Strong Bitter Common Room ESB

Thanks for the recipe. Placing order with Brewmasters for next weekend brew day. Going with a washed White labs English ale yeast from my soon to be kegged British Mild.

Brewed on Sunday, everything went great! Was going to sub some Target Hops for Goldings, but decided to stick with the recipe. Fermentor is bubbling away

Can't wait to taste the final product.

Looking for a good Red recipe with a little hop finish.

tcat63 said:

Looking for a good Red recipe with a little hop finish.

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Not to go OT but I just created this one and it turned out phenomenal.

bottlebomber said:

Not to go OT but I just created this one and it turned out phenomenal.

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Awesome!

I searched around and didn't see anything in the posts, didn't time to flip through all 45 pages.

Planning to brew this tomorrow, I picked up all the supplies this morning but the LHBS didn't have UK 2-Row.

From what I've read, it seems some say that they are very different and some that the difference is not so great. They didn't have MO either.

Is it worth it to brew this w/ US 2-row or is the flavor profile going to be off?

Apologies in advance if this as previously been answered.

atimmerman88 said:

I searched around and didn't see anything in the posts, didn't time to flip through all 45 pages.

Planning to brew this tomorrow, I picked up all the supplies this morning but the LHBS didn't have UK 2-Row.

From what I've read, it seems some say that they are very different and some that the difference is not so great. They didn't have MO either.

Is it worth it to brew this w/ US 2-row or is the flavor profile going to be off?

Apologies in advance if this as previously been answered.

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I will still be good but the profile will be different.

Worth it to invest to ingredients and time?


Or just brew up a pale with the 10#

Don't get me wrong .. it will still be very good. Just not the this ESB. But will still be totally worth it -- it is your beer. If you want to try THIS beer though, you should wait until you get some MO (UK 2 row).

I made this about 1.5months ago, currently pouring. it's pretty good but I stupidly dry-hopped and it's too aromatic for a British Ale. Really good colour though

daggers_nz said:

I made this about 1.5months ago, currently pouring. it's pretty good but I stupidly dry-hopped and it's too aromatic for a British Ale. Really good colour though

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That's exactly what I did delicious, but took it off style. That's ok though because this beer will keep for awhile and that will die down.

I'm considering brewing this in the next few days with WLP002. I'm varying the original recipe slightly but after reading 35 pages in this thread I'm really only concerned about one thing.

This would be my second AG batch and my first, a Belgian Red, came out with an 82% efficiency. It's hard to say if that'll happen again since I'm so green. If it does however, then I'll get an OG of something like 1.061 and with the low attenuation of WLP002 the FG will be near 1.019 which is too sweet for this style.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but my guess is that I should mash at a lower temp. I'm thinking 150F should do it but I'd like to hear what you folks with more experience have to say first.

Illuveatar said:

I'm considering brewing this in the next few days with WLP002. I'm varying the original recipe slightly but after reading 35 pages in this thread I'm really only concerned about one thing.

This would be my second AG batch and my first, a Belgian Red, came out with an 82% efficiency. It's hard to say if that'll happen again since I'm so green. If it does however, then I'll get an OG of something like 1.061 and with the low attenuation of WLP002 the FG will be near 1.019 which is too sweet for this style.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but my guess is that I should mash at a lower temp. I'm thinking 150F should do it but I'd like to hear what you folks with more experience have to say first.

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Yeah, I recommend anyone using WLP002, Wyeast 1968, or any other liquid british yeast with known low attenuation to mash this recipe at 148-150.

I had a ***** Creek ESB the other day and really liked it. Gonna try brewing my first esb using your recipe. Can't wait!

I brewed this last night, all went fairly well, my efficiency was a bit lower than I expected but I still got an OG of 1.056. I'm looking forward to drinking this in a month or so. My LHBS only had one ounce of EKG in stock (unusual, they're normally stocked full) so I bought some UK Progress to make up the difference.

So I'm about 3/4 the way through my batch, aged about 7 weeks, I get a really earthy taste from the hops as opposed to bitter.. might have to do the recipe again and just see it wasn't a bad batch. An enjoyable and drinkable drop for sure, just not how I was hoping it to taste.

RoKozak said:

Just added 2oz of my whole hops from the backyard to the primary for some dry hopping. The color was fantastic and it tasted delicious already. Gravity was at 1.020 -- so maybe I shouldn't have dry hopped yet since the goal is to aim for 1.014? I'm not sure. I did let it sit for 2 weeks even though the recipe recommended 3 weeks. I've read so much conflicting information as to when dry hopping should start (after initial fermentation 7-10 days v. total 3-4 weeks). I just shot for inbetween those recommendations. Anyhow, we'll see what happens. I'm excited. I'll drop a line when I bottle. Cheers!

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It looks like there are a few folks who've dry hopped this....

My question, I've ran into some issues, [I think my thermometer is out of calibration and I mashed too high], and I've got a stuck/finished fermentation at 1.03.

It's been there for 2 weeks at 68F. Hydrometer samples are pretty sweet but not way over the top like I expected. Wondering if I dry hop it with the left over 1/2oz of Fuggle I've got or something else if it would help compensate for the residual sweetness?

daggers_nz said:

So I'm about 3/4 the way through my batch, aged about 7 weeks, I get a really earthy taste from the hops as opposed to bitter.. might have to do the recipe again and just see it wasn't a bad batch. An enjoyable and drinkable drop for sure, just not how I was hoping it to taste.

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I think its the S04. I just pulled a sample out of my ferment after a week and I get a very earthy taste, but the fuggles sure help contribute me thinks we my experience in working with them. Hit the OPs number perfectly, will keg tomorrow and start drinking when I'm not on call next Monday most likely.

I made this beer about a month ago and used some Safale t-58 and it is fantastic. The T-58 gave it a little banana like flavors and it really works well I think. I know it's not to style but tastes great. Definitely a new go to favorite for me.

I brewed this ESB on Thanksgiving morning. Only change to the recipe was that I used Wyeast British Ale 1098 and decided to pitch a second smack pack - Thames Valley 1275 - on Friday morning since SG was 1.062. Tasted the sample this morning when transferring to a Corny and it is already very tasty. Thanks for sharing this great recipe... I suspect I will be making this one again.

Has anybody brewed this beer with London ESB Ale (W 1968) Yeast? How did it come out? Thanks in advance.

HBrew71 said:

Has anybody brewed this beer with London ESB Ale (W 1968) Yeast? How did it come out? Thanks in advance.

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Never mind. Found the answer.

phoenixs4r said:

I think its the S04. I just pulled a sample out of my ferment after a week and I get a very earthy taste, but the fuggles sure help contribute me thinks we my experience in working with them. Hit the OPs number perfectly, will keg tomorrow and start drinking when I'm not on call next Monday most likely.

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ah cool. I might try it again with just EKG hops and maybe splash out and use some Wyeast/White Labs

I had the intention of brewing this specifcally to what the recipe called for. Unfortunately I accidently picked up what I thought was Safale-04 and ended up with a packet of Safale-05 . I didn't realize it until I rehydrated the yeast. Anyways, I just kegged this, took a sample and can't wait to brew this again! Of course next time I'll use the proper yeast.

Here's a pic next to a cider, which I also kegged.

Thanks KingBrianI!

Gonna brew this this weekend. LHBS did not have C150 so I'm using C120 and also adding 4 oz biscuit malt. Is there a consensus on whether the biscuit malt is a good addition?

I just kegged this 2 weeks ago. S-04 let me down, It only attenuated 67% and gave me 4.5% I wanted 5.3%.
That being said, this beer is awesome, the under attenuation gave it a little more maltiness rather than sweetness,
which I really like, almost like I mashed it at 156*.

This is a delicious beer. It only seems to get better with age

Took a reading today, pretty sure it's finished, that s04 is a beast. Looks like it's gonna finish at 1.018, but I was a little high on the OG as well (1.061). Tastes delicious so far, I'm psyched to get this one on tap.

Brewed this a couple weeks ago using all Fuggles and S04, it's going to sit a while longer and then its going straight into the kegerator.

So, one of my house beers is an ordinary bitter at 3.2% that has a recipe very similar to this. So I figured I'd give this a shot and merge it with my recipe (really the only difference is that I add some victory, special and honey malt...about 1.5% each, though I don't have the exact number right now).

A good friend of mine is starting to brew, so I wanted to make this beer with him because it's fairly straight forward and I think he can learn easily from it. But I had a crazy idea; have you thought about adding oats to this?

After reading the Mad Fermentationist use oats in a Pale Ale I thought that a small amount of toasted oats, with a small amount of flaked Barley would be excellent in an ESB (to my palate). I was hoping maybe you had an opinion on this, or an idea of what to expect?

FunkyDung said:

I had the intention of brewing this specifcally to what the recipe called for. Unfortunately I accidently picked up what I thought was Safale-04 and ended up with a packet of Safale-05 .

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This may sound really dumb and trite but that is the reason I will not use Safale yeast. Using only a couple of numbers to identify the product puts me off. I guess I'm just a sucker for advertising.

? Safale is really awesome and cheap, seems like a dumb reason

LHBS doesn't carry Safale and I don't want to pitch onto the yeast cake of the British IPA I am bottling tomorrow that used S-04 so I picked up WY1968.

I went 10lbs 2-row, 8oz. 40L, 4 oz. 120L and 4 oz. biscuit. Used my cereal killer grain mill for the first time tonight and will be brewing tomorrow. Sticking to same hops as the original recipe.

My LHBS doesn't have dark crystal 135-165L but it does have Briess 120L and Special B 150L. Any preference for one over the other? I see that several people have gone with 120L and I've also seen suggestions that 120L could be pared with an ounce of chocolate malt or something to bring the color more in line with the original recipe. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

120 is fine, It's all mt LHBS carries too and the color was right on.

150 may give a darker color but damn is it delicious

Thanks, guys. Sounds like either would be fine, and maybe even a compromise of 2 oz. of each.

What is the recommendation of what to carb this at?

Pretty sure I'm going to brew this as my first AG batch.

Two questions:

Within BeerSmith, or just in general, should we be modifying the mash/sparge temps? Having set up my equipment profile, it's giving me different numbers, should I manually change to what the recipe calls for, or leave what it's adjusting based on my equipment? This portion kind of confuses me, as I'm still learning about AG.

Secondly, for those who had to stick with US varieties of Crystal, did you go with .25# 120L and .75 40L?

Thanks

ianskate said:

Pretty sure I'm going to brew this as my first AG batch.

Two questions:

Within BeerSmith, or just in general, should we be modifying the mash/sparge temps? Having set up my equipment profile, it's giving me different numbers, should I manually change to what the recipe calls for, or leave what it's adjusting based on my equipment? This portion kind of confuses me, as I'm still learning about AG.

Secondly, for those who had to stick with US varieties of Crystal, did you go with .25# 120L and .75 40L?

Thanks

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Until you've brewed a few times it will be hard to know what your temp loss is going to be for your system. I would probably heat your strike water to 165 degrees, and you'll probably shoot a little high but you can fix that easier and faster than trying to heat the mash. If you know what the temp of your grain is, and the volume of water you can find out how much heat your mashtun is sucking out. Are you using a cooler mash tun?

Gotcha. I'm using a 10 gallon cooler, just calculated general heat loss on 5 gallons of 170 degree water... lost about 4 degrees over an hour, opened the lid twice, as I could by stirring.

BeerSmith is suggesting that I mash at 166.3, step down to 152 for 60 mins. Also to sparge at 168. Will probably 2-step batch, total of 3.38 gallons. Grain will probably be room temp, around 68-70.