Shere Drop Best Bitter Tribute All Grain Kit

Shere Drop Best Bitter Tribute All Grain Kit

A Grain Over Sands tribute to Shere Drop Best Bitter – a pale, hoppy and seriously drinkable British best bitter.

Shere Drop is one of those beers that gets the balance just right. Pale in colour, moderately bitter and packed with subtle citrus and floral hop character, it’s the sort of beer that rewards you for brewing a proper pint rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

Our Shere Drop Best Bitter Tribute All Grain Kit is based on the much-loved Surrey Hills beer, producing a highly drinkable British bitter with a light, rounded malt character and plenty of subtle hop flavour. Maris Otter forms the backbone of the beer, with Caragold, Crystal and wheat malt adding depth and body, while Challenger, Cascade, First Gold and East Kent Goldings bring the hops to the party.

Expect a pale golden bitter with grapefruit and lemon notes, balanced malt character and a clean, moderately dry finish. There’s enough bitterness to keep things interesting, but not so much that you can't happily work your way through a couple of pints.

A bit of history

Shere Drop has some serious pedigree. Surrey Hills' Shere Drop was named Champion Beer of Britain in 2019, having also won the Best Bitter category at the competition. It had previously taken Best Bitter gold in 2016.

There's a little bit of history closer to home too. Shere Drop was a runner-up in the Best Bitter category at the Dog & Partridge homebrew all grain kit awards in 2022, with the award going to Worcester Hop Shop. Now part of the Grain Over Sands family, we're bringing that same recipe across to our new home in Cumbria. It's a little bit of WHS history that we're happy to keep brewing.

What's in the kit?

Malt

• Maris Otter Malt
• Caragold
• Crystal Malt
• Wheat Malt
  

Hops

• Challenger
• Cascade
• First Gold
• East Kent Goldings
  

Yeast

• LalBrew Nottingham – our recommended choice
• WHC LAX – alternative yeast option

We don't claim to have Surrey Hills' brewery yeast recipe – that's one of their closely guarded secrets – but we've chosen two reliable yeasts that produce excellent results in this style. Nottingham is our first choice for a clean, crisp and highly drinkable British bitter, while US-05 gives you a particularly clean fermentation and lets the malt and hop character shine. Originally the kit was sold with LAX or US-05 but we're giving you even more choice.

Additions

• Protafloc tablet

Also included

• Full Grain Over Sands brewing instruction sheet

All grains are supplied crushed and ready to brew, and the instruction sheet takes you through the brewing process from mash to fermentation.

Brew Facts

Batch Size: 23 litres
ABV: Approximately 4.2%
EBC: 14
IBU: 35

This is a proper sessionable British bitter, but with enough hop character to keep it interesting. If you enjoy pale bitters with a good balance of malt, bitterness and citrus hop character, Shere Drop is well worth putting on the brew schedule.

Ready to brew a proper pint? Add the Shere Drop Best Bitter Tribute All Grain Kit to your brew day and get this classic British bitter into the fermenter.