Best hop combo for English Strong Bitter\ESB's

[BeerFan21]

Hello all,

I am brewing a English ESB\Strong Pale Ale and was planning on using 2 oz of Fuggle (60 min boil) and then 2 oz of East Kent Goldings (1 oz 15 min, 1 oz 1min) but my LHBS seems to be out of East Kent Goldings currently.

What substitute or combination would you suggest? I am trying to keep the hops UK if possible (using Maris Otter for steeping grains and then 3.15 lb Amber Liquid extract and 3 lb Light Dry extract) and then the Wyeast British Ale II yeast.

I was considering Fuggles for the 60 min boil and maybe Progress for the finishing\aroma additions.

Thoughts on which hop is best for bittering / finishing / aroma?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Guy

 

[motobrewer]

do they have us golding?

i used 3oz in an ESB i made a month ago and it's awesome.

 

[BeerFan21]

They do have US Goldings available - how do you reccomend using them?

 

[Freezeblade]

I use 3 additions to my bitters.

FWH, 60min, and 0mins

Usually a combo of Fuggles and Goldings, with goldings on the 0min addition, I change up the FWH and 60min addition.

 

[motobrewer]

yeah what freezeblade said.

i don't really have a way of first wort hopping, so i add 2oz at 60 and one at flameout.

it's on the low end of the bitterness scale for an ESB, which I like.

 

[commonlaw]

Fuggles, Willamette (similar to fuggles), and Styrian Goldings are all excellent in an english-style brew. I like a bit of styrian goldings somewhere in my 15-5 minute additions.

 

[sp1365]

EKG and Challenger. Two of the best English hops in my opinion.

 

[BeerFan21]

Thanks for the feedback!

sp1365: Did you use the hops in that order (EKG for bittering/60 min boil; and Challenger for finishing/aroma)? I recently made a batch with Challenger (60 min boil) and EKG at 15 min and 0 min, but it didn't turn out as nice as my original recipe using Fuggle - 60 min, and EKG at 15 and 0 min...

CommonLaw: Do you use Willamette for bittering (60 min boil) or as late additions?

Thanks again!!

 

[commonlaw]

Thanks for the feedback!

sp1365: Did you use the hops in that order (EKG for bittering/60 min boil; and Challenger for finishing/aroma)? I recently made a batch with Challenger (60 min boil) and EKG at 15 min and 0 min, but it didn't turn out as nice as my original recipe using Fuggle - 60 min, and EKG at 15 and 0 min...

CommonLaw: Do you use Willamette for bittering (60 min boil) or as late additions?

Thanks again!!

I use Willamette for both (1lb bag from hopsdirect was super cheap, and they are awesome hops). The English IPA I just did had Willamettes for bittering, and a mix of EKG, Willamette and Styrian Golding at the 15-5 minute additions (I think Willamette at 15, EKG at 10 and EKG and Styrian at 5 but I don't have the recipe in front of me), plus an ounce of Willamette dry hop.

Interesting you didn't like challenger for bittering with EKG at the finish--I did a bitter like that I really liked.

You can bitter with the Willamettes just like you do the fuggles. They are pretty similar.

 

[sp1365]

Challenger for bittering and flavor with EKG for flavor and aroma.I have not used it in an ESB yet, but it is my plan (next up). I have used them in an English India Brown Ale and love it. I am not a not as big fan of Fuggles though which is why I tend to focus on other English hops.

My hop schedule for my ESB that I will be brewing this weekend:
Challenger (60 min)
Challenger (10 min)
EKG (5min)

 

[BeerFan21]

CommonLaw: my Challenger experience may have been flawed - I bought a new 7.5 gal kettle and planned on using my brand new banjo burner outside to do the boil but it was pouring outside and moved the process back to the kitchen. Doing a full boil on my stove gave me a real fit at keeping it at boiling so I am guessing I may get better results when i retry this.

sp1365: thanks again for the info! I just got an email from NB and they have EKG back in stock. However they are still out of Challenger...

Would Willamette or Fuggles be better for the 60 min boil? (finishing with EKG)

 

[commonlaw]

CommonLaw: my Challenger experience may have been flawed - I bought a new 7.5 gal kettle and planned on using my brand new banjo burner outside to do the boil but it was pouring outside and moved the process back to the kitchen. Doing a full boil on my stove gave me a real fit at keeping it at boiling so I am guessing I may get better results when i retry this.

sp1365: thanks again for the info! I just got an email from NB and they have EKG back in stock. However they are still out of Challenger...

Would Willamette or Fuggles be better for the 60 min boil? (finishing with EKG)

if one or the other is cheaper go with that. otherwise maybe stick to fuggles b/c they are truly english? I also prefer whole hops over pellets so that would also possibly figure into the decision for me. don't think it will make much of a difference either way b/t fuggles or willamette. I agree that not getting a good rolling boil could do some things to a batch. good luck with this beer!