1995. I was 15 years old. I imagine that this commercial played during TGIF between episodes of Family Matters and Step By Step.
I certainly remember it (and all of its
other iterations). A bitter beer?!? Primitive man evolved to fear bitterness as an indicator of toxicity in plants, and with bitterness as the most strongly perceived of the five senses, its utility as a warning against potentially dangerous foliage is undeniable.
 |
| Bringing the wort to a boil. |
But we are not primitive man. We can enjoy bitterness as a flavor unto itself, confident in the knowledge that the intense flavor that flows over our palettes when we drink a delicious English Bitter presents no real danger. In fact, I might venture to suggest that the drinking of Bitter may be the essence of evolved humanity. When you take a sip, you flaunt the ancient beliefs of our ancestors who shunned bitterness out of essential but stifling caution, and whose trepidation was a result of self-preservation uninformed by elevated sensory enjoyment.
A proper English Bitter should be a harmonious melding of simple ingredients and a showcase for British hops, malts and yeast. This is an easy drinking beer with plenty of characterful British yeast flavor, and a platform for hops like Fuggles, East Kent Goldings and Target among many others. This is the beer you order at your neighborhood pub on a Tuesday night after a day at work.
My version strove to use British ingredients as much as possible, with the exception of Pacific Ale Yeast. I plan to enter this beer in a homebrew "friendly" next month where WLP 041 is a requirement. I chose Northdown hops because they are an ingredient I haven't worked with in the past. This beer is the antithesis of Keystone Light (its Kryptonite, perhaps). A proudly bitter beer.
Keystone Kryptonite Bitter
|
Style: |
|
| Brew Date: | July 18, 2014 |
| Yield: | 5 gallons |
|
Color (SRM/EBC): |
|
| Bitterness (Calc): | 55 IBU (Daniels) |
|
| Batch No: | 142 |
| Target OG: | 1.043 |
| Status: | Primary |
|
| 7.00 pounds |
| 88.2% of grist |
| 0.31 pounds |
| 3.9% of grist |
| 0.31 pounds |
| 3.9% of grist |
| 0.31 pounds |
| 3.9% of grist |
| 7.94 pounds |
| 100% of grist |
| 1.20 ounces |
9% Pellets @ 60 minutes
Type: Bittering
Use: Boil | 10.8 AAUs |
| 0.80 ounces |
9% Pellets @ 5 minutes
Type: Aroma
Use: Aroma | 7.2 AAUs |
| 2.00 ounces | Total Hop Weight | 18 AAUs |
| Total Boil Time: | 60 minutes |
| Name: | Pacific Ale |
| Manufacturer: | White Labs |
| Product ID: | WLP041 |
| Type: | Ale |
| Flocculation: | High |
| Attenuation: | 67% |
| Temperature Range: | 65–68°F |
| Amount: | 500 ml |
