Please look at my ESB Recipe

This will only be my second all grain (and second post). I would greatly appreciate if you all could look it over and tell me what you think. Also, I wanted this to be a Red Hook ESB clone (hense the hop schedule). I don't care if it tastes exactly like it, just wanted something in the ball park. As long as it tastes good, I don't care. Also, any suggestions on what temp I should mash at to get the authentic ESB malt flavor? Thanks in advance.

10 lbs Maris Otter (4.0 SRM) Grain 86.96 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM) Grain 13.04 %
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 17.6 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.4 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (15 min) Hops 3.8 IBU
1.50 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.50 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1 Pkgs London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) Yeast-Ale

 

Jamil says to mash at 152*F for an ESB; Graham Wheeler ("Brew you own British Real Ale") says to mash his Fuller's ESB recipe (the original) at 151*F.

I made Red Dog's ESB and mashed at about 153-154*F. It turned out great. I actually just finished off the keg of it last night.

 

Two comments:
That's a fair amount of crystal, maybe too much?
3 oz hops at flameout is more like a pale ale than an ESB in my book. I don't have a style guide with me, but I think hops flavor and aroma are secondary to bittering with an ESB.

Edit: The onlines style guide says hops aromoa is moderately low to moderately high. That's more than I thought, but I still think 3 oz at flameout is too much for the style (although it would probably be a pretty nice beer).

 

If your looking to be in the ballpark of a redhook clone, check out this recipe from Biermuncher Captain Hooked on Bitters
Keep in mind thats a 10 gallon batch.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think that maybe I will cut the hops back to 1oz each at flame out. Maybe cut the Caramel malt back a little too. Beersmith says that everything (color, OG, and bitterness) is pretty close to the Red Hook ESB so we will see what happens.

Couple more questions.

Do you think its too much because of the flavor it will impart?

How accurate is Beersmith when it estimates the color, bitterness, and things like that?

Thanks again.

 

I don't think you've got enough bitterness in here. You've got 25.8 IBU. The BJCP guidelines say an ESB should have 30-50 IBUs, so I'd up the 60 minute addition. Me, I love hoppy, bitter beers, so I'd double it, but that's really a matter of taste.

 

I agree with upping the 60min add.

The crystal with the MO may just contribute to a high final gravity. I use a lot of hops so I don't notice the crystal as much but at 25 ibus you might notice some sweetness.

That is alot of hops at flame out I would just take some of it and put is at the start.

Then again the recipe just like it is won't be a bad beer.

 

I'm drinking a keg of this now and it's excellent.

 

How bout this? Keep it simple?

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.27 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 13.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 64.60 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
10 lbs Maris Otter (4.0 SRM)
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min)
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (15 min)
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (15 min)
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (0 min)
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.80 %] (0 min)
1 Pkgs London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968)

----------------------------

Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 17.25 qt of water at 161.7 F 152.0 F

 

Guess that is what I will go with. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

Update: Brew day on 7/10/09

Brew day was fantastic. I used the recipe that I posted last. Hit all of my numbers except my pre-boil gravity (est: 1.047, act: 1.046), but my OG was spot on...

Used a yeast starter for the first time and had active fermentation within an hour. I planned for the yeast starter to be pitched during peak activity, but forgot to allow time to cold crash it so I had to pitch the whole thing. The next morning, it was going nuts! It looked like I had the whole 6 gal carboy on a giant stir plate there was so much activity inside.

That lasted about a day and a half and then things slowed down. Still getting a bubble every minute or so. This Friday will be 2 weeks, so I plan on transfering to secondary and waiting another week or two before bottling.

Havent taken a gravity reading yet, but I couldn't resist the urge to de-cap and take a whiff. It smelled awsome. Cant wait to drink it.

 

Keep us updated. I'm particularly interested in the sacc rest temp. For my next batch I've got a similar grainbill (with the exception of cara-pils), and planned on 157F. I'm on the fence as to whether that's too high and i should bring it down to 152-153F, but i don't want it to ferment out TOO low.

 

I mashed at 152... Then I found out my thermometer was off by 2 degrees. So I actually think I mashed at 150. We will see how it turns out. I decided to mash in at a low temp because I wanted something that tasted great and would have a good alcohol content. I also uped my water to grist ratio to 1.5. If all goes well I should be around 5.4%.

Btw, I checked the calibration of my thermometer in a cup of ice water and it read 34. Then in boiling water and it read 214. This is why I think it is off by 2 degrees.