OK. So this time around, I’m going to be
brewing a traditional English Bitter. It’s
going to be a real simple batch. We’re going
to start with 6 pounds of Maris Otter, 1/2
pound of Crystal Malt. 1/2 pound of Cara-Pils
Malt. 1/4 pound of Belgian Biscuit. And then,
for our hop addition, we’re going to be
using East Kent Goldings. They’re ranging
from about 6.75 alpha acid. But the hop additions
will be 3/4 oz. for 60 minutes. 1/2 oz. for
30 minutes. Then another 1/2 oz. for 10 minutes.
I’m going to be using a Nottingham ale yeast
from Danstar. And hopefully we’ll see how
that turns out. It’s a really nice day.
Actually, it’s going to be a little on the
hot side. But it should be a good day to brew.
Because we have really hard water where I
live, I’m starting with 2 gallons of tap
water mixed with 2 gallons of reverse osmosis
water. Tap water provides the extra nutrients
I needed for my mash. I bring the water to
strike temperature of 159 degrees. I turn
off the heat and add my grains. Once fully
mixed, I put on the lid and cover it with
a bunch of blankets. The mash settles in at
about 151 degrees. My target was 152, so this
is close enough for me. After the hour, I
bring it back to the fire and raise the temp
to 170 degrees to stop the conversion process.
Then I pull the bag out of the wort and into
a strainer. I use a plate to squeeze as much
wort out of the grains as I can. Then I just
add the wort back to the pot. I bring the
volume up to 6 gallons. I’ll boil it for
an hour. 1 gallon will evaporate leaving me
with about 5 gallons. I bring the wort up
to a boil, paying close attention to the hot
break. Once I have a rolling boil, it’s
time to add my hops. I’m adding 3/4 oz.
of East Kent Goldings to the hop bag and submerging
it. This will boil for 60 minutes. At 30 minutes,
I measure out 1/2 oz. East Kent Goldings for
my second hop addition and add that to the
hop bag. The last 10 minutes of the boil,
I measure out a 1/2 oz. of East Kent Goldings
along with a 1/2 tab of Whirlfloc to clarify
the beer. I add my wort chiller the last 10
minutes to sanitize it. Then I add my last
hop addition into the hop bag. Then toss in
the 1/2 tab of Whirlfloc. After the hour boil,
I turn off the fire. Then I pull my hop bag,
giving it some time to drain. Then I hook
up the wort chiller to my garden hose. The
cold water will flow through the copper tubes,
and come out hot at the other end. This will
cool down the wort to pitching temperature
within 15-20 minutes. After the wort is cooled,
I remove the wort cooler and take a sample
to measure for specific gravity. My target
was 1039 which I hit exactly. I pour the wort
into a sanitized fermentation bucket. I douse
the lid with more sanitizer then snap 
on the lid. Once secure, I shake the bucket
to aerate the wort. After 5 minutes of shaking
it, it’s time to pitch the yeast. I’m
using Danstar’s Nottingham yeast. I just
sprinkle it dry onto the wort. Technically,
you should probably rehydrate it or even create
a starter. But this works for me and I really
haven’t had any problems. Snap on the lid.
Add your air lock. And ferment in a cool place
for 2-3 weeks. That’s it. My brewing process
for an all grain, brew in a bag, English Bitter.
