Whilst the news is that pale, hoppy beers are good for you, I went for a change in my usual style & brewed a darker bitter.   I mashed & boiled 20 litres of wort, then split it into two seperate fermentation vessels to make two different beers.

Mash - 70°C strike temperature, then back upto 67°C in just a few mins & held there for 60 mins.   Final beer volume 20 litres.

3.73 Kg pale malt

1.00 Kg crystal malt

Boil 1 hour

Amarillo hops (9.1% alpha acid): 30g at start of boil, 20g after 30mins.

Centennial hops (8.0% alpha acid): 30g at start of boil, 20g after 30mins.

Cascadeⁱ hops (7.0% alpha acid): 19g after 50mins.

The wort was then split into two fermentation vessels & topped up to 16 litres each in total with fresh water.   One of the vessels had 160g of mollasses added.

Using the very handy recipe formulator, the alcohol level should be around 3.3% & bitterness at 65 IBUⁱ.   Yeast used: Safale US-5.

Dark Art smells very malty & sweet, but the mollasses in Black Magic really dominates the smell at this stage.   Two very dark brown beers.

A day before bottling, these beers have had 2 litres of Smokey Stout added to give another dimension to the taste.

Verdict on bottling: Dark Art tastes wonderfull! A good orange-citrus hoppiness as opposed to the usual grapefruit flavours I get with Amarillo & Cascade hops.   This could be something wonderful.   Black Magic doesn't have the strong molasses taste I thought, but it is more earthy & less fresh tasting.

Black Magic - Verdict after 2 weeks:  Completely clear already & a very easy drinker. A good lasting creamy head, a good red colour rather than brown or dark. A smooth beer with a good hoppiness & gentle bitterness. Some malty-caramel sweetness. This is going to be a hit!

Black Magic - Verdict after 7 weeks:  A completely bright beer now with a dryer taste.   A nutty, full bodied beer & clean tasting.

Dark Art - Verdict after 7 weeks:  Still a little hazy, but not so noticable when poured into a pint tulip glass.   There is no citrus tastes from the Amarillo & Cascade hops, just a gentle hoppiness.   The molasses is subtle, giving it a little toffee-like property - not diacetyl though.

Both beers are very similar is taste after this point - both nutty, chestnut-brown beers, plenty of body for a 3.3% beer & not overly bitter or hoppy at all.