So, I have a random assortment of depleted specialty malts (c-60, Belgian Biscuit, Munich) and English hops (Fuggles, Northern Brewer, Goldings) on hand, as well as two American ale yeasts (US-05 and 1450), and I’m using them to make the following recipe.
Hops
60 mins 1.0 oz Northern Brewer
15 mins 0.5 oz Fuggles
10 mins 0.5 oz Goldings
5 mins 0.5 oz Northern Brewer
A few questions
-Would it be reasonable to call this an ESB?
-Am I going overboard with the Munich?
-Should I add my last 1/2 pound of biscuit malt (wouldn’t mind finishing it off)?
I think the yeast strain you have would dictate whether or not this became an ESB. I do like Biscuit in an ESB, but if you are going to ferment this with an american strain, it will probably be more accurately to call it an American Amber. Munich is pretty forgiving in terms of being able to add a lot of it without it ruining your beer, unless we’re talking about a really dark munich.
I think Northern Brewer are mostly considered German, but regardless, to make a Brit beer, I think you need Brit yeast. I’d agree, it’s a American Amber Ale. I’d pick up some S-04 and also probably add the biscuit because it won’t taste much like an ESB without some MO or similar.
Not so sure about that…I’ve made plenty of ESB using 1056 (and other strains as well).
A lot of it has to do with what you feed those yeasties.
In the end, it doesn’t matter what yeast you use… if the final result tastes like an ESB, that’s exactly what it is.
In the end, it’s all about what winds up in your glass and on your tastebuds.
:cheers:
my favorite ESB is by pelican brewery. and they use american ale yeast. not too sure how ‘traditional’ it is compared to other esb’s. either way, i really enjoy it
Thanks for the feedback y’all! I was just weighing out the hops and decided to move a lot of the schedule to the end of the boil. Here’s the new schedule with actual alpha %s and varieties.
60 mins 0.5 US Northern Brewer 8.6
15 mins 1.0oz Fuggles 4.2
10 mins 1.0oz UK Kent Goldings 5.8
5 mins 1.0oz US Northern Brewer 8.6
Oops, I forgot to up my 15 and 10 minute additions, so those were a .5 oz each. Is it worth tossing the rest in for a dry hop?
Any thoughts?
I may yet pick up some new yeast. The 1450 is 3rd gen and I’m nervous about it’s condition, and I’m not sure I want to rack off the 05 yet…we’ll see!
What’s a good ESB to get a sense of the “traditional” style for comparison?
I have also seen recipes for ESBs where something like 1056 is used and I’ve even seen recipes (published, btw) where they use hops like Tettnanger or Spalt in an ESB. I do agree with The Professor that the bottom line is what ends up in your beer glass. One thing to consider is that the water should have some amount of sulfate in it to create that prickly character. When I make an ESB (as I am tomorrow), I use 100% filtered tap water and add about 1.5g of gypsum and 3g of calcium chloride to the mash (these amounts only really pertain to my water makeup but just giving an example) which creates a good source water for the style. I have always said that traditional ingredients make the best examples of the style and I would lean towards using all British grain, hops and yeast in a beer like this but there’s no question that you can make a very nice beer with what you have here. I would also probably call it something else like an APA, AAA or whatever but that’s part of the fun of homebrewing. Cheers.
I actually add 1 gram of gypsum to just about every brew just for balance, as my chloride : sulfate ratio is ~5 : 1. Would you recommend being a little more aggressive with the gypsum next time? I brewed this up yesterday, so it is what it is this round. If 1g is enough, give or take, that’s a happy accident :cheers:
Right on. In retrospect, I probably should’ve titled the thread “what style is this?” Am I right that APA = American Pale Ale and AAA = American Amber Ale? If so, it’s probably a touch too light for an AAA.
At any rate, I ended up going with s-04 and all-British hops, so 2/3 of the ingredients are from the ESB homeland.
I just brewed an ESB as well. 10 gallons, half with 1968, ad half with 1056. maris otter, simpsons dark crystal, melanoiden, and torrified wheat. I’m curious to find out how the different yeasts compare. I might end up with an ESB and an APA. or two ESB’s, maybe 2 APA’s. time will tell
lol, you’d think so based on this board right now. Honestly, I just called mine that because it fits BJCP ESB parameters, uses British hops, and I can’t seem to just call a beer “beer” . To make matters even more confusing, when I moved most of the hops to the end of the boil, I forgot to double the Fuggles and EKG additions, so it’s not nearly as hoppy as intended (although still 3 IBUs above ESB min). To make up for it, I’ll probably dry hop with .5 oz of EKG, a .5 ounce of NB, and maybe another .5 oz of Fuggles (basically, all my remaining open packets of British hops pellets).
Good luck with yours, too! Mine’s currently raging it…had to switch to a blow-off tube as the kreusen was creeping pretty high.
My ESB’s are both fermenting in separate vessels. i woke up this morning to a ‘hissing noise’, ran to my fermenters to find one blow off hose clogged. opened it up, and got a blast of krausen to the face and projected it all the way to my 10 foot ceiling.
(the ferementer with 1056 :roll: )
meanwhile the fermenter with 1968 is doing just fine. both in 64.5 degree swamp coolers. (started at 62 degrees). luckily i cought it in time to rinse out the blow off hose, sanitize it, and replace it. BUT it smelled AWESOME. hahahah, kind of a ‘doh’ moment on my part
Mine crept up to the mouth of the carboy about 3 hours after I switched to the hose. I’ve since brought the temp down a couple of degrees from its peak of 67 - 68 and the krausen has pulled back a bit. S-04 is no joke! The tube isn’t burping into the bowl of water so much as constantly exhaling into it .
I really need to build a proper swamp cooler or, better yet, buy a fridge. I’m going through a LOT of ice!
Mine crept up to the mouth of the carboy about 3 hours after I switched to the hose. I’ve since brought the temp down a couple of degrees from its peak of 67 - 68 and the krausen has pulled back a bit. S-04 is no joke! The tube isn’t burping into the bowl of water so much as constantly exhaling into it .
I really need to build a proper swamp cooler or, better yet, buy a fridge. I’m going through a LOT of ice![/quote]
i am also going through a lot of frozen water bottles. here is the swamp cooler’s i use. and i wrap the outside with a blanket for insulation. then i cover it with a blanket to keep light out
I have something like that, but it’s currently in desperate need of a cleaning, so I’ve been using my 10 gallon kettle. I should probably wrap a blanket around it, but it’s been doing reasonably well without one.
. To make matters even more confusing, when I moved most of the hops to the end of the boil, I forgot to double the Fuggles and EKG additions, so it’s not nearly as hoppy as intended (although still 3 IBUs above ESB min). To make up for it, I’ll probably dry hop with .5 oz of EKG, a .5 ounce of NB, and maybe another .5 oz of Fuggles (basically, all my remaining open packets of British hops pellets).