Feed back welcomed!!! fall/winter beers

[Bigbre04]

Hey all,

We have officially hit our slow season. I spent a few hours building some recipes to brew next week. I would love feedback on them. Most likely the ESB is what i will end up brewing next week. The next draft line that will open up will be the Belgian tripel.

Also i dont follow the ph on here its not accurate for my system.

ESB
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1522346

Scotch Ale
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1522327

African amber(basically a hoppy/DHed amber ale) similar to the one from the west coast.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1522088

Dubbel
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1486631

Draft list ATM:

Double Juicy IPA 9%
Oatmeal porter=>Stout
Blueberry sour
Session IPA
Golden lager
Hoppy Red Ale=>Pre-Prohibition Lager
Blackberry/lemon belgian Tripel 8.2%
Amber Ale

 

[The Brew Mentor]

At a quick glance, for the ESB, I'd be using Maris.
I like the victory, that with the Munich will give you a nice toasty note. maybe even bump them both up a bit.
Careful with the 120 as it can go over the top pretty quick. I don't often go much over 1%.
I like up to 5% of a lower English crystal malt, but that's up to your vision.

 

[Bigbre04]

At a quick glance, for the ESB, I'd be using Maris.
I like the victory, that with the Munich will give you a nice toasty note. maybe even bump them both up a bit.
Careful with the 120 as it can go over the top pretty quick. I don't often go much over 1%.
I like up to 5% of a lower English crystal malt, but that's up to your vision.

I could def bump the Munich and the victory up a touch.

Interesting on the 120. I haven't been overpowered by it, I will look at it again on the computer tomorrow though.

I don't have MO or GP on hand, just 2R. That is why I added th3 M1 and the the Victory to the recipe to make up for the lack of 'graininess' from the 2R vs the English malts.

Did you get a chance to look at any of the others?

 

[Zambi]

African amber?
I would have expected South African hops, like Southern Passian, African Queen, Southern Star and so on

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I could def bump the Munich and the victory up a touch.

Interesting on the 120. I haven't been overpowered by it, I will look at it again on the computer tomorrow though.

I don't have MO or GP on hand, just 2R. That is why I added th3 M1 and the the Victory to the recipe to make up for the lack of 'graininess' from the 2R vs the English malts.

Did you get a chance to look at any of the others?

What you don't get from the 2 row, Munich and victory is the rich toffee/ caramel characters.
The toasty notes are great, but without the underlying " Werther's " , it may just be missing something. My opinion...
I think you can get some of this in C-60 or an English crystal.
I'll look at the others later.
Cheers!

 

[Sandy Feet]

At a quick glance, for the ESB, I'd be using Maris.
I like the victory, that with the Munich will give you a nice toasty note. maybe even bump them both up a bit.
Careful with the 120 as it can go over the top pretty quick. I don't often go much over 1%.
I like up to 5% of a lower English crystal malt, but that's up to your vision.

Totally agree with using Maris.
When I did mine, it was basically Maris and English Crystal (70SRM at about 8.something % - 1lb/5gallons). I liked the Fullers yeast too (WLP002). You can be simple with that yeast as it does not attenuate well and leaves a residual sweetness.

 

[Bigbre04]

Totally agree with using Maris.
When I did mine, it was basically Maris and English Crystal (70SRM at about 8.something % - 1lb/5gallons). I liked the Fullers yeast too (WLP002). You can be simple with that yeast as it does not attenuate well and leaves a residual sweetness.

I dont have any maris or GP just 2R. I would use it if i had it...i generally prefer 2R for most applications especially when you consider the cost per lb.

I have Munich 1 and 2, Vienna, C15, C40, C120, Spec x, Brown, adjuncts, and various dark malts.

I did reduce the Wheat a touch, it is really just there for mouthfeel/head retention.

I was gonna use San Diego for a clean yeast profile. I have Apex London yeast, but i dont know how that yeast performs yet. plus I was really going for a cleaner profile vs the sweetness.

African amber?
I would have expected South African hops, like Southern Passian, African Queen, Southern Star and so on

i wish i had any of those they sound very interesting and i bet they are cool and different. Its a style that one of my cooks mentioned to me. Made by a brewery out in oregon. its really just a hoppy/dryhopped amber ale. not sure why they called it African amber, considering their version uses west coast hops?

 

[Sandy Feet]

If that is the case, wouldn't it be better to do a dark Vienna lager?
I suppose you could get the maltiness from the Munich and maybe play around with a C40 or C80, maybe even with really small Chocolate Malt additions and maybe add a little Biscuit to the 2 row (just thinking out loud), but would that be an ESB?
I do enjoy hearing how people get to the same place in a different way from me. It helps me learn.

 

[Bigbre04]

If that is the case, wouldn't it be better to do a dark Vienna lager?
I suppose you could get the maltiness from the Munich and maybe play around with a C40 or C80, maybe even with really small Chocolate Malt additions and maybe add a little Biscuit to the 2 row (just thinking out loud), but would that be an ESB?
I do enjoy hearing how people get to the same place in a different way from me. It helps me learn.

this guy is only 9 srm. My vienna lager is 10srm normally.

i spent some time reading about ESBs. the fact that the accepted color range goes from 6 to 18 srm leads me to believe that there isnt really a definitive style. I found recipes with all sorts of different grain bills, yeasts, and colors. In my mind an ESB is just a balanced light amber ale leaning towards grainy but balanced with a heavier hop load.

I may shift the yeast still, i am just worried about diacetyl production...I tend to prefer a cleaner, fully attenuated beer over a sweeter less attenuated. It might make the most sense to try the London yeast on this lighter cheaper beer then having it butterball a big relatively pricey stout...i will probably throw the london here. which means that i will run the mash at 149 so that i get my booze and dont end up too syrupy at the end.

The 2Row vs Pils vs MO vs GP debate really in my mind comes down to the economics of it. I really cant tell the difference between 2R and Pils from the same maltster, and both are basically the same price at my scale with Pils offering less sugar. MO, GP, and other floor malted base malts are really pricy compared to domestic 2R/Pils. I dont really think that they add enough that i cant add from a combo of other malts to justify buying them. IMO atleast.

If i was building recipes and then ordering grain for those recipes, i would certainly consider it, but at my 2 bbl scale i just brew what i feel like at the moment and do my best to get close style-wise. I run this place like a pilot system, im working from a good selection of ingredients and making things fit what i have on hand, if that makes sense.

while reading about these, i did find some of the other briess englishy malt styles that sound really interesting, specifically special roast and extra special roast so i will probably get a bag of one of those on my next order to try it out.