The origin the behind the Big Top Bitter was to brew a bitter that represented a marriage of my own love of Black Country and Shropshire brewers. The beers I often drank back home in the West Mids finished dry with a bitter finish. Additionally, they almost always had a high level of hopping derived from British Hops grown in Herefordshire, incidentIy, where I grew up. Having a deep appreciation for this brewing culture I wanted to brew a beer that reflected it. We chose Maris Otter as a base and loaded the grist with crystal and amber malts. We wanted a rich malt backbone that would support the hop additions and give body to the bitterness.
Late last summer, we visited a couple of Hop Farms in Kent. We were looking to experiment with our brewhouse and find ways to successfully brew a wet hop beer. Needless to say, we succeeded and were extremely pleased with the results. This served as a springboard; we repeated the technique using Fresh Whole leaf East Kent Goldings instead of Wet Hops. We used our Mash Tun as a hop back and loaded it with then EKG to give a brilliant, fruit-forward hop aroma.
Richard Ekins (The Brewer)
