BREWERS DROOP
Landlord.
Hi all has anyone done the ESB Ale on page 115 of Gregs book? any additional pointers regarding the wyeast 1187 Ringwood ale yeast,not used this yeast before,been reading fermenting lenghts should be 3 weeks.
Greg hghes esb ale
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Braufather
Landlord.
I've done it. It's a good yeast for clarity as it's highly flocculant. Because of faulty brew fridge mine didn't turn out great. But 3 or 4 weeks in fv should be fine.
I've been looking at that recipe this past week too. I like the hop additions but am a bit put off by the grain bill, I might simplify it a bit. See how it turns out.
I had an ESB by a Czech micro-brewery last week. it was so strange I thought they had mixed the taps up (it was a tap takeover night). I usually love the beers from that brewery but this one was more saison than ESB! Hence I looked up my own recipe. :-)
I had an ESB by a Czech micro-brewery last week. it was so strange I thought they had mixed the taps up (it was a tap takeover night). I usually love the beers from that brewery but this one was more saison than ESB! Hence I looked up my own recipe. :-)
Braufather
Landlord.
I'd give it go as is. Simplify it too much and you've got a regular pale ale
MyQul
Chairman of the Bored
Why are you put off by the grain bill? Seems like a standard, fairly simple bitter reciepe to me, ramped up to ESB leve. The grains are what I use for my own bitters (in fact I also at biscuit malt too).
If you want to simplify the reciepe just leave out the choccy as that's just for colour and leave out the torrified wheat as thats for head retention, although you will need to add a bit more plae malt as the TW will give you some OG points
Thanks, puts me at ease a bit, I will think about it. Just put off because I am only a beginner on my second brew and 3 grains with such intricate measures seemed daunting. Maybe I'll try this recipe as is from GH after I have another couple of brews under my belt.
BREWERS DROOP
Landlord.
So the Wyeast was pitched yesterday,no activity at all and worried the smack pack was knackered as it did not swell,what is this yeast like for activity? is it a bottom fermenting yeast?
I had this on my last smack pack.. never swelled up, but you have to beat the **** out of them to ensure the nutrient thing actually pops.. give it at least a good 24 hours and hopefully it will get going.. shake gyrate ect
BREWERS DROOP
Landlord.
Got a small aquarium air pump, so will stick that in tomorrow for 5 minutes.Brew uk are sending me a new replacement smack pack out foc.
Cwrw666
Landlord.
I did this ESB a couple of months ago and it turned out excellent, though I saved a few quid just by using Wilkos Gervin yeast. Definitely going to be making this one again.
Braufather
Landlord.
If you order from geterbrewed, you can order grain by the gram. Hops by the gram etc. Makes it more economical. They have a recipe builder. Brewuk also do full recipe packs that are good for begginers, so you can still be adventurous with what you brew.
It's a bit stronger than what I normally brew but I gave it a go in February, the first batch I tasted I was a bit disappointed with but when I tried again a few months later it was excellent. I still have a minikeg from this that I will crack open soon, just had a hunt round to see if I had any bottle s left to sample but can't find any,
This is the only time I've used a smack pack rather than dried yeasts, worked well but not sure the extra expense is justified for me,
In summary it was well worth doing but be prepared to leave longer than recommended in the book, if the next keg is as good as the last one I will definitely do again,
This is the only time I've used a smack pack rather than dried yeasts, worked well but not sure the extra expense is justified for me,
In summary it was well worth doing but be prepared to leave longer than recommended in the book, if the next keg is as good as the last one I will definitely do again,
BREWERS DROOP
Landlord.
Does it have a Malty taste? Looks nice
I'm not good at describing beer tastes only wether I like it or not but to me it's quite a sweet beer and one to be savoured.
I asked my wife to describe the taste who is probably better at that sort of thing and also more sober, she says, " fragrant, fruity, quite sweet almost honey flavoured."
BREWERS DROOP
Landlord.
How much sugar did you use to prime? And did you do a diacetyl rest at the same fermenting temp,or lower it?
I don't keep notes and can't remember but I normally prime with 15g brown sugar in a 5 litre minikeg. And would probably have left in the fermenter for 2 weeks with the last 3 or 4 days dropping to room temperature. Sorry I can't be more specific but I did read up on the Ringwood yeast at the time so may have allowed a little extra time for a diacytle rest than normal.
Zephyr259
Landlord.
Honk, did you follow the recipe exactly? It looks amazing and makes me want to put that one when I get home but it looks a lot darker than I was expecting from the ingredients.
I did follow the recipe exactly as in the book, but it could be that crystal malt is available in different colour ratings and the recipe does not specify which is used so maybe I used a darker crystal than what you are considering? Just seen that it is listed in the book as a pale ale so yes, I think i used a darker crystal than intended.
Good news, I found half a dozen bottles of this in the garage today which I will probably save for Xmas.
Good news, I found half a dozen bottles of this in the garage today which I will probably save for Xmas.
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Zephyr259
Landlord.
Thanks for the reply, yeah I'd default to a 150 EBC / 60L crystal which seems to be a medium level, having said that your beer looks very appealing so I'd probably play about with a darker crystal or a blend of two. Do you have a note of which crystal you used?
