Beginner brewer looking for ESB recipe

[MichaelJ909]

Hello brewers,

I'm looking for a simple or simple instructed how-to on a ESB. This will be my first beer brew for I have done a mead (bulk aging) as well as a mixed berry cider (just bottled yesterday and allowing bottle aging). So I'm on the rigorous task of seeking recipes. HELP!

 

[JonM]

Northern Brewer has a couple of great recipe kits, plus Northern Brewer has Maris Otter extract, which really provides that unique English ale flavor.

Otherwise, there's a great recipe in the Recipe Section (Check out Austin's front page article about the top 50 recipes - it's linked there .)

EDIT: Here it is. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=83878

 

[zippy84]

KingBrianI's Common Room ESB

I'm doing a partial mash version in a few days.

 

[unionrdr]

I like this ESB kit from Morebeer, with marris otter extract & some steeping grains. They don't have a partial mash version, but this one's so good I never had the heart to change it!
http://www.morebeer.com/products/extra-special-bitter-ale-extract-beer-kit.html

 

[MichaelJ909]

What exactly does a "partial mash" mean?

 

[zippy84]

Mashing with grains but supplementing with lme/dme. Usually people partial mash because they don't have the time/space/equipment to do a full 5 gallon mash. Bit like best of both worlds.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, partial mash is great when you don't have or can afford the larger kettles, etc it takes to do all grain. It is indeed the best of both worlds, but extract with steeping grains brews can be darn good too.

 

[zippy84]

partial mash is great when you don't have or can afford the larger kettles

not to mention the power required to keep 'er boiling! I have a mediocre stove top.

 

[drgoodbrew]

the 1st recipe i ever made (23 years ago) was an ESB (sort of) and has stood the test of time.

extract is 6lbs LME, 1lb crystal malt (10 or 20 L), 1.5 oz fuggles (60 min boil) and 0.5 oz fuggles (last 5 min of boil). yeast is any English ale yeast, Nottingham works the best (IMO).

all grain is roughly 8lbs pale or maris otter, 1lb crystal, and same hops/yeast. mash @ 152-154 for 60 minutes and collect enough for your system to end up w/ 5 gallons post boil.

over the years this recipe has been tweaked many times (adding honey, ginger, darker malts, other spices, fruit, etc.) and has proven to be an excellent base recipe. really simple and versatile.

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

What exactly does a "partial mash" mean?

It means that you are performing a small mash (the process by which the grain malt starches are converted to fermentable sugars) to get part of the wort, and then adding malt extract for the remainder of the wort. It is easier than performing a full all-grain mash, and requires less equipment, but still is more difficult than an all extract or extract + specialty grain brew. It is a common intermediate step for those who have mastered extract brewing but aren't ready (or can't afford) to jump all the way to all-grain brewing.


You might want to read this post, as it explains several terms in the context of how they are used.

If you have not yet read the 3rd edition of How To Brew (or at least the free first edition), then I would do so before doing anything else, at least the first few chapters (you should skim the rest, too, but hold off on reading it in detail for now - a lot of it will make more sense once you have a context for what he is talking about) and watch some of the videos on Palmer's site as well. Your LHBS (Local Homebrew Shop) probably has it for sale, and it's available from Amazon as both a printed book and a Kindle. I would also recommend Complete Joy of Homebrewing, Brewing Classic Styles, and (eventually) Designing Great Beers as well, and maybe Classic Beer Styles: Pale Ale if you have the chance, but I would read HtB first and foremost. Fortunately, none of those books are more than $15, so even getting all of them probably won't bankrupt you

Oh, and neither will getting a copy of BeerSmith 2.2; it is well worth its $28 price for the help it provides in organizing and preparing your recipes.

 

[unionrdr]

It can also be done biab style with a partial boil besides. That's what I've been doing. I've mashed up to 8lbs+ in about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 gallons of spring water in my 5 gallon kettle. Dunk sparge in a smaller kettle for 10 minutes in 1 1/4 to 1/12 gallons of 168F water. Combine main wort & sparge for the boil. I add about 2lbs, 4ozs of extract at flame out. That's about max for my system, but it works well.