AG#26 - Generations ESB.....but not quite!

[Monkeybrew]

It's been a while since I brewed an AG beer, think it was July actually and that didn't turn out great in the end, due to the London ESB yeast that I used

I had planned a 1.050OG ESB, as I didn't want anything too strong, but still wanted a full tasting English Bitter, but this was based on a 21L brewlength and for reasons that I'm still not totally sure of, I ended up with 22.5L @1.046. Not too much of a disaster, but not technically an ESB if you go by the book!

As I was brewing outside on a cold winter evening, I upped my evaporation rate by 1%, but this still wasn't enough to explain the total increase in final volume, but I was a bit casual about the whole brewday, so I must have just cocked up my calcs at some point

I know that Belgian Pale Ale Malt isn't authentic, but I had a 4kg sealed bag from the Malt Miller in stock, so in it went

Whatever happens, I should end up with a tasty Premium Bitter, and if the smell of the Boadicea hops was anything to go by, it should have a nice spicy aroma

Generations ESB
Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 22.5
Total Grain (kg): 4.546
Total Hops (g): 82.50
Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 4.52 %
Colour (SRM): 13.6 (EBC): 26.8
Bitterness (IBU): 34.2 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 73
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
4.000 kg Dingemans Pale Ale (88%)
0.182 kg Brown Malt (4%)
0.182 kg Crystal 120 (4%)
0.182 kg Crystal 80 (4%)

Hop Bill
----------------
30.0 g Northdown Leaf (9.4% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
21.0 g Progress Leaf (6.4% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.9 g/L)
31.5 g Boadicea Leaf (5.7% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.4 g/L)

Misc Bill - Graham Wheelers Bitter Water Profile
----------------
0.9 g Calcium Chloride @ 90 Minutes (Mash)
3.9 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) @ 90 Minutes (Mash)
3.9 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1 x Protofloc Tablet @ 15 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 67°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Safale S-04


Recipe Generated with BrewMate

Cheers

MB

[chefgage]

It's been a while since I brewed an AG beer, think it was July actually and that didn't turn out great in the end, due to the London ESB yeast that I used

Can i ask why you say it did not turn out great due to the london esb yeast?? I have some of that i intend on using in my own esb as a change to the usual S-04 I normally use.

[Monkeybrew]

It's been a while since I brewed an AG beer, think it was July actually and that didn't turn out great in the end, due to the London ESB yeast that I used

Can i ask why you say it did not turn out great due to the london esb yeast?? I have some of that i intend on using in my own esb as a change to the usual S-04 I normally use.

Apologies for the world's slowest reply in history!

It was quite a pale beer, and I was hoping to enjoy the flavour of Goldings hops, but there was this strange background flavour/aftertaste that just wouldn't go away.

It has been so long ago that I can't really remember how to describe the taste, but it made me empty most of the brew down the drain as it just wouldn't condition out.

I handled the yeast like all other dried one's that I use by rehydrating as per instructions and didn't pitch or ferment too high, so just decided that I didn't like the flavour of this particular yeast.

This ESB brew turned out really well, and the 10L that went into my 10L MM Sankey keg didn't last very long, just wished that I had kegged the lot, because the bottles just aren't as nice for some reason.

Interesting that the beer that went in the keg was fined with gelatine and the bottles weren't...........

Will definitely brew this again, but plan on using First Gold or Celeia as the late hop for a bit more punch.

Cheers

MB

[chefgage]

No appologies needed for the late reply as i had forgot all about the question i asked
I ended up using the london Esb yeast in an ESB i am trying to perfect (my own recipe). Well its been 30 days since I bottled it and last night I tried a bottle. It tastes very good. I normally use S-04 for my esb. This esb is third version of it and I must say its the best yet. It still needs tweeking a bit but I will do another one with a slight change but still using London Esb yeast. When the recipe is right I will brew the same recipe with S-04 and then again with London Esb to compare.