Loose Head and Foot Too

A slight adjustment to my previous brew 'Loose Head and Feet' - a pale English bitter. I wanted a more floral bouquet and a slightly higher alcohol content. Mainly though, I was trying to improve my fermentation technique.

Brewer:	Nick Stubbs		Email:	-
Beer:	Loose Head and Foot Too		Style:	English Best (Special) Bitter
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	23 liters
Color:	17 HCU (~10 SRM)		Bitterness:	39 IBU
OG:	1.047		FG:	1.009
Alcohol:	4.9% v/v (3.9% w/w)
Water:	No treatment to water - just plain low calcium tap water.
Grain:	300g British crystal 70-80L
Boil:	105 minutes	SG 1.057	19 liters
	3.2kg Light malt extract 150g Light dry malt extract
	Used a bucket/kettle element type boiler. The extract gave off a foamy, scummy substance before full boil was reached which i skimmed off. There was virtually no hot break during the full boil - perhaps the scummy stuff was the protein coagulating early. Lost 4 lts of volume during the 105 mins. 5 mls irish moss during last 15 mins. Cooled in 20 mins using copper imersion cooler.
Hops:	50g Fuggles (4.75% AA, 60 min.) 30g Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.) 30g Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast:	Gervin Ale yeast (strain n/a) - started 24 hours before in 250 ml water, 4 tablespoons of spray malt and 0.25 teaspoon of wine yeast nutrient. Starter was bubbling in 5 mins! Most activity finished by time of pitching but lots of slurry. Pitched at 19 Centigrade with 2 teaspooons of nutrient.
Log:	Brew date 20/3/05. Aerated wort for 45 mins using small aquarium pump. Lag time was around 3 hours. Huge, foamy head formed by 12 hours later - I guess my attempt at more vigorous ferment was successful. Fermented at 21C. Dropped at about 1020 (two days in) and left for 10 days. Racked to cask with a cone of Bramling hops. Matured for an agonising 16 days - could of done with maybe a week more.
Carbonation:	0.8 volumes
	cask primed with 100 grams of brown sugar syrup -(finger in the air time).
Tasting:	A southern English style Best. Copper coloured with loose head. Plenty of body - totally typical of the style. A flowery boquet lying on top of a big Fuggley, bitter base. Quite estery due to slightly higher ferment temp. Hoppy finish which invites you back for more. Almost IPA in style. Maybe next time less bittering hops.

Recipe posted 03/21/05.