Poe’s Boston Bitter
All-Grain Recipe
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.037 FG = 1.009
IBU = 33 SRM = 9 ABV = 3.6%
“Fill with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visions clamber through the chambers of my brain. Quaintest thoughts – queerest fancies, come to life and fade away: What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today.”
– Edgar Allan Poe
Ingredients
7.0 lbs. (3.2 kg) British 2-row pale ale malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
7.5 AAU Kent Golding hops (60 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g of 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Kent Golding hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Kent Golding hops (5 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Kent Golding hops (0 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Kent Golding hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP026 (Burton Ale) yeast
(1 qt./1 L yeast starter)
Step by Step
Mash at 153 °F (67 °C). Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Pitch yeast and ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). After primary fermentation has ceased, let beer set for 2 days, then rack to secondary and add dry hops. Dry hop for 1 week.
Partial Mash Recipe
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.037 FG = 1.009
IBU = 33 SRM = 9 ABV = 3.6%
Ingredients
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) British 2-row pale ale malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
2.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) light dried malt extract (such as Muntons)
7.5 AAU Kent Golding hops (60 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g of 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Kent Golding hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Kent Golding hops (5 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Kent Golding hops (0 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Kent Golding hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale) or White Labs WLP026 (Burton Ale) yeast
(1 qt./1 L yeast starter)
Step by Step
Mash grains at 153 °F (67 °C) for 45 minutes in 7.8 qts. (7.5 L) of water. Sparge grains to yield just short of 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of wort. Add water to make 3.0 gallons (11 L) and add roughly one third of the malt extract. Boil wort for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Add remaining malt extract for final 15 minutes of boil. Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5 gallons (19 L) with cool water and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). After primary fermentation has ceased, let beer set for 2 days, then rack to secondary and add dry hops. Dry hop for 1 week.
Extract With Grains Recipe
Reduce amount of pale ale malt to 1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) and increase amount of light dried malt extract to 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg). Steep grains at 153 °F (67 °C) in 2.8 qts. (2.6 L) water for 45 minutes. Add water to make 3 gallons (11 L) of wort and add roughly one third of the malt extract. Boil wort for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Add remaining malt extract for final 15 minutes of boil. Cool wort, transfer to fermenter and top up to 5 gallons (19 L) with cool water. Pitch yeast and ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). After primary fermentation has ceased, let beer set for 2 days, then rack to secondary and add dry hops. Dry hop for 1 week.
Tips for Success
Both the extract and all-grain versions convert into the partial-mash version of this recipe. Some 2-row pale ale malt is converted to light dried malt extract in the all-grain to partial-mash conversion; the opposite in the extract to partial-mash case. This beer is named for Edgar Allen Poe. This Boston-born writer, whose short stories of mystery and the macabre are still enjoyed today, was a fan of ale. This British-style bitter is well-suited to a partial-mash formulation as two thirds of the extract weight comes from grain. For best results, use fresh malt extract. This beer will condition quickly. You can easily be draining your glass 13 days after brewing.
