First Try @ a Recipe: High Gravity ESB - Comments?

How does a new brewer handle waiting for their first beer to be ready without rushing it and drinking a green beer? Plan the next 5 brews or so!

This weekend I have a porter and apfelwein on the agenda. Two weeks from then there is a Raspberry Wheat, and finally a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone. The problem with all of these (minus the apfelwein) is they are all kits and I can only look at the ingredients for so long.

That is why I have been contemplating my first homegrown recipe. I am going to have a camping trip with my buddies at the end of June and am planning a special brew for the occasion.

I'm calling it an ESSB Extra Special Strong Bitter. Here are the stats based on my calculations from brewersfriend.com

ESSB (Extra Special Strong Bitter)
5 gallon batch (6 gallon boil)

• OG: 1.085
• FG: 1.019
• ABV: 8.55%
• Attenuation: 77%
• SRM: 17.16
• IBU: 65

• 1# Cyrstal 60L for steeping
• 2# Light DME
• 3# Light LME
• 6# Amber LME

• 1oz Nugget ~11% AA 60min
• 1oz Williamette ~5% AA 30min
• 1oz Williamette ~5% AA 15min
• 1oz Cascade ~5% AA Flameout
• 2oz Cascade ~5% AA Dry hopped

I was thinking about using US-05 ale yeast, because I have it in stock. However, since I'm looking for a high attenuation rate of 77% are there other yeasts that may be better?

Comments are welcomed and encouraged!

telemaster said:

How does a new brewer handle waiting for their first beer to be ready without rushing it and drinking a green beer? Plan the next 5 brews or so!
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Go buy excellent commercial beer and build up your bottle collection!

MikeG said:

Go buy excellent commercial beer and build up your bottle collection!

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Been there and even went dumpster diving.... I have 12 cases of clean empties waiting for beer.

What's the difference between that and an IPA?

tekhna said:

What's the difference between that and an IPA?

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Good point. FAIL = me

I'll have to rework the recipe for a slightly lower IBU rating.

Does anyone know of a commercial beer that has an IBU around 60 so I can get an idea of the expected bitterness level?

telemaster said:

Good point. FAIL = me

I'll have to rework the recipe for a slightly lower IBU rating.

Does anyone know of a commercial beer that has an IBU around 60 so I can get an idea of the expected bitterness level?

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Not necessarily fail, it's definitely darker than most IPAs, and it'll probably be pretty tasty. That hop schedule though looks like an American IPA schedule. You might be better served by using different hops that might not give as much floral/citrus. I don't really know what those hops would be though. It looks like it'd produce a good beer, just not quite what you're looking for!

Actually that is what I was going for... a strong floral/citrus hop character... as this is one of the aspects I particularly enjoy in beer. However, with that said, I am not necessarily looking for such a bitter beer that I am going to get a kick in the mouth with every sip.

Maybe I'll just play with the hop schedule/amounts and see if I can lower the IBU to the 40-50 range.

I just need to read more about the different styles. I am currently reading the Home Brewers Companion by Papazian. I think the next book should be Brewing Classic Styles by Zainasheff and Palmer.

Anyone with experience, or an opinion, is welcome to chime in!