Das Beste Bitters

What to brew? Well, what will I be wanting on a rainy January evening? Hopefully rainy, that is (come on, El Niño!).

Let’s try an English brown ale. Also, it’s been awhile since I brewed one, so I kind of feel like it. Brewed with some Munich grains, which makes it "das beste."

Guide for this beer: about 1 month to drinkability, 2 to full awesomeness. That’s 1 week primary fermentation, 2-3 secondary, then 2-4 weeks bottle conditioning.

Brewer:	Friendship Ales		Email:	-
URL:	http://sidelinesapp.com/u/pkwzimm
Beer:	Das Beste Bitters		Style:	English Strong (Extra Special) Bitter
Type:	All grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	22 HCU (~13 SRM)		Bitterness:	25 IBU
OG:	1.069		FG:	1.012
Alcohol:	7.4% v/v (5.8% w/w)
Water:	None. I used to filter San Francisco water taken straight from Yosemite National Park. I stopped a couple batches ago and notice no difference other than the 4 hours of time I save by not trying to filter 8 gallons through a charcoal filter.
Grain:	9 lb. American 2-row 2 lb. German Munich 1 lb. 8 oz. American crystal 60L 8 oz. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils)
Mash:	80% efficiency
	I do a super-lazy gradual mash, starting high and letting the specific heat of the grains+H20 maintain the temperature in mash range for the full 120 minutes. This has always worked well for me and resulted in both alpha and beta amylase conversion. Temp after grains mixed in and heat cut off: 160°F Temp after 60 minutes: 154°F Temp after 120 minutes: 150°F Mash efficiency: 80%
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.054	7 gallons
	1 whirfloc tablet at 15 minutes (or 1 tsp Irish moss).
Hops:	1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast:	Safale S-04, pitched at 90°F after the wort was left to cool in a covered pot with a fan on it (my Megapot 2.1 has an excellent fit to the top. I would not trust a lid to keep out foreign bacteria on something like a lobster pot. Do NOT open the top until pitching into the primary fermenter. I also make sure to very vigorously whip the wort with the pitched yeast aerate it very well. Active fermentation within 12-18hrs.
Log:	Rack to secondary between days 7 and 10, after fermentation has slowed. SG should be around 1.014. Leave alone in secondary for 2-3 weeks, or until specific gravity drops to 1.012. Bottle with 2/3 cup bottling sugar and try to ignore for at least a couple of weeks before drinking. At least long enough to let it get nice and carbonated.
Carbonation:	Carbonation in bottle.
Tasting:	Oh man, this worked out well. Nutty and perfect for rainy Northern California Januarys.

Recipe posted 11/01/15.