Category Archives: English bitter

Farke’s ESB 1.1

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Early in 2019, I made an English bitter that turned out exceptionally. Hoping to capitalize on that success, I did a second iteration at the end of November. The overall recipe is pretty similar, although the base malt brand was Crisp instead of Bairds. Also, I dropped the crystal 90 and used just crystal 80. Finally, I fermented a very slight touch warmer, at 67° instead of 66°.

The beer, a few days after adding gelatin

Farke’s ESB 1.1

  • 8.5 lb. Maris Otter malt (Crisp)
  • 0.75 lb. 80°L 6-row caramel malt (Briess)
  • 0.25 lb. 80°L caramel malt (Briess)
  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets (6.0% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets (6.0% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. London ESB English Style Ale Yeast

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute full volume infusion mash, 152°
  • 1.043 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 4.2% abv, 28 IBU, 11 SRM
  • Claremont tap water

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water at 168°, to hit a mash temperature of 153°.
  • After 1 hour, I vorlaufed and collected the runnings.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of wort at 1.040 s.g., for 73% mash efficiency. This was a bit better than expected for a full-volume mash, so I adjusted the boil accordingly to try and hit my target starting gravity.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and whirlfloc as scheduled. Then, I chilled down to ~75°, pitched the yeast, and put it in the fermentation chamber. The temperature was set at 67°.
  • Starting gravity was 1.045, with the batch brewed on 25 November 2019.
  • I kegged the beer on 23 December 2019. Final gravity was 1.008, a bit lower than I expected. This works out to 82% attenuation and 5.0% abv.
  • This yeast is described as poorly flocculent–and it was. For the first week or so, the beer poured as a hazy, yeasty mess. It wasn’t terribly pleasant to drink, although it got a bit better as the yeast started to settle somewhat. On January 3, I decided to speed things along and add gelatin, with 1 tsp. in 1 cup of water. Within two days, the beer was pouring (and tasting) much better. It wasn’t perfectly brilliant, but it was much clearer.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light amber color, somewhat hazy, with thin off-white head.
  • Aroma
    • Slight caramel aroma, bready, with light fruity ester. Not much for noticeable hop aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Light caramel and toffee notes on the flavor, with modest (but not over-the-top) bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Off-dry, light bodied, moderate carbonation.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Although I really liked this recipe last time I brewed it, I am less of a fan this time around. I’m not sure why it ended up so dry (1.008 final gravity); maybe the mash temperature dropped too quickly, maybe it’s the brand of malt, or maybe I got some contamination that took off on fermenting the sugars? I don’t really taste any off flavors, but the beer is indeed a bit drier than I might like. I think the overall malt character is pretty good, and the ester character is a bit more where I want it on this batch. However, the ESB yeast is a horrible flocculator. I noticed this last time I brewed it, too, and it’s a bit on the ridiculous side, especially for a beer that I think should be drunk more fresh than not. For any future use, I would definitely cold crash and throw in gelatin right at the start, or else try a different yeast strain. I do think the overall package would be better, too, with going back to the original malt bill.
  • Overall
    • 5/10

Farke’s ESB

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With a 55 lb. sack of Maris Otter malt on hand, I’ve been exploring the world of English beers. The latest stop along this journey was with a best bitter (known commercially sometimes as ESB, or Extra Special Bitter). In order to make this a quick-and-easy brew day, I opted to do a full-volume, no-sparge mash. Even with that shortcut, this one was a winner!

Farke’s ESB

  • 8.5 lb. Maris Otter malt (Bairds)
  • 0.5 lb. caramel 80° malt (Briess)
  • 0.25 lb. 90°L 6-row caramel malt (Briess)
  • 0.25 lb. 20°L caramel malt (Briess)
  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets (6.0% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hop pellets (6.0% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. London ESB English Style Ale Yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute full volume infusion mash, 152°
  • 1.042 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 4.0% abv, 28 IBU, 10 SRM
  • Claremont tap water

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water at 156.5°, to hit 151.8° mash temperature. After 60 minutes, I vorlaufed and collected the full volume for the boil.
  • In total, I collected ~6.25 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.039, for 69.2% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding hops and finings per the schedule. Then, I chilled and trasnferred to the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.044, when I brewed this on 3 February 2019. I fermented at 66°.
  • I kegged the beer on 25 February 2019, at a final gravity of 1.015. This works out to 3.8% abv.
  • The beer started out pretty hazy in the keg, but dropped really clear after two or three weeks.

Tasting

  • The Basics
    • O.G. = 1.044; f.g. = 1.015; 3.8% abv; 10 SRM; 28 estimated IBU
  • Appearance
    • Clear, medium amber color, with a fine white head that is pretty persistent. This beer has clarified nicely over the past few weeks.
  • Aroma
    • Light caramel, slightly bready aroma, with a faint fruitiness; incredibly delicious overall!
  • Flavor
    • This is a malt forward beer with a pleasant bitterness on the finish. It’s highly drinkable, with none of the character being overwhelming. The hop character is moderate and balanced well against the malt.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderate carbonation appropriate for the style, with a really nicely balanced finish and mouthfeel.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! It’s a dead simple beer, but one that’s just enjoyable. Pretty much everything is on target here. It’s not one of those “blow your taste buds out of the water” styles, but instead is a solid, enjoyable brew. I might up the fermentation temperature a bit or consider a different yeast, to get more prominent yeast notes, but that’s a fairly minor thing. For being “only” 3.8% abv, this beer doesn’t taste like it!
  • Overall
    • 8.5/10

Mt. Baldy Bitter Bottled

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After a week, the s.g. for the Mt. Baldy Bitter was 1.007 at 60° (corrected from 1.006 at 70°), down from 1.035. This works out to 3.7% abv, right about at my estimated target of 3.6% (and well within expected measurement error, I presume).

I added 3/4 cup of priming sugar boiled in 2 cups of water, and then bottled. It worked out to 41 12-oz. bottles and 4 22-oz. bottles. Now they’re carbonating and bottle conditioning; I expect to try the first next weekend. The overall flavor in the uncarbonated beer is light and slightly bitter, but so far I don’t get the sense of a lot of “body” in this one. That well may change after some conditioning; if it doesn’t, I’ll probably add some carapils or a similar grain in the next iteration.

45 bottles of Mt. Baldy Bitter

Mt. Baldy Bitter

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In an effort to try out some new styles, particularly those on the simple end, I elected to try an English-style bitter. The grain and malt bill is simple, hops are straight-forward, and it should all be ready to bottle in a week. This recipe is called “Mt. Baldy Bitter,” in honor of one of the 10,000+ ft snow-capped peaks visible from my neighborhood.

Mt. Baldy Bitter
Ingredients

  • 8 oz. biscuit malt
  • 8 oz. 10° crystal malt
  • 3 lbs. light dry malt extract
  • 1 lb. amber dry malt extract
  • 2 oz. Fuggles hops (4.20%)
  • 1 pkg. Danstar Nottingham yeast
  • 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
Steps
  • Heat 3 gallons of water to 158°, steep biscuit and crystal malt at this temperature for 60 minutes. Sparge with 2/3 gallon of water at roughly the same temperature.
  • Heat mixture to boil, turn off heat. Add dry malt. Return to boil, add hops.
  • Boil for 60 minutes total. Add Irish moss for the final 15 minutes of boil.
  • Cool using coiling coil, decant into fermentation bucket. Top up with water to reach just a shade under 5 gallons. Add yeast.
  • Starting gravity was 1.035 at 60° (calibrated from 1.034 at 70°).

The calculations in BeerSmith 2 estimated a starting gravity of 1.036, bitterness of 27.9 IBU, color of 7.1 SRM, and 3.6% a.b.v. The starting gravity is just a touch short, but not by much. Another BeerSmith success!

I plan to let this ferment for one week, and then bottle with 2/3 cup corn sugar. As a good English-style ale, I’m going to let it bottle condition. Conveniently, both of my carboys are in use, so it’s a good time to bottle directly!