ESB recipie feedback

[Matty_Q]

Hey Guys,

This is the first recipie I have ever created (following some general guidelines observed) and I was hoping to gain some feedback. I'm thinking there could be some tweaking left for final review.

ESB - 4 gallon batch:

Grain bill -
6.6lbs Muntons marris otter
1lb caramel crystal 60l
.40lb caramunich I

Hops -
1oz challenger @60
.30oz EKG @ 15
.30oz EKG @10
.40oz EKG @5

Additions -
.40oz Turbinado
Irish moss

Yeast -
WLP002

Water profile I am aiming for -
Calcium - 75
Magnesium - 12
Sodium - 30
Sulfate - 150
Chloride - 75

Target OG - 1.056
IBU's - 40
Color - 13 SRM
Target ABV - 5.5%

I plan to mash @ around 152, but due to low attenuation of 002 am considering going lower to around 149 (thoughts?). I will likely pitch my yeast around 64 then raise to 68ish and let sit and then finish with a diacetyl rest.

Any feedback would be great!

 

[waldoar15]

Try it and see. I use a little special roast in my ESB and crystal 40, but 60 is OK.

Not sure about the challenger. I just use all EKG.

 

[BigEd]

Too much crystal malt is my first thought. You're at 17% with that grain bill. Everybody has their own likes on the subject but my default amount for crystal in this family of beers is 5-10%. I have gone as high as 15% for one recipe but considering this is your first recipe I'd suggest no more than 10%. I would also simplify by choosing one, either the 60L or CaraMunich. Even better I would use a nice 55L British crystal.

.40oz turbinado? 12g, is that correct?

40 IBU with your 17% crystal would probably be OK, however, if you decide to lower the crystal percentage I'd drop the IBUs to 35. I would also simplify those hop additions. The best bitters/ESBs IMO use the traditional hop schedule of two additions, one @ 90 miniutes and one @ 15/20 minutes. You don't need three separate additions from 15 to 5 minutes. Try the 90 minute boil at some point. It just seems to work well with this family of ales.

Challenger is quite tasty and it works very nicely blended with EKG. Bluebird Bitter is exclusively hopped with Challenger and it's a very good drink.

My tweaks:

7.25 lb MO pale
.75 lb 55L crystal

~1 oz Challenger @ 90 min
.50 oz EKG @ 15 min

152F is fine for the mash temp.

 

[ESBrewer]

I would also cut down the crystal. Something like 5-8% of 60L crystal only, depending on taste. Challenger will be fine but you'll need to find the correct amount of hops in your system / according to your taste. 33-37 calculated IBUs could be something to start with. Your hop schedule could be nice, but you can experiment with the balance between early and late additions to get the kind of flavor and aroma that you are looking for. You coud mash an hour at 151F and see how it attenuates. If you think you need more attenuation, mash a bit lower and increase the mash time a little bit. Mashing low may not improve the attenuation that much (compared to 151F) unless you extend the mash duration beyond 60mins.

 

[Matty_Q]

thanks for the feedback guys! I figured my crystal malt % was a bit high so ill adjust to get it 90/10.

Cheers!

 

[jturman35]

Is that half ounce of sugar? Seems minuscule.

 

[Matty_Q]

Sorry, typed oz instead of lb.. should read .4lb's

 

[Northern_Brewer]

+1 on 5-8% crystal, for some reason homebrewers always seem to throw way too much crystal at British beers. One benchmark would be the partigyle that Fuller's use for the "original" ESB, which has 7.2% crystal (and no caramunich), and even that is on the high side for my northern tastes. You have a less attenuating yeast and lots of tasty Otter, swamping it with crystal just ruins the balance.

40IBU is on the high side even for best bitters, inasmuch as ESB is a style in Britain (which it isn't really) then high 20's IBU would be more typical. So I'd push some of that Challenger back to much later in the boil. And you can't have enough EKG, I'd have another ounce in the late copper additions and another ounce as dry hop, but then I am a bit of a fan....