Fun with ESB

[amcclai7]

I own and operate a small brewery and one of the fun parts of brewing on this scale is the ability to play around with 5-10 gallons of a batch. For example, I pulled off 5 gallons of a black saison and tmrw I am going to add a half once of used gin botanicals from the local distillery.

We were brewing an ESB today using 100% English ingredients and yeast and got a huge yield. I pulled off almost 10 gallons on the way to the fermentor for fear of krausen explosion. The WLP002 that I used in the main batch was handy so I pitched some into the side portion.

I could obviously just ferment this out as normal and keg as is, but what's the fun in that?!

If you had almost 10 gallons of ESB to play around with what would you do?

I can't think of any fruits or spices that would go well with an ESB but I could be wrong. The first thought that comes to mind is to oak it, perhaps with a little added DME. "Imperial Oaked ESB" is kinda catchy.

Anyway, I am open to suggestions. Throw 'em at me.

 

[JKaranka]

Depends a lot in what it's like but I'd consider upping the gravity with DME and invert and aging with Brett to make an old ale. You can then make a third beer by blending the result back with a batch of the original strong bitter (like GK Strong Suffolk).

 

[jwalk4]

You can spice it up with a jalapeno tincture?

 

[amcclai7]

Depends a lot in what it's like but I'd consider upping the gravity with DME and invert and aging with Brett to make an old ale. You can then make a third beer by blending the result back with a batch of the original strong bitter (like GK Strong Suffolk).

Have you done this? How long does it take the brett to become noticeable, and how long until the beer is ready to serve? I know this will very based on temp and the strain used, but I'm just looking for an idea.

I do like spicing beers with pepper tinctures but I feel it works best in IPA's and dark beers. I don't know if an ESB has the enough malt or hop bitterness to make that a great marriage. I do have a pepper tincture laying around so I will at least try it on a small sample and see how it tastes.

 

[m00ps]

brett would be a great option

another would be to barrel age it or serve it on cask. Ive had ESBs on cask before which werent carbed or chilled and it was completely different fromt he regular version

 

[JKaranka]

Have you done this? How long does it take the brett to become noticeable, and how long until the beer is ready to serve? I know this will very based on temp and the strain used, but I'm just looking for an idea.

I do like spicing beers with pepper tinctures but I feel it works best in IPA's and dark beers. I don't know if an ESB has the enough malt or hop bitterness to make that a great marriage. I do have a pepper tincture laying around so I will at least try it on a small sample and see how it tastes.

I was going to do something like that but I undershot the OG and didn't have DME at hand. Got Brett C sitting in the fridge. Check the BJCP 2015 description for old ale. Some breweries still do it (ironically Greene King, and maybe Wadworths too) so you have something to go on. They often do it for blending but sometimes the unblended old ale is for sale straight.

 

[JKaranka]

Just in case you are not familiar with the blended product:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/greene-king-strong-suffolk-olde-suffolk/881/

 

[eelgerg]

what about an xmas ESB? adding spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and/or vanilla and/or flavors like orange zest? I am gonna try it with an English mild that I currently have a 10-G batch finishing primary fermentation. Or like someone had commented above, ydo you typically need more maltiness to balance these flavors?

 

[hanuswalrus]

I think the brett idea is the best so far.. turn that thing into an old ale.

Another option would be to dry hop the hell out of it. Maybe some Bramling Cross, Northdown or good old EKG to keep it 100% English ingredients. Or you can do an "Americanized ESB" and dry hop with some intense American hops.

 

[jamesnsw]

This is probably too late, but here are some of the suggestions from What to brew-

• Cranberry
• Coconut
• Green tea
• Chocolate
• Pecan
• Elderflower
• Ginger

On What to brew, people vote on random combinations of styles and additions to come up with a sense of what may be good. I don't agree with the masses on Coconut here, but the others would likely be pretty good. Or even a green tea cranberry ESB?

 

[JKaranka]

This is probably too late, but here are some of the suggestions from What to brew-

• Cranberry
• Coconut
• Green tea
• Chocolate
• Pecan
• Elderflower
• Ginger

On What to brew, people vote on random combinations of styles and additions to come up with a sense of what may be good. I don't agree with the masses on Coconut here, but the others would likely be pretty good. Or even a green tea cranberry ESB?

I had an EIPA with Earl Grey and that was ok. The bergamot and black tea were quite noticeable but complimented the floral hops. I'm not a fan of adding stuff to beer so somebody else must have thought it was excellent.

 

[Stillraining]

So what did you end up doing?

 

[amcclai7]

So I agree that the Brett Idea might be the best but It will take quite a long time and I don't know if I want to make those buckets brett buckets forevermore. I was about to go with an Imperial Oaked version (bump up with DME and add sanitized oak cubes) in one 5 gal bucket and Figs in the other. I've never brewed with Figs and since its an English style I could call it figgy pudding However, the Earl Grey idea seems very interesting to me. It could be the most English beer of all time! I love Earl Grey as a gimmick but I'm not 100% sure how well it would pair with an ESB.