Brew day — ESB 2014
My latest beer is an ESB. It’s a slight modification of the recipe I used in 2012. I increased the recipe size for 5.5 gallons of finished beer, which means nearly 6 gallons in the fermenter. I figure why not, since I’m using slightly larger fermenters. I also simplified the recipe a bit. I removed the Munich malt and switched to a slightly darker English crystal malt. I also switched the hops around. I went with Willamette hops for bittering and East Kent Goldings for aroma and flavor, reduced the boil time, and got rid of the first wort hops.
Brewing went very well. Good efficiency, good temperatures, and no surprises.
Recipe (70 minute boil):
Malt
- 5.5 lbs US 2 row
- 5.5 lbs Maris Otter
- 1.0 lb UK medium crystal
Hops
- 2.0 oz US Willamette 4.4%, 70 min (29 IBUs)
- 1.0 oz East Kent Goldings 5.1%, 15 min (8 IBUs)
- 1.0 oz East Kent Goldings 5.1%, 1 min (1 IBU)
Yeast
- White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast
- 1 L yeast starter with 75 gm of DME
Mash
- Infusion: 15 quarts at 174F for 154F mash.
- Batch sparge: 23 quarts at 170F
Characteristics
| Measurement | Expected | Actual | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficiency | 75% | 75% | N/A |
| OG | 1.054 | 1.054 | 1.048 – 1.060 |
| FG | 1.014 | 1.010 | 1.010 – 1.016 |
| ABV | 5.3% | 5.8% | 4.6% – 6.2% |
| IBUs | 39 | 39 | 30 – 50 |
| Color (SRM) | 10 | Amber | 6 – 18 |
— Steve
Posted on 28 July 2014