ESB Recipe

[kaymak]

`Right so, im cracking on with my brew crusade of 2010, want to do an ESB, was tinkering round with about 10 different recipie before i settled on this,

3000.00 gm Light Dry Extract (15.8 EBC) Dry Extract 81.08 %
350.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (145.0 EBC) Grain 9.46 %
250.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (100.0 EBC) Grain 6.76 %
100.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (30.0 EBC) Grain 2.70 %
20.00 gm Northdown [7.60 %] (60 min) Hops 23.6 IBU
15.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (20 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
5.00 gm Northdown [7.60 %] (20 min) Hops 3.6 IBU
10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (5 min) Hops 1.5 IBU
1 Pkgs London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) Yeast-Ale


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.056 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.14 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 35.4 IBU Calories: 90 cal/l
Est Color: 28.0 EBC Color: Color

[Zatoichi]

Dont have my Graham Wheeler book to hand but i think the recipe has a 400grm Crystal malt / 4000grm pale malt ratio. Dont know if this helps at all. Love ESB!!!!!!!!!

[kaymak]

yeah, ive seen that on a few recipes, 90% pale, 10% crystal, wanted this one to have a little more depth in tha malt flavourr aswell (and to use up what I have left), dont think iot will make a huge amount of difference tho as the hops should take over

[coatesg]

yeah, ive seen that on a few recipes, 90% pale, 10% crystal, wanted this one to have a little more depth in tha malt flavourr aswell (and to use up what I have left), dont think iot will make a huge amount of difference tho as the hops should take over

If you're trying to make Fullers ESB (this is what UK brewers will think when saying "ESB") it should not be hop dominated - Fullers ESB is quite malty. Of course, if you're using "ESB" the way the US use it, then you're meaning "strong bitter/pale ale" - but regardless, 700g of crystal in 3.7kg (19%) is IMHO too much - it could be very cloying.

[Barley Water]

In my humble opinion, 20% crystal malt is way to much. Because it adds non-fermentable sugars, it will make the beer very sweet and lead to a very full mouthfeel. Remember, there is a big difference between malty and sweet, you can make a malty beer without it being sweet. Good examples of this are some of the German lagers, Munich Helles and Dunkel are two that come to mind. Both are hopped very lightly but the best examples are fairly dry and they both have a really big malt backbone if done correctly. I would look at the 10% crystal malt "rule" mentioned by another poster as the absolute upper limit in terms of adding crystal malt (and to tell you the truth, I would add less). To me, the thing that makes British beer what it is has to to with the taste imparted by quality English base malts (along with fermentation by-products from the yeast). Although the beers are moderately hopped, they are not so bitter that the malt flavors are covered up. When I make these styles, I try to accentuate that classic bisquet taste as much as I can. Rather than adding all that crystal, maybe try some character malts instead, for instance maybe some special roast or victory or bisquet malt. Adding a couple of different crystals however is not a bad idea, it may add some complexity just be careful how much you add in total. The other thing about sweet beer is that it negatively impacts the beer's "drinkability". In other words, sweet beer can not be consumed in quanity because it is very tiring to the old taste buds. Anyhow, good luck with your efforts, let us know how it turns out.

[hazard]

Refer to this link

http://rarebeerclub.beveragebistro.com/rbcbeer_12.html

According to the head brewer at Fullers, who might know a bit more about this than Graham Wheeler, the ESB recipe is:
91.5% pale ale malt (optic), 5% maize and 3.5% crystal (I'll assume 60L).

As for hops, its all there on the label - ESB contains Challenger, Target, Northdown and Goldings. General approach is to boil Challenger and Target for 60min, and EKG and Northdown for the last 15 min.

As an aside, I bought 3rd Edition of Wheeler's book, and many recipes, like his for ESB seem to be off the mark, and a little research can find a more accurate recipe. Even reading the label will often tell you something about what's in the beer!

Hazard

[kaymak]

Cheers for the responsed guys, im looking at a fullers ESB style beer

coaesg, do you think I should reduce the IBUs on this one?

Barley Water, defo going to look at reducing the crystal down to 10% or so,

Hazard, unfortunately I only have northdwon and EKG in at the mo so going to go ahead with these, at worst it should be a nice pale ale to drink, when I do my next order I will get some Target and challenger and see if I can do a propert clone

[coatesg]

I think you're fine as is - 35IBU in that will be fine and is certainly not hop dominated - that's pretty much the quoted value for Fullers ESB I have seen.

[kaymak]

Happy days, gonna get this one done at the weekend, gonna re work the grain bill when I get home tonight, do my starter tomorrow and brew up before Irelnad beat France in the Rugby on sat

[kaymak]

Right, so ive rvised the grain bill and lowered the 15 minute hop addition slightly,

Here my revised english esb recipe, let me know what you think

3000.00 gm Light Dry Extract (15.8 EBC) Dry Extract 89.55 %
150.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (100.0 EBC) Grain 4.48 %
150.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (145.0 EBC) Grain 4.48 %
50.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (30.0 EBC) Grain 1.49 %
20.00 gm Northdown [7.60 %] (60 min) Hops 24.1 IBU
5.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 3.8 IBU
15.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (15 min) Hops 5.7 IBU
5.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (5 min) Hops 0.8 IBU
1 Pkgs London Ale III (Wyeast Labs #1318) Yeast-Ale


Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.35 %
Bitterness: 34.3 IBU
Est Color: 21.5 EBC

[hazard]

3000.00 gm Light Dry Extract (15.8 EBC) Dry Extract 89.55 %
150.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (100.0 EBC) Grain 4.48 %
150.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (145.0 EBC) Grain 4.48 %
50.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (30.0 EBC) Grain 1.49 %
20.00 gm Northdown [7.60 %] (60 min) Hops 24.1 IBU
5.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 3.8 IBU
15.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (15 min) Hops 5.7 IBU
5.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (5 min) Hops 0.8 IBU
1 Pkgs London Ale III (Wyeast Labs #1318) Yeast-Ale

Why change the yeast? Your OP specified WY1968, this is apparently Fuller's Yeast and is the one to use.

[kaymak]

WhenI went to place my order the were out of stock of the yeast I wanted, had to go for the London ale III yeast