Strong Bitter She's Got Balls Double ESB

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jgourd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
810
Reaction score
48
Location
Louisiana
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
White Labs WLP007
Yeast Starter
3500 mL
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.065
Final Gravity
1.018
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
52
Color
15 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 days @ 66F
Tasting Notes
Nice maltiness and bitterness with slight warming from the alcohol. Very Brit!
Meant to be modeled after Real Ale Phoenixx Double ESB. This is malty with a great bitterness that balances it quite well. The UK hops lend a unique flavor that I like. It's still young, and I get a fair amount of alcohol warmth and aroma that I hope fades over time.

Code:
She's Got Balls Double ESB
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal (7.76 gal preboil)
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG (actual: 1.065 SG)
Estimated FG: 1.018 SG (actual: 1.018 SG)
Estimated IBUs: 51 (Tinseth; actual: 52)
Estimated Color: 15 SRM (actual: 15 SRM)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73% (actual: 68%)
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
14.00# Pale Ale malt (90.32%)
1.00# British carastan (6.45%)
0.50# Caramel/Crystal 150L (3.23%)

Hops:
1.00 oz Challenger (UK) (7.0%) @90 min
1.00 oz Kent Golding (7.2%) @45 min
1.00 oz Kent Golding (7.2%) @20 min
0.25 oz Phoenix (UK) (10.0%) @10 min
1.75 oz Phoenix (UK) (10.0%) @0 min

Yeast:
White Labs WLP007 (English Ale) (English Ale)

Mash/Sparge Schedule:
Single Infusion, 152F; Batch Sparge
Mash for 60 min at 152F w/ 5.04 gal of water at 166F
Mashout w/ 2.62 gal of water at 210F; hold for 10 min
Batch sparge w/ 2.30 gal of water at 193F; hold for 10 min

Fermentation Schedule:
Primary Fermentation: 14 days @66F
 
shesgotballs.jpg
 
So which part refers to the "balls"? Curious backstory I am sure.

When I drank it young the first time, it had a strong and distinct alcohol warmth with raisins from the dark crystal. It was good, but "strong." That's how the name came to be. Plus, it's an AC/DC song! Over a month or so, this became a great beer. The raisins, caramel and toffee were there from the dark crystal, but the alcohol warmth faded and made this a well-rounded beer. Next time I'll mash higher a bit I think.
 
Extra Dark Crystal (135L+) seems to do the same thing for me: harsh raisins, toffee, caramel apples and a good dose of alcohol when young. I dumped the trub from my Amber Ale in the snow and shoveleved it away from sight two hours later and I could still pick up that distinctive vinous aroma.

It mellows out with age thankfully !
 
The awesome name for this beer is what caught my attention but the final product actually is what sold me on this recipe.

My friends, family and myself were all quite happy with how the first batch came out so I'll be brewing a second batch tomorrow.

Cheers,
 
The awesome name for this beer is what caught my attention but the final product actually is what sold me on this recipe.

My friends, family and myself were all quite happy with how the first batch came out so I'll be brewing a second batch tomorrow.

Cheers,

Great to hear! I have one batch in the keg now conditioning. I'll cool and carbonate in a month or so when I have room in the beer fridge! Cheers!
 
Made this about a 5 weeks ago. Turned out really good but you are right about alcohol warmth. I fermented mine at 64 degrees for two weeks and then bottled. At bottling it was very malty and tasted a lot like strong toasted bread...typical of marris otter. I actually split my base malts between 2 row and marris otter. I am still getting a lot of alcohol warmth and lots of bitterness on the front of this even at 3 weeks at about 40 degrees serving temp. I am hoping the alcohol warmth will fade. This is a big beer for me. I stopped collecting at 6.3 gallons due to my running a hitting 1.009 SG and then still boiled for 90 mins to get about 4.25 into the fermenter. I didn't take a sg after the boil but I expect it was in the 1.070 or 1.080 range due to boil off. All in all a good beer. Pretty strong at the moment but I will give it a couple more months to let the warmth fade and malts come through.
 
My new version of this has been in the keg a few weeks and is now carbonated. It's the best so far. Nice malty aroma with hints of nuts, dark fruit, bread, and slight hop (I chose a new aroma hop that's easier to get). Flavor is similar for about a second or two and gives way to a bitterness that complements it nicely. The flavors mix and linger for a bit. Slight (very slight) alcohol warmness that is almost not noticeable. The latest recipe:

Code:
She's Got Balls Double ESB
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.073 SG
Estimated FG: 1.018 SG
Estimated IBUs: 52 (Tinseth)
Estimated Color: 17 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
14.00# Maris Otter malt (90.34%)
0.75# British carastan (4.83%)
0.75# Caramel/Crystal 150L (4.83%)

Hops:
2.25 oz Challenger (UK) (7.0%) @120 min
1.50 oz Kent Golding (5.1%) @15 min
1.00 oz Northdown (UK) (5.0%) @0 min

Yeast:
White Labs WLP007 (English Ale)
5000mL starter (stepped up over a week, cold crashed, and decanted before pitching)
Note that a larger starter was needed because my yeast was fairly old.

Mash/Sparge Schedule:
Single Infusion, 153F; Batch Sparge, 168F

Fermentation Schedule:
Primary Fermentation: 14 days @66F
Secondary Fermentation: cold crash 3 days @32F
 
Hi there. I've been searching for an ESB recipe that has a slight dark fruit taste. Is this the beer in looking for? I was looking at recipes with special b in them but maybe dark crystal would work better.
 
Hi there. I've been searching for an ESB recipe that has a slight dark fruit taste. Is this the beer in looking for? I was looking at recipes with special b in them but maybe dark crystal would work better.

You could swap the carastan for the special b. Or a bit of the c-150 for the special b. The dark crystal gives it the dark fruit flavors. I also mash higher now (on the order of about 155F).
 
Thanks. I think I'm going to throw it in beer smith and see what it looks like with either the caratan or 150 swapped with special b.
 
Back
Top