Strong Bitter Common Room ESB

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I brewed this today, but it was my first full blown batch on my all-grain equipment. I lost 1.5 gal during boil and wound up with 5 gal at 072 gravity. o_O I added some bottled water and got FG to 1.055. Otherwise it was a nice smooth day and I'm looking forward to a new brew. Thanks for the recipe!
 
Brew done!

Grains steeped, 0.5oz of EKG as FWH, did 1/3 of the 7.5lbs for the 60 minute boil with the rest at 15m. OG was ~1.057 it looked like. Using WLP005 with a nice looking starter.

I used all East Kent Golding as that's what I had handy ;) Need to buy some Fuggles as I like my EPA/ESBs...

Moved this to secondary tonight to let it clear up a little (and because I don't have an empty keg yet!). FG is a little higher than I expected, 1.012. It looked nice, sample tasted a little thin, but can live with it as a session beer.
 
Kegged mine on Friday night. Finished at 1.016 which is great. I wanted a higher FG for some residual sweetness.

It's a great tasting session beer, especially when it starts to get warmer down here!
 
Something a lot of people forget (or never learned in the first place) is that the long-chain unfermentable sugars are not sweet. A beer that finishes at 1.020, but that has no more fermentable sugars left should not taste overly sweet. That's why I suggested the bitterness as a cause for your impression of high sweetness. If temp fluctuation occured though, that could be the problem. And it isn't always as simple as warming the temp back up and the yeast start up again. If they became unhappy for some reason, they may have just called it quits early, and no amount of warming will convince them otherwise.

Just to update you on this one, it did end up coming down to 1.016 after the extra 6 days after I dumped it back in the fermenter. I tasted it this weekend after 1 week in the bottle and the sweetness has come down too. It still has a little sweetness but tastes quite decent. So far I haven't noticed any funky tastes from the oxidation, so I hope it will stay that way for awhile.
 
Just an update, had a few people over to taste a couple of the brews on tap, and we might have killed over half of this keg in one night. People couldn't get enough of it. Thanks again for the recipe KingBrian. After 6 weeks, this beer is outstanding and will be brewed again.

I'm slowly reading through your thread on British ale yeasts and proper fermentation techniques for them and am hoping to replicate this but take any information provided in there to make it better!
 
Just an update, had a few people over to taste a couple of the brews on tap, and we might have killed over half of this keg in one night. People couldn't get enough of it. Thanks again for the recipe KingBrian. After 6 weeks, this beer is outstanding and will be brewed again.

I'm slowly reading through your thread on British ale yeasts and proper fermentation techniques for them and am hoping to replicate this but take any information provided in there to make it better!

Awesome, glad you guys enjoyed it!:mug:
 
As I kicked my keg of Amber Ale last night, it's time to keg my CommonRoom ESB to replace it ;) Been sitting in a secondary for a week to let it clear up - tons of trub in the secondary. Looking forward to tasting it soon!
 
As I kicked my keg of Amber Ale last night, it's time to keg my CommonRoom ESB to replace it ;) Been sitting in a secondary for a week to let it clear up - tons of trub in the secondary. Looking forward to tasting it soon!

Kegged & on tap ;) It needs to carb, obviously, but my quick taste test (flushing the tubes, honest!) was nice - colour is a little thin/lighter than I expected, but it's got a nice straightforward classic "english bitter" taste, just like I wanted.
 
I've been drinking this for a few days now. Only been about two weeks in the keg but it is carbed pretty good. Very smooth and easy drinking. My first impression was that it was not as hoppy as I expected. I also didn't have much hop aroma. This is my first time using EKG and Fuggles so maybe I'm just not used to them. Anyway, I had 3/4 ounce of both cascade and centennial laying around so I decided to throw those in the keg. Mainly just hoping to boost the aroma a little. Overall very good though, very balanced beer.
 
Had a little Easter BBQ yesterday. A few beer drinkers were there so I told them this beer was on tap and they could help themselves. Got lot's of compliments and I saw them making several trips back to the bar lol. I had a few myself and I must say that it is a great session beer with lot's of flavor.
 
I'm brewing up another batch of common room today. I've been on a brewing hiatus for several months and figured this would be a good beer to kick start some more brewing. I'm using s-04 for the first time in a long time, since that is how I originally brewed the recipe and I want to go back and try the original. :D
 
My experiment was a success. The beer is great, SOOO drinkable. and Brewmaster's Warehouse was awesome, just 1 click for ingredients and 2 days later they're at my door. This is on tap now at my house (though not for long, hah)
 
Glad you like the beer! And yeah, Brewmaster's Warehouse is great, but they stopped carrying the Simpson's crystal malts. So while I like Crisp's crystal 60 better than Simpson's crystal 55, Crisp doesn't make an equivalent to Simpson's extra dark crystal. But the Crisp's crystal 120 should work fine.
 
brewed this yesterday with some minor changes due to what i hand in stock

edit: i guess they were big changes so its going to be a completely different beer:
8 lb vienna, 2 lb wheat
0.75 lb UK Medium Crystal 50-65L
0.25 lb UK Dark Crystal 135-165L
.50 oz Fuggles [3.60 %] (First Wort Hop)
1oz northern brewer (First Wort Hop)
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (20 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Also missed my mash temp, first 30minutes were 150F, last 30minutes i brought it up to 153F
 
Brewed this on Easter Sunday, so its the Common Room Easter ESB! Having a pint right now, and I'm loving it. I used Crisp Marris Otter and Crisp 60 and 120 for the caramel malts (from Brewmasters Warehouse) along with the 1968 yeast. My plan is to keep brewing this recipe, but change out with a new British yeast each time. Im in for one hell of a ride!

Thanks for the recipe KingBrain!
 
After a full two weeks in the keg this is a really good brew. Had a couple pints while brewing today. Apologies for the lack of head, it's actually nicely carbed but this sat for 20 min while I battled near boil-overs.

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I'm brewing up another batch of common room today. I've been on a brewing hiatus for several months and figured this would be a good beer to kick start some more brewing. I'm using s-04 for the first time in a long time, since that is how I originally brewed the recipe and I want to go back and try the original. :D

I'm finding out s-04 takes a bit longer to condition than the liquid yeasts I've used for this recipe lately. The "green" flavor is about gone and it's drinking really nicely now. Here's a video of my pouring a pint from this afternoon.

 
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Brewing this recipe right now, BIAB on my stove top. About to add the mashout water.
 
I brewed this 15 days ago and used a washed s04 starter. I checked the gravity after 8 days and it was down to 1024, 7 days later it was only down to 1020. I have not had good luck with getting s04 below 1020. I stirred up the cake yesterday and haven't noticed anymore activity. Does it seem to take a long time in primary to get it to finish? I'm going to let it sit another week and see where it's at.
 
Brewed 10 gals of this yesterday, and besides the weather bringing in a huge rainstorm in the middle of the brew day, things went pretty well. My efficiency sucked at about 65%, but oh well. Used UK First Gold and US Fuggles and split the batches, one is fermenting with Wyeast 1968 London ESB and the other side with S-04. OG started at 1.050 which works for me, I'm starting to like more sessionable beers!
 
Just brewed up a batch of this last night with WYeast 1968 London ESB - what temp do you think would be best for this beer?
 
Just brewed up a batch of this last night with WYeast 1968 London ESB - what temp do you think would be best for this beer?

If it's not too late, start fermentation around 64 and let it rise to 68. Hold it at 68 until it is nearly done, then slowly cool it back to 64. Let it sit at 64 for another couple days while you test the gravity and taste it periodically. When the gravity has stopped dropping and the flavor has gotten where you want it, crash cool it for a few days then keg it up. You can be drinking it a week after kegging.
 
Can I average out the Crystal Malts and just use 1# of Crystal 80L?

[ (3*50L) + 135L ] / 4 = 71.25L

[ (3*65L) + 165L ] / 4 = 90L
 
Can I average out the Crystal Malts and just use 1# of Crystal 80L?

[ (3*50L) + 135L ] / 4 = 71.25L

[ (3*65L) + 165L ] / 4 = 90L

You can do anything you like. It won't taste the same though. The lighter and darker crystal malts are bringing different things to the table flavor-wise. Your color will be close, but the flavor won't be the same. It should still be good though!
 
Thanks for the advice. I didn't know that. It's not really economical for me to be ordering grains if I won't be using the whole pound, so the idea was to save a little money and not waste grain. I think I'll hold off doing it right until I can use up the grain on something else, or expand my storage capabilities.
 
I took a sample of the S-04 last night to see where the gravity and taste were, and it's sitting at 1012 with a very fruity aroma and slightly fruity flavor, with just a small amount of diacytel detecable and a very strong roasty flavor that lingers (that UK Dark crystal will mellow out in the next week) I dropped the temp to 64 last night, but I'm beginning to think I should start the cold crash tonight. Another update will come later this week when it's time to keg them.
 
Yeast is fascinating stuff.

I taste-tested this beer about 3 days into fermentation and while it tasted pretty good, the back-end of it was all diacetyl - it tasted like I chewed half a stick of fake butter! I tasted it again yesterday (6 days into fermentation) and all the diacetyl was gone.

The profile of the 1969 London Bitter yeast I used said to expect a diacetyl rest, so it wasn't unexpected, but I've just never noticed it to that degree before!
 
Yeast is fascinating stuff.

I taste-tested this beer about 3 days into fermentation and while it tasted pretty good, the back-end of it was all diacetyl - it tasted like I chewed half a stick of fake butter! I tasted it again yesterday (6 days into fermentation) and all the diacetyl was gone.

The profile of the 1969 London Bitter yeast I used said to expect a diacetyl rest, so it wasn't unexpected, but I've just never noticed it to that degree before!

How long did you leave your 1969 for a D-Rest, and did you create a starter? Just curious as I was not able to draw a sample of my 1969 batch yet and didn't have the chance to make a starter before pitching.
 
I just kegged this after 3 weeks in primary and all I can say is that it smells amazing. I am planning to let it condition in the keg outside of my keezer for a week or as long as I can stand it but what is the earliest people are drinking this?
 
I just kegged this after 3 weeks in primary and all I can say is that it smells amazing. I am planning to let it condition in the keg outside of my keezer for a week or as long as I can stand it but what is the earliest people are drinking this?

When I've made it with liquid yeasts, I start drinking it a week after kegging (it spends the week in the kegerator getting carbed). I found that with s-04 it takes a bit longer to smooth out. What yeast did you use?
 
When I've made it with liquid yeasts, I start drinking it a week after kegging (it spends the week in the kegerator getting carbed). I found that with s-04 it takes a bit longer to smooth out. What yeast did you use?

I used the s-04 per the directions so it sounds like it might take me a bit longer to get conditioned best. How long would you guess it takes to condition? After 3 weeks in the primary, I kegged it on Friday and just today I put it into the keezer on gas. I guess I could always just wait and see but it would be good to know from those with experience. I have a feeling this is going to be a staple in my keezer. Thanks
 
I used the s-04 per the directions so it sounds like it might take me a bit longer to get conditioned best. How long would you guess it takes to condition? After 3 weeks in the primary, I kegged it on Friday and just today I put it into the keezer on gas. I guess I could always just wait and see but it would be good to know from those with experience. I have a feeling this is going to be a staple in my keezer. Thanks

Give it a taste in a week. It may be great at that point, or you may feel like it needs a little longer to come together. If I remember correctly, my last batch using s-04 needed between 2-3 weeks in the keg before I thought everything had melded adequately.
 
Give it a taste in a week. It may be great at that point, or you may feel like it needs a little longer to come together. If I remember correctly, my last batch using s-04 needed between 2-3 weeks in the keg before I thought everything had melded adequately.

It looks like using the dry yeast means I am going to let it sit longer, I am getting a bit of sourness as it stands right now.

Since I can't get a feel for how it should taste, can anyone describe what I should be tasting once this sourness goes away? I was expecting more malt but it tastes similar to an Irish Red I made last year, is that normal?
 
It looks like using the dry yeast means I am going to let it sit longer, I am getting a bit of sourness as it stands right now.

Since I can't get a feel for how it should taste, can anyone describe what I should be tasting once this sourness goes away? I was expecting more malt but it tastes similar to an Irish Red I made last year, is that normal?

It should be dry but malty. The malt character should be rich with toasty and toffee flavors dominating. Hints of dark fruits, burnt sugar, and roasted grain should also be present. There should also be an obvious hop flavor and light aroma from the EKG and fuggles. Does that sound like what you're tasting?
 
It should be dry but malty. The malt character should be rich with toasty and toffee flavors dominating. Hints of dark fruits, burnt sugar, and roasted grain should also be present. There should also be an obvious hop flavor and light aroma from the EKG and fuggles. Does that sound like what you're tasting?

I guess those flavors are there, just not well melded together yet. I made the recipe almost identical to your original but added half a pound of biscuit malt to add some toastiness.

Sorry for all the questions, I am just going to let it condition in the keezer and let things worth themselves out. I think I am just rushing things since everyone else has had such success with this and my batch had no issues when I made it so it has to turn out well.
 
I guess those flavors are there, just not well melded together yet. I made the recipe almost identical to your original but added half a pound of biscuit malt to add some toastiness.

Sorry for all the questions, I am just going to let it condition in the keezer and let things worth themselves out. I think I am just rushing things since everyone else has had such success with this and my batch had no issues when I made it so it has to turn out well.

Well I took another sample yesterday and its amazing how the flavor has changed. I have never had a beer change so much in such a short time. Gone is the sourness and I am picking up more maltiness along with some of the other things I should have tasted.

If this keeps progressing it is going to be a solid beer. Thanks for the help with this and recipe.
 
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