitter labels here.

Results:

Testimonials here