Hops for London ESB driving me nuts

[Bribie G]

Ok so I'm doing an ESB, Fullers / Youngs / Directors Bitter sort of style - 6% ABV - and I've got a bad case of "brewers block" on the hopping.

I have:

Challenger Pellets 7%
Fuggles Flowers NZ 7.1%
Northdown new season plugs 7.3%
Aurora (Super Styrians) pellets. 9%


I love the Aurora as a late hop but would also like to work in a couple of the above. However I don't want to over complicate the recipe.


AAARRRGGHHHHHHHH :blink: :blink:

 

[slash22000]

This might help? 19 litre batches

Fuller's ESB:

9 lbs. 2 oz. (4.1 kg) English 2-row pale ale malt (3 °L}
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) flaked maize
1 lb. 2 oz. (0.51 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)

5.25 AAU Target hops (60 mins) (0.53 oz./15 g of 10% alpha acids)
2.6 AAU Challenger hops (60 mins) (0.34 oz./10 g of 7.5% alpha acids)
0.83 AAU Northdown hops (15 mins) (0.1 oz./2.7 g of 8.5% alpha acids)
1.66 AAU Goldings hops (15 mills) (0.33 oz./9.4 g of 5% alpha acids)

1. tsp yeast nutrients
1 tsp Irish moss
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast

Young's Special London Ale:

12 lbs. 3 oz. (5.5 kg) Maris Otter malt
15 oz. (0.43 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)

7.0 AAU Fuggles hops (60 mins) (1.4 oz./40 g of 5% alpha acids)
2.5 AAU Goldings hops (15 mins) (0.5 oz./14 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Goldings hops (0 min)
0.25 oz. (7.1 g) Goldings whole hops (dry hop)
0.25 oz. (7 .1 g) Target whole hops (dry hop)

1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
Wyeast 1318 (London Ale Ill) yeast (1.75 qt./-1.75 L yeast starter)

Might give you some clues for the hopping schedules? :beerbang:

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks - IIRC Northdown is a close relative of Challenger and Target - used Target a few times and really bitter to my taste.

Think I'll go more the Fullers style but go Challenger in the Bittering, then Northdown 15 mins and late hop or even hop tea with Aurora. Leave the Fuggles for another time...

 

[Bribie G]

Done and dusted :lol:

English ESB


Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 5.800
Total Hops (g): 78.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.061 (°P): 15.0
Final Gravity (FG): 1.014 (°P): 3.6
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.10 %
Colour (SRM): 9.1 (EBC): 17.9
Bitterness (IBU): 34.3 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 90

Grain Bill
----------------
5.000 kg Maris Otter Malt (86.21%) - Simpson's Maris Otter :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:
0.300 kg Crystal 60 (5.17%)
0.300 kg Wheat Malt (5.17%)
0.200 kg Cane Sugar (3.45%)

Hop Bill
----------------
30.0 g Challenger Pellet (6.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
28.0 g Northdown Plug (7.3% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (1.2 g/L)
20.0 g Aurora Pellet (9% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.9 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 66°C for 90 Minutes.
Fermented at 18°C with Wyeast 1968 - London ESB Ale

Notes
----------------
Mash 66 degrees 90 mins
Mashout 78 degrees 10 mins

Ferment 18 degrees 10 days.
CC -1 degrees 5 days.

Fine

Recipe Generated with BrewMate

 

[MashPaddler]

Looks awesome. Curious about the cane sugar, is it just to adjust the alcohol or does it add a flavour profile too?

 

[yum beer]

Yeah, I'm not getting the sugar either Bribie...brown sugar, treacle, invert, I would get but cane sugar, what's that about?

Edit: shouldn't type in the dark...

 

[Edak]

My fav ESB so far...

Recipe: Cobbers ESB
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 27.58 l
Post Boil Volume: 23.71 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 20.00 l
Bottling Volume: 20.45 l
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 18.5 EBC
Estimated IBU: 42.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.60 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.8 %
Boil Time: 80 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 -
2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 2 -
4.75 kg Golden Promise (Simpsons) (3.9 EBC) Grain 3 95.0 %
0.25 kg Crystal, Dark (Simpsons) (240.0 EBC) Grain 4 5.0 %
20.00 g Challenger [7.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 17.1 IBUs
15.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.40 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 6 9.2 IBUs
25.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.40 %] - Boil 20.0 Hop 7 9.3 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 8 -
30.00 g Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 10.0 mi Hop 9 6.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg British Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1098) [1 Yeast 10 -

Total Grain Weight: 5.00 kg

Mash:
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Protein Rest Add 26.53 l of water at 52.0 C 50.0 C 5 min
Mash Step Heat to 63.0 C over 14 min 63.0 C 10 min
Saccharification Heat to 67.0 C over 4 min 67.0 C 50 min
Mash Step Heat to 72.0 C over 6 min 72.0 C 10 min
Mash Out Heat to 76.0 C over 5 min 76.0 C 10 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 6.06 l water at 76.0 C
Notes:
------
volume into fermenter = 21L inc starter
ferment at 18C

EDIT: Couldn't resist, I have to have one now Drink it at about 10c and it comes alive with Rum and Raisin flavours!!!!

 

[Screwtop]

Email me Bribie, PC died lost all email addys. Will email you a scan from Graham Wheelers Book.

Screwy

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks Screwy, will do.

The sugar is a tribute to the "historical" ESB - I should really have inverted it but it will get a bit of caramelisation by adding it to the boil - sugar was used in a lot of UK ales and still is in the likes of Wells Bombardier. However just a few percentage points. I'm looking to add a bit of alcohol heat as well.

 

[MashPaddler]

Got it. I dug out my copy of 'Real Ales for the homebrewer' by Marc Ollosson, and was surprised how many recipes use invert sugar.

 

[slash22000]

I've never used "invert sugar" before - what's the difference between invert sugar and regular sugar? From what I can figure on Google it's basically just normal sugar, liquified? Does it make a difference in the beer?

 

[MashPaddler]

Just been reading about it myself. Invert sugar has already been broken down into glucose or fructose. With cane sugar the yeast has to produce an enzyme to break it down before it can break it down. It is a lot sweeter, my wife uses it in her preserves for this reason.

 

[Bribie G]

Invert sugars are used in many UK styles for fermentables and colours. AndrewQLD had done a lot of research making his own.

Basically, golden syrup is invert. If you cook sugar and a small amount of water with an acid such as citric, then bring it to the boil and keep it going up to the caramelisation stage it will split into glucose and fructose, and also darken and eventually blacken and burn (which you don't want of course)

So UK breweries use invert No 1, No 2, No 3 and so on up the colour scale. Great in mild ales.

You need a confectionery thermometer.

 

[mje1980]

Whatever's freshest for the hops.

I had a few goes at making invert sugar. I used a medium invert sugar at 19% in a mild ale. It was smooth in body, considering the low alc % and the amount I used. Not sure i thought it was brilliant, or any better than my all grain milds, though a very nice beer. I have gas though, which sucks for heat control.

At work I have a plug in electric hot plate, and one day ( weekend ) I'm keen to take in a pot and do a full on 3 hr "cook" of some dark dark syrup. Think electric is much more temp stable.

 

[emnpaul]

Invert sugar is sucrose that is broken up into it's separate molecules of glucose and frutose using heat and often acid as a catalyst. Yeast does this by producing an enzyme, invertase, which it does in order to make the sugar available for fermentation. Some say that the "tanginess" evident when you add large amounts of sucrose sugar to a brew is actually the invertase that remains in the finished beer. I wonder if this is the reason Belgian monks started to make invert sugar in the first place, even before they started to deliberately caramelise it.

 

[punkin]

Or you could just use dextrose and save all the mucking about.

 

[Diesel80]

Bribie, northdown is great at 60 mins as a single hop edition to about 25ibu. I also like target to 24 with 6 ibu from ekg in the cube and no chill.

Those 3 are my current faves in english style ales.

Sorry posting on tablet so formatting not the best.

cheers D80.