ESB critique

I was on the fence between an SNPA clone and really anything else. I wanted to try the new Cooper's English Bitter kit so whatever I made was going to be a bit more bitter than an SNPA anyways.

For a 6 gallon recipe
Wyeast 1098 English in 4qt starter
3.75# English Bitter hopped LME
3# Pilsen Light DME - I had on hand
1/2# 40L steeped before boil
1/4# Malto Dextrine
1# Amber - was used in starter which I am NOT decanting
1 oz Cascade @ 5 min - again something else on hand
1/2 oz Cascade dry hopped

It's kind of a blend of ESB & APA.
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.014 <--- this is where I think it may differ from the APA. Using American Ale yeast I have been getting over 80% attenuation. I hope the less attenuative 1098 English Ale yeast allows the beer to maintain a little more body than my pale ales.
IBU: ~45
Color: 10.9

It's a costly batch to make the first time due to the new yeast and the sizeable starter adding $11 alone to the batch. Of course malt is costly, so the pilot batch is going to run me around $46 or $.95/pint.

I will be able to get away though with a 20 minute boil which RULES.

I am not completely sold on having to dry hop. I have the cascades handy, but with the presence of aroma hops in the kit I may skip dry hopping all together and simply do an extended primary.

Then we have 2-3 weeks in primary. Maybe a day or two is secondary if I don't feel like yeast washing and bottling the same day. 3 weeks in the bottle and we're good to go.

Great work on the starter. That will make sure you yeast get the job done right.

I'm not sure I would use the combination of the hopped (I'm assuming with English hops) LME and the cascade. You don't typically see these hops together, probably for good reasons. In your recipe above, you have a combination of cascade and English flavor/aroma hops. I would go with only the English.

I wouldn't do a 20 minute boil with the Pilsen DME for fear of DMS. The LME might let you get away with a 20 minute boil, but when you add the Pilsen DME, you probably need to increase the boil time. Even though the Pilsen is DME, it still needs to be boiled sufficiently to drive off the DMS. It would be more of a concern if you were an all grain brewer, but it is still a concern for the extract brewer.

A day or two in the secondary seems like a waste of time and unnecessary oxidation. If you are going 3 weeks in the primary, just go straight to the the bottling vessel. I don't really understand the whole yeast washing and bottling on the same day comment though.

As far as dry hopping, you could go either way since you are doing a hybrid.
For the ESB you don't need it, but for the APA you should have it.

As long as you increase the boil time, the beer should be a pretty tasty hybrid. If you're OK with the characteristics of the two, then rock on. :rockin:

Let us know how it turns out.

So ditch the cascade, the secondary fermentation and boil longer? Got it.

It's up to you. I think the most critical part is the longer boil. I haven't been able to find the directions for the Cooper's English Bitter, but I assume they are the ones that recommended the 20 minute boil. If that's the case, I would boil the rest of the extract for 40-60 minutes and add the Cooper's for the last 20. That will preserve the English hops flavor and aroma.

If you do end up ditching the cascade, you probably want to add more English hops to go with the extract you are adding. You want to keep the IBU/OG ratio the same. I would go with East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Challenger, or Willamette (although not English).

Again, even if you do the cascade and secondary, your beer will be good. The recommendations are just MY opinion and may not be the same as your tastes.

your ESB has no B.

The kit it English Bitter.

Anyways, with the hopped kit I may just skip any hop adds all together. I'm a little cascaded out from my 1# bag.

The kit alone gets me 44-45 IBU in a 6 gallon batch.

I always make starters too, big ones. Not only do I get to FG in like 48-72 hours typically at normal temps due to killer yeast, it helps me wet my appetite for brew da7 2-3 days in advance.

jescholler said:

I'm not sure I would use the combination of the hopped (I'm assuming with English hops) LME and the cascade. You don't typically see these hops together, probably for good reasons.

Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I just finished a Lakefront Organic ESB and found out that it uses Cascade hops.
http://0301.netclime.net/1_5/38a/012/140/_LFB_Organic ESB.pdf

Not really to style, but it works for them.

I skipped the cascades. The hop aroma coming from the fermenter is a little spicier than I get from my American ales, so it's a nice little change.

I actually got a little more than 6 gallons into the fermenter, so my SG was 1.052. After 24 hours it was 1.028, now 44 hours in it's 1.022. I see no reason not to be at TG by weekend. I'll give the yeast another 5-7 days after TG to clean up, then I'll bottle and store for 3 weeks and should be good to go.

I missed extract brewing. From striking the heat on the burner to clean up it was 90 minutes.

I had an INSANE start to fermentation. The airlock water blew out within 4 hours, and my blow off clogged. I came into the basement to find the lid bowed well over an inch. It could have been a disaster. I removed the blow off tube, got sprayed in the face with Krausen, and let the lit just sit loosely on the bucket. Now it's in a tempered water bath to keep the temp close to 70°.

I wouldn't bottle after only another 5-7 days. Most people around here talk about leaving their beers in the primary for 3-4 weeks when they only use a primary. I don't know the detailed science behind it though. Maybe someone else can chime in.

I was planning 2 weeks. It's my norm. TG meant terminal graviy.

I don't have the patience for a normal gravity ale to spend a month in primary.

I feel your pain. I've been working on my pipeline as well.

jescholler said:

I feel your pain. I've been working on my pipeline as well.

Click to expand...

BTW ESB has been 1.018 last two days. I pulled it up to room temp (like 75°) in hopes I can get it to 1.014. Should the yeast be completely stalled would it be prudent to pitch a small pack of Cooper's? I'll give it until Sat to check, but I don't want it too sweet.