Extra Special/Strong Bitter

[Craigerrr]

One of my favorite British historical beers is Fullers ESB. As I am bored out of my skull waiting for some test results, I have done a bit of research, and found this on the interwebs, and it seems to be pretty well thought out.
http://www.fermentarium.com/homebrewing/brewing-beer/how-to-make-an-esb-extra-specialstrong-bitter/
From this article, I have put this recipe together, and wonder what the good people on BF think.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1023515/esb
Here is a recent picture of the commercial brew. Thinking it will need a good long cold crash, but I also suspect that the commercial version is filtered.

 

[Group W]

One of my favorite British historical beers is Fullers ESB. As I am bored out of my skull waiting for some test results, I have done a bit of research, and found this on the interwebs, and it seems to be pretty well thought out.
http://www.fermentarium.com/homebrewing/brewing-beer/how-to-make-an-esb-extra-specialstrong-bitter/
From this article, I have put this recipe together, and wonder what the good people on BF think.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1023515/esb
Here is a recent picture of the commercial brew. Thinking it will need a good long cold crash, but I also suspect that the commercial version is filtered.
View attachment 10833

Looks good Craigerrr. I compared it to a British ESB I did this spring that took 3rd in a local club comp. My ESB needed more crystal and you appear in the neighborhood to get the correct sweetness. Your hops look fine. You have a big SO4 forward water treatment and I’m not sure about that. That Fullers ESB is a real treat. Cheers.

 

[Craigerrr]

Wasn't able to get anywhere near the target, here is a snapshot of my actual based on my additions (hopefully this is something that will be displayed in the recipe view in the future)

 

[Craigerrr]

Should I go with more of a balanced profile, or a malt forward profile?

 

[Group W]

I went more balanced but still a little SO4 forward like on my pales and got dinged for hop harshness.

Someone with more experience on the style needs to chime in.

 

[Bubba Wade]

I am a fan of Using BU/GU ratios when developing recipes. Your recipe is about 0.58. Standard for an ESB is around 0.70 to 0.80 depending on the style guide you use.

I tend to go a touch light on the bittering, so your recipe looks good to me.

 

[Craigerrr]

One thing that I have never understood in the recipe editor is the hop utilization factor. With this recipe/style that I have not brewed, how do I decide what to set it at? I presume that this value will affect BU/GU representation in the recipe. Would like to tidy that up before messing with BU/GU ratio for this.

 

[BOB357]

I'm by no means an expert on brewing the style, but I am as far as drinking it. I brewed a strong bitter about a year ago that would stand up to almost any I've ever had. All of my prior attempts fell well short of the mark.
Here's the water profile I used: Calcium: 76 ppm, Sodium: 8 ppm, Chloride: 77 ppm, Magnesium: 0 ppm, Sulfate: 82 ppm, Bicarbonate: 16 ppm. The IBU/SG ration was .74 and the beer was, in my opinion, perfectly balanced for the style.
Edit: The mash pH was 5.39.

 

[Craigerrr]

Thanks Bob, I remember that being discussed in another thread, thanks for the water profile details!

 

[Bubba Wade]

One thing that I have never understood in the recipe editor is the hop utilization factor. With this recipe/style that I have not brewed, how do I decide what to set it at? I presume that this value will affect BU/GU representation in the recipe. Would like to tidy that up before messing with BU/GU ratio for this.

I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that the hops utilization is calculated for you. Based on the alpha acids, time, and temperature, the recipe builders calculates IBU contribution for each hop addition. The BU/GU ratio shows up in the recipe editor, so you can see as you make adjustments.

 

[Craigerrr]

Interesting, I arbitrarily entered 90% for each addition (pic#1), and the IBUs equal those two amounts added together (pic#2), and yet with the recipe in view mode shows 96%

 

[Group W]

I used water similar to Bob starting with RO and Ca 54, Mg 0, Na 12, SO4 69, CaCl 47, bicarb 25.

Check this out on water https://byo.com/article/esb-style-profile/

Again, your hop selection, schedule and IBUs and BU/GU is fine.

 

[Craigerrr]

Great article, thank you.
Switched to S-04 yeast, adjusted water profile, and edited malt bill to bring ABV back down to 6%, OG is now 1060. BU/GU ratio went up to 0.69, but it still seems to be in range for the style.

 

[Josh Hughes]

I’m brewing an ESB next weekend. I’m using 90% MO, 7% C60, 3% Chocolate. 38 ibu Pd progress hops. Using S-04 slurry.

 

[BOB357]

Best of luck with the ESB. A good one is something to savor. I always found it to be a challenge considering what a simple style it appears to be. This is a style that requires balance to the nth degree. After missing the mark more times than I care to reveal, I finally brewed one that made the grade & won't be altering the recipe.

 

[Josh Hughes]

This is my first so...looking for ESBish beer that I’ll enjoy lol. My favorite beers are bitters. I’ve brewed a best bitter a few times and and ordinary bitter that is conditioning that I get to try next week sometime. The Best turned out well the ordinary didn’t taste as good on bottling day, too thin.