Strong Bitter Captain Hooked on Bitters (Red Hook Clone & Award Winner)

[jeff2335]

Would pale ale malt instead of the 2 row be ok for the base?

 

[BierMuncher]

Would pale ale malt instead of the 2 row be ok for the base?

Absolutely!!!

 

[jeff2335]

First pull from the tap

I must say this is one tasty beer. I used gelatin for the fist time and had great results. It's hard to tell from the picture but its crystal clear. Thanks for the recipe BM.

 

[BierMuncher]

First pull from the tap

I must say this is one tasty beer. I used gelatin for the fist time and had great results. It's hard to tell from the picture but its crystal clear. Thanks for the recipe BM.

That looks very tasty. Great beer going into the Autumn.

 

[jim_reaper1066]

If using the extract recipe on page 3. what would be a good substitute for the toasted malt, 2.5 lb MO, Bisquit, Amber?

 

[CaliBrewin]

jeff, looks great. what was your ferm schedule and how long is that picture into conditioning?

 

[jeff2335]

Hey CaliBrewin, It was in primary for a week @ about 68 degrees, then secondary for about 2 weeks @ 70 degrees, then crash cooled for 3 days with gelatin then kegged. I kegged a little quicker than I should have but it tasted great so I can't complain.

 

[k47k]

I won 1st place English Pale Ale in the Palmetto State Brewers Open with a slightly modified version of this recipe.

the biggest change was that i used US goldings instead of Willamette.

thanks!

 

[BierMuncher]

I won 1st place English Pale Ale in the Palmetto State Brewers Open with a slightly modified version of this recipe.

the biggest change was that i used US goldings instead of Willamette.

thanks!

Congratulations. Gotta love the validation of your brewing skills. :rockin:

 

[BrokenDog]

I think I'll add this to my list, I've been looking for a good session beer on tap. I was actually even thinking of dialing this back on the abv a bit. If I shaved off 1 or 2 lb of 2 row, but kept everything else the same that should put me in the 4.6 to 4.9 range depending on the crush I would think. (At work so I don't have access to a brew calculator.) I wonder though would the recipe stil be pretty balanced or would I be screwing up a good thing?

 

[mdzitter]

Hey All, I'm looking to use this recipe as my first foray into specialty grain steeping using pmoe's substitutions listed on page 3. Well, I brought in the list to my LHBS and the owner got wide eyed at the amount of toasted malt (2.5 lbs) for a 5 gal batch. I ended up going with the following modifications:

1) .5 lb each of toasted, carapils, and crystal 60
2) Burton Ale Yeast

Am I shooting myself in the foot with these simplifications?

Thanks!

 

[meteorbrews]

Hey MD,

how did those mods turn out for you? I am going to brew this soon and toast my own malt too. Going to brew the extract version on pg.3 anyone have thoughts on 2.5# of toasted being too much for a 5g batch?

B.

 

[mdzitter]

Hey MD,

how did those mods turn out for you? I am going to brew this soon and toast my own malt too. Going to brew the extract version on pg.3 anyone have thoughts on 2.5# of toasted being too much for a 5g batch?

B.

It turned out OK. It was a little bit light, would have liked more body so next time I'll probably go with the full grain amount.

Also this is a gigantic beer, so make sure you have a good yeast starter - I rushed because I was going out of town and just poured in the liquid tube, took a very long time to finish fermentation and carb.

 

[AU_Bob]

Giving this recipe a go this weekend. With all of the awards stacking up based on this recipe it's gotta be good!

 

[davidr7283]

I had my first bottle of Red Hook ESB a few weeks ago and am absolutely hooked (get it?...hooked?).

I grew up in Washington and this is the beer that got me into craft beers and eventually into home brewing. I drank a lot of it in the 80's and 90's.

This beer has moved up my list and will be made very soon.

Thanks for posting this recipe.

 

[Redcat]

Can you swap out Victory for the toasted malt? Your recipe shows it have 27 SRM for the toasted, and the wiki shows 25-28 as the SRM for Victory.

Will I have a loaf of bread in a bottle if I substitute that much Victory for the toasted malt?

 

[Redcat]

Anyone?

 

[k47k]

The answer is no. with that much victory i think it would be undrinkable. you could use a lesser amount of victory, but it wont be the same. I have done this (3/4lb) and it came out fine, but definitely not the same.

 

[Redcat]

I'm doing the extract version of this, and would only be steeping the Victory malt.

I'm confused a little then about exactly what Victory/Biscuit is. Are they the same as toasting the malts at 350* for 12-15 minutes?

 

[psymonkey]

I'm brewing this today and just finished toasting my 2-row. Now I'm coming across info that says I shouldn't use that for two-weeks after toasting. Has anyone brewed this with freshly toasted malted barley?

If I have to wait, any recommendations as to what I might substitute for the 2.5lbs of toasted 2-row? I've already got my starter ready and am ready to roll.

 

[psymonkey]

I asked the above question in the beginners forum and was informed that the rest isn't necessary for a toasting as light as this, in case anyone else has this question.

 

[stbnj]

I just mashed in on this one, followed the recipe pretty exactly. I am however going to split the batch between s04 and wlp005. I have never had a Redhook ESB but if its anything like any of the other bitters I have tried this should be really good.

 

[hebbs]

hit all my numbers in the mash, left in primary x2 weeks, FG between 1.010 and 1.015, so right on the money! Pre-carb taste test is spectacular, can't wait to get this one in the keg tomorrow and carbonate this week!

 

[alaskana]

I'm looking for a good ESB extract recipe and I'm thinking of trying this extract version (created by pmoe) of Biermuncher's all-grain 'Captain Hooked on Bitters' recipe:

5 lbs pale LME

2.5 lbs toasted malt
1 lb crystal 60L
0.5 lbs carapils

.50 oz Williamette [5.50%] (60 min)
.50 oz Tettnang [6.50%] (30 min)
.50 oz Williamette [4.60%] (20 min)
.50 oz Tettnang [6.50%] (5 min)

Not sure how to go about steeping the specialty grains. Maybe 1.5 gallons for 30 mins @ 155?

For those who tried this extract version, how did it turn out? I'm thinking of adding 6 pounds of LME instead of 5, but otherwise the recipe sounds good. Also, would victory work for the toasted malt?

Thanks in advance for your replies. :rockin:

 

[Redcat]

If I made another extract version, I would follow that recipe, and use 6lbs Pale LME. I used a satchet of Nottingham instead of a liquid yeast.

I used Fuggles & Tett since I couldn't get Willamette at the time.

2.5lbs of Victory or Biscuit will work just fine. It turned out great, and I had a few BJCP judges say it was a good ESB.

 

[alaskana]

Redcat, many thanks for your reply. I am really looking forward to trying this recipe out, and the Fuggle hops sound like a good substitution for the more traditional Williamette hops considering your beer earned a good review from a BJCP judge. Oh and I forgot to include in the above recipe snippet that Biermuncher recommended a 60 minute vs 30 minute soak for the grains (at least that's what I think he meant) which would effectively be a partial mash. Would you recommend this as well, or would you just do 30 mins at 160 instead of an hour?

I'm glad I found this recipe as for some reason I was having a hard time finding a tried and true extract ESB recipe.

 

[Redcat]

I did 60 minutes at 160 like Biermuncher recommended. Since the specialty grains and Victory/Biscuit malt don't have much diastatic power you may not get much additional yield which is why I would go to 6lbs Pale LME.

 

[alaskana]

Awesome, thanks for the info Redcat! I'll go ahead and do the 60 minute steep since you did it as well and seemed to have pretty good results (and yeah will definitely do 6 lbs lme (or maybe even 6.5). I'm brewing this on Thursday and I will let you know how it turns out!

 

[SilverZero]

Just sat down with a bottle of Red Hook ESB and decided I wanted to make it. This recipe looks great, I think I'll put it together right quick! Going to scale it down to 8 gallons and go as written in the OP. I could toast the 5# of 2-row or go with 1# of biscuit - any advice on this?

 

[hebbs]

Just sat down with a bottle of Red Hook ESB and decided I wanted to make it. This recipe looks great, I think I'll put it together right quick! Going to scale it down to 8 gallons and go as written in the OP. I could toast the 5# of 2-row or go with 1# of biscuit - any advice on this?

I considered doing the 5# toasted but got the 1lb biscuit. It was dead on - if I brew this again (WHEN i brew this again) I will continue to use biscuit malt. If you decide to go the other way, we should exchange