Humpty Dumpty English Bitter

Add half the gypsum to 3.5 gal of water. Heat water to 145 degree F (62.5 C) water and mix well. The tem­perature will stabilize between 130 and 135 degrees F (54.5-57 C). Add heat if necessary and hold the temperature at about 133 degrees F (56 C) for 30 minutes. Don't worry about a 3- to 5-degree F (2- j C) temperature drop dur­ing this time.

Raise mash temperature to about or just below 155 degrees F (68 C). Hold at 149 to 155 degrees F (65-68 C) for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Complete conversion by raising the temperature to 158 degrees F (70 C) and holding for 10 to 20 minutes or until an iodine test indicates complete conversion. Then add more heat to raise the temperature to 167 degrees F (75 C).

Sparge with 3.5 gallons (131) of hot water at 170 degrees F (76 C) (add the other half of the gypsum to the sparge water). The volume of the wort before boiling should be about 7.5 gallons (21 I).

Bring the sweet wort to a boil and add the rapidura or invert sugar and boil­ing hops and boil for 50 minutes. Add the Irish moss and boil for 5 more min­utes. Then add the aroma hops and boil a final 5 minutes. Cool the wort to about 70 to 75 degrees F (21-24 C).

The final primary batch size is 5.25 gallons (20 I). If necessary, add additional cold water to achieve this volume. Add yeast when the temperature of the wort is about 70-75 degrees F (21~24 C). Preferably ferment at 70-72-degree F (21-22 C) range for about 4 to 6 days or until fermentation is complete and appears to clear and darken. At this point, transfer the beer into a secondary fermenter and add the 1/2 ounce (14-gm) Kent Goldings hop pellets. Let the fermentation complete and settle in the secondary for 7 days. For best results, secondary "cellar" or age at 50 degrees F (l0 C) to help drop yeast out of sus­pension, but this is not at all crucial to the quality. Bottle with corn sugar. Age and carbonate/condition at about 70 degrees F (21 C).