My Molasses Mild is getting drier & better every week, as the yeast finally gobbles up the more complex sugars.   A suprise success as I love hoppy beers more than malty milds.   I thought I'd use a similar recipe to make a slightly stronger, more bitter version - a dark bitter.

Mash - 1 hour 15mins, 50°C to start then rising to 67°C after 15mins before holding there for 1 hour, 20 litres

3 Kg pale malt

500g crystal malt

100g chocolate malt

10g of black malt

Boil 1 hour 10mins

Goldings hops: 20g at start of boil, 10g after 30mins & 10g after 50mins.

Northern Brewer hops: 20g at start of boil, 10g after 30mins & 10g after 50mins.

2 tablespoons of treacle

1 tablespoon of honey

100g of dark demerara sugar

Verdict on bottling: A milk chocolate coloured beer that tastes very much like my Molasses Mild at this stage.   Hopefully the bitterness will become more pronounced as it dries out.

Verdict 1 week after bottling: Already very clear, this beer has become a deep red like my Molasses Mild.   The flavour is much more hoppy than bitter but there is no hiding the large malty body & sweetness.   Like Newcastle Brown Aleⁱ but much more hoppy than bitter & without the pastuerised caramel taste.

Verdict after 4 weeks in the bottle: The beer is drying up a little & the molasses coming to the fore more.   Certainly 2 teaspoons of treacle is plenty for 20litres of beer.   The bitterness is developing more as the hoppiness fades a little.