New Recipe - HSB Squared

I was born in Portsmouth and grew up in Hampshire. One of the beers that always stood out was the infamous Gales HSB. Back in the day (before fullers got their dirty mitts on it), it was one of the strongest and most flavourful Special Bitters you could get in a pub and I bloody loved it! :

Here's my modern take on an absolute classic. This isn't a clone; more of an homage. I've upped the hopping a fair bit as that's the way I like it, with a fairly bit hit of flameout hops (at least for the style - this isn't an IPA!) and robust dry hopping with the classic EKG & Fuggles combo.

To make it authentic, I'll use Wyeast 1332 "Northwest Ale" yeast, which is actually derived from the original Gales strain. It gives a fruity, tart finish, exactly how I remember it :


Title: HSB Squared


Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB)
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 23 liters (ending kettle volume)
Boil Size: 28.5 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.042
Efficiency: 69% (ending kettle)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 5.07%
IBU (rager): 42.59
SRM (morey): 12.9

FERMENTABLES:
5.2 kg - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (94%)
200 g - United Kingdom - Dark Crystal 80L (3.6%)
100 g - United Kingdom - Extra Dark Crystal 120L (1.8%)
30 g - United Kingdom - Roasted Barley (0.5%)

HOPS:
35 g - Challenger, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 8.5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 39.87
25 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 2.72
25 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 5, Use: Aroma for 0 min
25 g - Fuggles, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 4.5, Use: Aroma for 0 min
25 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 5, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days
25 g - Fuggles, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 4.5, Use: Dry Hop for 3 days

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 64 C, Time: 90 min, Amount: 16.5 L
Starting Mash Thickness: 3 L/kg

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 each - Protafloc, Time: 15 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil
5 g - CaCl, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
5 g - Gypsum, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Wyeast - Northwest Ale 1332
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (custom): 74%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 18.33 - 23.89 C
Fermentation Temp: 20 C

PRIMING:
Method: Batch Prime & Bottle Condition
CO2 Level: 1.7 Volumes


http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/87333/hsb-squared

Any comment/critique welcome :drink:

I remember drinking this beer on the Isle of Wight in the 70s and really enjoying it. I've tried the Graham Wheeler clone and not being over impressed so interested to know how this one turns out.

Any news on how this brew turned out? I'm looking to do an HSB brew next (partial mash) and was going to use the Graham Wheeler recipe....

I have now brewed HSB 5 times and its getting closer but not there yet. Last night I attended a Brewery Tour of Irving brewery in Portsmouth run by Malcolm Irving. Malcolm was one of the Gales Brewers and QC manager when Gales closed. I gleaned a few snippets of information about HSB and just how difficult it is to produce. A few snippets:
- The yeast was Whitbread B - tricky stuff
- Crystal Malt was only ever light crystal
- Fermentation was 23.5 degrees for the first 24 hours
- Torrified wheat was not in the recipe (as in Graham Wheelers book).
- Late hopping was near non-existent

Which brings me back to this thread which does not have torrified wheat but is using Dark Crystal instead of light and is using the Yeast which does have a connection the Gales strain. I'll post the question again - has anyone brewed this - what colour did it turn out? How did it taste?

This is an old thread obviously, so you may not get a response. I'm not familiar with that beer myself, sorry.

Having grown up in Hampshire, I'm very familiar with HSB, it was well kept and served by my local and was my regular pint. I've found a lot of varying recipes online for it, and I've got a one gallon trial batch conditioning at the moment, which is a cobbled together version of a few of them, its only been in the bottles a week so I'm going to give it another week at least before I try one, but I'll let you know. I had a Fullers one at Heathrow airport of all places a month or so ago and its wasn't bad at all, so they must be keeping the recipe going somehow!

HarrowBrewer said:

. I had a Fullers one at Heathrow airport of all places a month or so ago and its wasn't bad at all, so they must be keeping the recipe going somehow!

Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I regularly go to a Fullers Pub - The Mad Hatter on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge - and they have it on tap there. I found it too strong for my tastes in bitters at nearly 5%

It was always a potent drink, it said 5% but seemed to have much more effect than even that. In my village it was known as "High Speed Bicycle" by a few unlucky drinkers who ended up in ditches on the way home.

I've now had a couple of bottles of my HSB attempt, and more by luck than judgement it has turned out much better than I imagined, and far closer to HSB than I expected. I'm doubtless drinking it through rose-tinted proud brewer's goggles, but it has the right maltiness, the same sweetness, and I deliberately under-primed the bottles to keep it from getting any noticeable fizz. For a one gallon attempt I'm very pleased, and I'm going to knock up a 10 litre batch and see if it wasn't just a happy accident...