critique my ESB...

ok this will be my LAST partial mash, before i get my new (10 g) kettle and can go back to REAL all grain.

3 lbs. dme (1.027)
5 lbs. marris otter pale ale malt (1.024)
1 lbs. crystal 60L (1.0042)
.5 lbs. crystal 20L (1.0021)

1 oz. challenger (8 aau) 60 min. (pellets) 26 ibu's
.5 oz. challenger (8 aau) 30 min. (pellets) 6.5 ibu's
.5 oz northdown (8 aau) 15 min. (pellets) 3.5 ibu's
.5 oz. northdown (8 aau) 8 min. (pellets) 1.5 ibu's
1 oz. kent gold (5 aau) dry-hop (plugs)

Burton ale yeast (2 qt starter)
2 tsp. gypsum (1tsp. in 2.5 g mash+ 1tsp. in 2 g sparge h20)
1 whirlfloc tablet (irish moss) 15 min.

mash 151 (60), 170 (10)
og 1.057
ibu 38
efficiency=70%(conversion), 22% (Hop util. @ 60 min/4 gallon)

its probably more of a pale ale than an esb, but im scared all that crystal will be coying...my recipe is a bastardized fullers esb clone from the recent zymurgy

Looks great man.

This is a question, not a suggestion, because I don't know--but 1.5 lbs. of crystal, is that standard in an ESB?

Dude said:

Looks great man.

This is a question, not a suggestion, because I don't know--but 1.5 lbs. of crystal, is that standard in an ESB?

Click to expand...

i know it seems like alot! Ive used that much in a big ass IPA, but not a pa...but im going by the zymurgy recipe for fullers esb. Thats why i upped the bitterness a tad, theyre recipe calls for like 32 ibus with an og of 1.054. Im not a fan of sweet beers so i upped the gravity AND the bitterness...

Bjorn Borg said:

i know it seems like alot! Ive used that much in a big ass IPA, but not a pa...but im going by the byo recipe for fullers esb. Thats why i upped the bitterness a tad, theyre recipe calls for like 34 ibus with an og of 1.054. Im not a fan of sweet beers so i upped the gravity AND the bitterness...

Click to expand...

Gotcha. Probably a good call.

I'm trying to come up with an ESB recipe and I like this one. I'll probably do somethign VERY similar.

sorry...zymurgy, not byo. they also list 1 lbs crystal 70, and 1/2 lbs crystal 26...

Sounds like style drift, that's a lot of crystal and finishing hops for an ESB. More like an English IPA. I must admit, though, my CoC brown is approaching a porter lately.

I've been trying to keep my crystal ~7.5%, definitely under 10%. But I saw the recipe in Zymurgy, too, not long after we did the Fuller's ESB tasting which I thought was a great beer, so it should work. The recipe looks good to me, especially the hopping.

I didn't say the recipe didn't sound good. If we can't bend the style guide, then the budnics have won.

ok im drinking a Fuller's ESB right now to see what its supposed to be like.
i actually lucked out and got one thats only a month past its experation date which is pretty good for around here. anyway, first impression: Color is dark! darker then i remember it. I might add an ounce of black patent to the grain. It has a really nice dark-orange hue. Does fullers boil in Copper pots? The color is awesome! not something you can get with just crystal...

aroma: oranges, cotton candy, malt and earth worms.
taste: definitiley on the verge of coying sweetness. Moderate amount of subdued, yet harsh bitterness. Good slick mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation, i wouldnt say low compared to my beers, just slightly less.

overall impression: very good beer! i cant wait to taste what a FRESH one will taste like..im liking my recipe too, this beer is pretty big for an english, its 5.9% by volume, and has lots of character

rate: 7.5 out of 10 (if it were fresh im sure it would get an 8 or higher)

From Beersmith:

Backwater ESB

Brew Type: All GrainDate: 11/25/2005[
B]Style:[/B]Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Volume: 6.15 galBoil Time: 90minBrewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Equipment: My Equipment(15 gal keg boiler w/12.5 gal cooler mash tun)Actual Efficiency: 68.8 %Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0

Ingredients
AmountItemType% or IBU
7 lbs 3.9 ozPale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)Grain 60.9 %
2 lbs 10.3 ozCaramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM)Grain 22.2 %
1 lbs 0.5 ozMunich Malt (9.0 SRM)Grain 8.7 %
15.6 ozCara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)Grain 8.2 %
1.49 ozNorthern Brewer [6.80%] (60 min)Hops 34.8 IBU
1.00 ozFuggles [4.50%] (15 min)Hops 7.6 IBU
0.50 ozGoldings, East Kent [5.00%] (5 min)Hops1.7 IBU
1 PkgsLondon Ale (White Labs #WLP013)Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Estimated Original Gravity: 1.059 SG (1.048-1.065 SG)
Measured Original Gravity: 1.058 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.016 SG (1.010-1.016 SG)
Measured Final Gravity: 1.018 SG
Estimated Color: 12.6 SRM (6.0-18.0 SRM)
Color [Color]
Bitterness: 44.1 IBU (30.0-55.0 IBU)
Alpha Acid Units: 2.9 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 5.6 % (4.6-6.2 %)
Actual Alcohol by Volume: 5.2 %Actual Calories: 262 cal/pint

Mash Profile
Name: Single Infusion, Full Body
Mash Grain Weight: 11.89 lbMash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 2.38 gal
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE
NameDescriptionStep TempStep Time
Mash InAdd 14.86 qt of water at 174.4 F158.0 F45 min
Mash OutAdd 5.94 qt of water at 198.1 F168.0 F10 min

I did a 10 gal on batch half had Burton yeast and half had British. The British won gold and the Burton won bronze. The British just came out more smooth and scored a 42. What ever you do make sure you have hard water ( my tap water is hard enough you could break it with a hammer), just filter it.

The fg being high is proabably due to the dextine malt, but the beer is well balanced and is one of my favorite brews to make. It could also be that I was into the home brew a bit much when I was bottling that day and I read it wrong.I might try the cask condition it in a keg to see how it goes.

The hop IBU is the default for brewsmith, the LHBS store's hops usually differ a bit so it isn't totally accurate.

I haven't used Whitebread yeast so I am not sure on that part. I usually just use White Labs cause that is what the LHBS carries.


I cleaned it up for you too, I hope that looks better.

You could always brew your receipe next and then brew mine and compare the two. I am sure you will be happy with both.

I have a Bias opinion but I like mine better than Fuller's anyway

How did the challenger hops work for you in the kettle?
I'm considering using them as a kettle hop for my next pale ale.

Nice recipe. It's very close to my favourite (it's an English beer, so I can spell favourite properly).
The main difference is with the hops, and I think the Challenger and Northdown should be better and more true to type than my Northern Brewer and Fuggles, but I still end up with the EKG.

-a.