Jamil's Bitter Recipes In Competition

[chrishw]

Which Judge was it?

[KlosterFocke]

Which Judge was it?

The one who didn't notice it ? 3 other judges mentioned it (2 scoresheets per beer), and they all gave helpful feedback (malt). I don't think it would be good to post names; we have a hard enough time getting judges for events as it stands. Again, the roast is there, and the style does not mention roast. I can't fault the judge for doing his job. I can't fault the recipe if no one else is getting it. The brewer, however, is now highly suspect.....

Of the few examples of style that I can get in this part of the world, I've noticed no roastiness; and (besides Fuller's LP and Sam Smith) those examples are either old or lacking in flavor. I didn't send the beers in to win ribbons, I sent them in to get feedback, see where I'm at as compared to style, and try to make better beer.It's not like it tastes like a stout, it's just a mild roast flavor and aroma, more than just a note. Now it's just figuring out what I'm doing that's bringing out the flavor.

[jamilz]

Stirring the mash with a charcoal stick?

Are you sure of the source of your grains too? Kind of grasping at straws here.

[jamilz]

And actually, I've been going counter to one of the things I always say. Every brew system and every brewer works a little differently. It is darn near impossible to get exactly the same beer out of two brew systems with two different brewers using the exact same recipe. Sometimes you need to tweak things to make it right. Once you've brewed a recipe as designed, then you go through and make adjustments to dial it in for your brewery.

I'd say cut some of the special roast and see what sort of difference it makes.

[KlosterFocke]

Thanks for the "Audience with the Pope" JZ
(As a sidebar for you youngsters, at no other time in history could people push a few buttons and talk with the foremost minds on any subject under the sun and get an answer from the great minds on the given subject.... Damn, these are great times we live in. It's like being able to ask Goddard why my model rocket won't fly straight, or Pasteur why my beer tastes sour. A real mindfuck when you stop and think about it......).

From what info I have on hand, Briess has supplied all of my specialty grains. I've bought most of my specialty malts from my LHBS (Special Roast and Crystal 120) in 1 # bags that list Briess as the supplier, though I've bought from B3 and Northern Brewer who I can't vouch for the supplier thereof, (though NB lists Briess as well). I suppose that if I'm the only person who has experienced this, I will do some experiments , first eliminating the Special Roast, then reducing my Lovibond level of crystal malt (probably will go to 90, then 80, then 60) and see what the result is. The sad part is that I will have no choice but to pour all of that experimental beer on to my hop vines, as I wouldn't dream of drinking it....

I agree with Jamil, though, that the Special Roast doesn't contribute to any roast character in the beer (I did a mash with just 1# of SR this afternoon, before doing an in depth evaluation on English pale ales at the local with Sam Smith, Old Speckled Hen, and Fuller's London Pride. Indeed, they have no roastiness.) If it's not the the Crystal 120, then it must be something in my technique.

[chrishw]

Before you tweak too much consider a couple points-

1) are you brewing for a judge or yourself?

2)If it is yourself- do what YOU want and tastes good!

3) if it is for a judge- don't change til you get a second (and 3rd) opinion. Send one in to a couple other comps and see what happens!

[jamilz]

Solid advice.

[John P.]

I apologize for raising this thread from the mists of time, but I've had a very similar result brewing this same recipe and this thread keeps popping up in my searches.

Basically, I brewed the ordinary bitter recipe from Jamil's book, and it's come out with what I would call a roasty flavor which I wasn't expecting. I ordered the grain all mixed together, so I can't be certain that I actually received special roast instead of something darker, but whatever it is I'm very interested in whether others have experienced this and what the cause might be.

I feel like I hit my target temps, the fermentation and yeast went well (fruity, etc), and the water I used had the following profile:
Ca = 64
Mg = 4.5
Na = 25
SO4 = 81
Cl = 85
Alkalinity = 28

Admittedly, I've had basically no experience with commercial examples of the style, so maybe it's supposed to taste like this, but if so I feel like the descriptions are off. It's not a bad tasting beer by any means, it just caught me off guard.