ESB hops

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aryoung1980

aryoung1980

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I plan on brewing up an ESB next weekend with US Goldings. What hops pair well with these in an ESB?


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Assuming you want to stay traditional almost any of the UK hops will pair with the US Goldings or they could be used as the sole hop in the beer. The above mentioned Fuggles or other low alpha hops like WGV, First Gold and Bramling Cross come to mind. If you want to use a higher alpha hop for bittering try Challenger, Northdown, Target, Pilgrim, or Phoenix.
 
+1 on the UK hops. I use 100% UK Kent Goldings in my ESBs. I'm guessing that 100% US Goldings wouldn't hurt, either.
 
Originally I was going to go with 100% US Goldings. I've been doing a lot of single hopped beers lately and I feel that I may be doing myself a disservice. You know, the grass is always greener on the other side.

I'll probably hit it with a Northdown or Target bittering addition and use the US Goldings for flavor/aroma.

I've never brewed and ESB before so I'm pretty excited about it.


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jeremy0209 said:
They're pretty awesome, if they're done right.
Click to expand...


My original plan was/is 93% pale ale malt, 5% crystal 40, and 2% carapils. 40 IBUs from US Goldings at 60 minutes plus a 1oz addition at flameout. Ferment with WLP013 London Ale.


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aryoung1980 said:
My original plan was/is 93% pale ale malt, 5% crystal 40, and 2% carapils. 40 IBUs from US Goldings at 60 minutes plus a 1oz addition at flameout. Ferment with WLP013 London Ale.


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Click to expand...

I use Maris Otter as my base, hop it to about 37 IBU, and ferment with WLP 002. My OG is usually 1.045(ish) and FG about 1.014(ish). It's drinkable in 10 days, but it's really good about a month after brew day. I try to keep it low in alcohol so you can have multiple pints and still be functional. Actually, I'm planning another batch with an OG of 1.035...that should get me somewhere around 3.5%. I could drink that all day.

Here are two great videos about English Bitter:

http://chopandbrew.com/2013/08/08/chop-brew-episode-10-boat-bitter/
http://chopandbrew.com/2013/08/08/boat-bitter-bonus-footage/
 
I used Challenger in my last ESB and thought they were great. I paired them with EKG.
 
Progress blend perfectly with goldings. Challenger give a good smooth bitterness. Fuggles are the traditional choice.
 
While most any UK hop will blend nicely with goldings, don't feel you need to blend anything with goldings. Those little East Kent gems do just fine by themselves.

I'm surprised to see a lot of love now for Bramling Cross. Just a couple years back around here, no one had heard of them, seemingly. I like them well enough in darker beers (Bramling Cross + porter = win for taste buds), but bitters I like better with EKG, first gold, northdown, that kind of thing.
 
GuldTuborg, would you care to expound on why you think Bramling Cross works in a porter versus a bitter? I've got a crop of Bramling, Northdown and Challenger to use up this year and I think my run of dark beers is over. I'm uncertain which way to go, knowing I want to use all three, not necessarily in the same beer. Thanks!
 
I did a 1.5L starter two days ago with my WLP013 London Ale. It's as dead as a door nail.

Has anybody tried the WLP028 Edinburgh Ale yeast in an ESB? The White Labs website gives it a 4 out of 4 for the style. I would prefer not to make a trip to the LHBS since I have the 028 in hand.


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WLP028 should work fine. It's a bit like WLP002, but less flocculent, and with a different (but not overly strong) ester profile.
 
Ølbart;6015889 said:
WLP028 should work fine. It's a bit like WLP002, but less flocculent, and with a different (but not overly strong) ester profile.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I've never used 002 before; 013 was my goto for English styles.

I made a Scotch Ale with the 028 which I was quite pleased with.


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Fawcett or Crisp Maris Otter for a base malt, add some British medium crystal and an ounce of black patent. EK Goldings @ 60 and 10. Then some S-04 or Notty. Ferment two weeks at 65F and you've got a great drinking brew. (Best to let it condition in the keg or bottle for a couple weeks.) Tastes like Fuller's London Pride.
 
GuldTuborg said:
While most any UK hop will blend nicely with goldings, don't feel you need to blend anything with goldings. Those little East Kent gems do just fine by themselves.

I'm surprised to see a lot of love now for Bramling Cross. Just a couple years back around here, no one had heard of them, seemingly. I like them well enough in darker beers (Bramling Cross + porter = win for taste buds), but bitters I like better with EKG, first gold, northdown, that kind of thing.
Click to expand...

+1 Mash at 75 mins...boil at 75 min with hop addition at start..ferment 3 weeks at 64-65 with the Wyeast ESB yeast..dry hop with half your boil addition of kent 3-4 days before bottling/keg...cold crash with gelatin for 48 hours..oh gah its good..

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Scout001 said:
dry hop with half your boil addition of kent 3-4 days before bottling/keg

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Click to expand...


Do others dry hop their ESBs? I wasn't planning on it but I definitely could.


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Puddlethumper said:
Haven't seen it recommended in any of the recipes I have. And I doubt if its ever done. ESB's just aren't supposed to be all that hoppy.
Click to expand...

Why I dryhop for 3 days, its not overpowering at all, very subtle with the KG...just a way and its excellent...lol, you dont have to do anything. Pleasure of homebrewing is you can do what you want
 
Scout001 said:
Why I dryhop for 3 days, its not overpowering at all, very subtle with the KG...just a way and its excellent...lol, you dont have to do anything. Pleasure of homebrewing is you can do what you want
Click to expand...



Never heard of it done but if it works for, that's great. +1 and I learned something.

Cheers!

:mug:
 
I feel like I've read somewhere that British brewers do add a dry hop to a cask of bitter before it is sent to the publican.

I ended up getting some EKG in the mail this week so I've altered my plan. I'm replacing the US Golding with all EKG and leaving it as a single hop beer. I may go the dry hop route too but that decision doesn't need to be made for a few weeks.


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aryoung1980 said:
I feel like I've read somewhere that British brewers do add a dry hop to a cask of bitter before it is sent to the publican.

I ended up getting some EKG in the mail this week so I've altered my plan. I'm replacing the US Golding with all EKG and leaving it as a single hop beer.
Click to expand...


I'm currently working out of recipe book published in the UK and, so far, I haven't been disappointed with the beers. Their recipes for both a common bitter and an ESB call for single hop with EKG. Just made another batch of common yesterday. Can't seem to keep a keg of the stuff on hand! :)

Interesting comment about dry-hopping the cask. I think I may try that with this batch. What do you think? An ounce in 5 gal. 3 days before kegging?

Cheers!
 
Puddlethumper said:
I'm currently working out of recipe book published in the UK and, so far, I haven't been disappointed with the beers. Their recipes for both a common bitter and an ESB call for single hop with EKG. Just made another batch of common yesterday. Can't seem to keep a keg of the stuff on hand! :)

Interesting comment about dry-hopping the cask. I think I may try that with this batch. What do you think? An ounce in 5 gal. 3 days before kegging?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

What's the name of that recipe book? Interested to see if I can find it. I dryhop a very small quantity 3-4 days before bottling; I usually throw them a day before I move the fermenter to my garage (bout 36-42 degrees). I fin with gelatin also the last couple days...just enough to set off some hop oils. Alaskan has a seasonal ESB that has won numerous awards, including in the UK. That ESB has a detectable hoppy bite, so Im sure you can make something within style. Ill be placing mine in a club ESB brew-off this May, so Ill get some feedback from a couple of BJ judges.
 
I believe Fuller's ESB uses Target for bittering and Goldings for flavor and aroma.

Using 100% Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett is awesome! Crisp is also very nice) is the way to go, with a 14 Plato (1.056) target gravity.

I have read that the Brits don't use crystal malt in most instances, and the beers that I have made with 100% Maris Otter have not required any enhancement.
 
thegreatmaibockaddict said:
I believe Fuller's ESB uses Target for bittering and Goldings for flavor and aroma.

Using 100% Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett is awesome! Crisp is also very nice) is the way to go, with a 14 Plato (1.056) target gravity.

I have read that the Brits don't use crystal malt in most instances, and the beers that I have made with 100% Maris Otter have not required any enhancement.
Click to expand...

100% MaRis, hmm I use about 2% Crystal 120 for color...Id like try to smash it with mo and kg...putting that in my todo list
 
The last ESB I made used Fuggles @60, and U.S.Golding @20, and I really enjoyed it. I do not like EK Goldings. To me, all I taste is metallic after a month or so.
I used Two-row, Special Roast, and Crystal 140. The Special Roast added the bready, toasty, flavor that would have been in Marris Otter.
 
johnsnownw said:
My preferred malt bill is:

Golden Promise 50%
Marris Otter 40%
Munich 10%
Click to expand...

I need to get some Golden Promise once Ale season begins....

It seems like many of you guys are concerned about color. I will post this pic as an example of what 100% thomas fawcett looks like....
Homebrew.jpg
 
Scout001 said:
What's the name of that recipe book? Interested to see if I can find it. I dryhop a very small quantity 3-4 days before bottling; I usually throw them a day before I move the fermenter to my garage (bout 36-42 degrees). I fin with gelatin also the last couple days...just enough to set off some hop oils. .
Click to expand...

The book I have is called "The Complete Homebrew Handbook", Future Publishing Ltd., Bath, UK.

I use gelatin for fining also, and I've been given to understand that it can strip a little of the hop aroma. Your suggestion to dry-hop might be just the ticket to offset the loss.
 
Damn. I had a great brew day. Everything went smooth and I hit all of my numbers. But I just f'ed myself with the initial fermentation. The WLP028 took off like a rocket and spent the first 24 hours around 76F. Trying to cool it down now. Hopefully I don't get too many esters. This yeast is a beast.


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Scout001 said:
100% MaRis, hmm I use about 2% Crystal 120 for color...Id like try to smash it with mo and kg...putting that in my todo list
Click to expand...

The ESB recipe I have calls for mostly Maris Otter (8.8#) but also wants 5 oz. of British Crystal (I use the medium crystal at 70/80), 1/2 oz. black patent and 2 oz. of torrified wheat. You end up with a little more color in your ESB than a straight MO recipe would yield and an ABV at about 4.4% Nottingham or S-04 yeast.
 
If you want a clone of Fullers ESB PM me. I did one up and couldn't tell the difference between mine and the real other than a very slight color difference.


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