The English Bitter Thread!

[James Lao]

On 7/15/2020 at 8:53 AM, ChristinaS1 said:

My Simple English Bitter turned out really well, my best English Bitter yet. Nice and malty.

I bottled what did not fit in the keg. Primed the bottles with Demerara sugar, and they taste a bit more caramel-y than the kegged version, which I like. Next time I will add some Demerara to the main recipe.

Cheers,

Christina.

Hi Christina,

I have read  Demerara / Brown sugar could give a metallic taste to beers?

Did you get any of that with your ESB?

I have just been reading about it on the web and some say it gives a  caramel/butterscotch flavour - which sounds pretty good.

Cheers

 

James

 

[ChristinaS1]

@James Lao Sugar cane contains iron, so anything with molasses in it can impart a metallic tastes. I brewed a beer with molasses once. Tasted like rusty nails and ruined the beer. Used once and never again.

There is a lot of information out there which says brown sugar and demerara sugar contain molasses. That may have been true in the past, but it is my understanding that most brown and demerara sugar produced today is coarse grained white sugar coated with a precise amount of refiner's syrup, a byproduct of the refinery, which does not contain iron. In my humble opinion that makes it better for brewing than true demerara sugar, which is less refined and contains native molasses. You need to check the website of the refiner to know for sure which you are getting, but sometimes you can get a hint from the bag. My bag is labelled "demerara-style" and the nutrition label doesn't provide a percentage of the recommended daily amount for iron; it says it is not a significant source of iron in the fine print. I got no hint of rust in my beer, just yummy caramel notes.

True demerara might be more readily available in the UK, but I am not sure about that.

Cheers,

Christina.

PS I looked into it before and recall that CSR demerara in Australia is made with refiner's syrup, not molasses.

Edited July 30, 2020 by ChristinaS1

[Lab Cat]

54 minutes ago, ChristinaS1 said:

@James Lao Sugar cane contains iron, so anything with molasses in it can impart a metallic tastes. I brewed a beer with molasses once. Tasted like rusty nails and ruined the beer. Used once and never again.

Same here, won't use it again it was awful. Not had the same from Demerara though, although most Aus supermarket Demerara is probably just darker brown sugar.

[ChristinaS1]

ESB

 

1.7kg Coopers Blonde

1.5kg light LME

150gm Crystal wheat 3.4%

75gm C75L 1.7%

75gm C120L 1.7%

100gm Aromatic 2.2%

100gm Special Roast 2.2%

750gm Maris Otter 16.9%

15gm Cascades x 10 minute boil

30gm Williamette x 20 minute hop stand

10mL Clarity Ferm

23L 50:50 RO: tap water

Gen 3 WLP095 slurry from 26-05-2020

10gm Cacades DH x 4 days 

20gm Willamette DH x 4 days

 

OG 1.053; FG 1.012; ABV 5.39%; ECB 20; IBU33; BU:GU 0.70.

 

Trying to dial in my ESB recipe. My last one was good, but it could use some more maltiness, hence the Aromatic....Using Special Roast as a substitute for Victory malt, as my LHBS does not carry it. Jamil Zainasheff calls for Special Roast in his ESB recipe; it is my first time using it.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina. 

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by ChristinaS1

[King Ruddager]

I've got it!!

I'll just use Coopers English Bitter as a base and, instead of using extract, mash some ale malt to get me around 15 extra gravity points. 1.5kgs ought to do it 

Take THAT you stupid style that I can't nail but already have a perfectly good starting point for. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

[The Captain!!]

@ChristinaS1

My next ESB will be the Jamil version, just as a starting point. But with some brambling cross thrown in at the end for the blackcurrant. Got the book the other week.

 

[ben 10]

6 hours ago, The Captain!! said:

But with some brambling cross thrown in at the end for the blackcurrant.

Nice hop

[Lab Cat]

On 9/24/2020 at 11:49 AM, King Ruddager said:

Why didn't I think of this earlier?

What? Using the EB kit to make a bitter that you haven't been able to make?

I have a EB on hand and I'll be doing it with BE3, 500g of dark brown sugar and nothing else. The EB has plenty bitterness for me. Hoping the sugar adds some sweetness and toffee notes. And ABV.

[ChristinaS1]

On 9/25/2020 at 11:46 PM, The Captain!! said:

@ChristinaS1

My next ESB will be the Jamil version, just as a starting point. But with some brambling cross thrown in at the end for the blackcurrant. Got the book the other week.

 

That is what I do too: read it for inspiration. I have had my copy for years. It is all dog eared.  He knows his stuff. Sometimes I am in awe of how he went from being a home brewer to a brewing radio host, author, and expert. How did he do that?

Sounds like a nice brew Captain. Please post your recipe when you make it....I just kegged mine today.

Cheers,

Christina

Edited September 27, 2020 by ChristinaS1

[alilley]

On 9/27/2020 at 4:08 PM, ChristinaS1 said:

That is what I do too: read it for inspiration. I have had my copy for years. It is all dog eared.  He knows his stuff. Sometimes I am in awe of how he went from being a home brewer to a brewing radio host, author, and expert. How did he do that?

Sounds like a nice brew Captain. Please post your recipe when you make it....I just kegged mine today.

Cheers,

Christina

There's a book? I thought it was just recipes spread throughout various internet pages.

 

Gotta get a good ESB. Can't do the tin, far too bitter. But aiming for a dunkel this winter instead.

[The Captain!!]

23 hours ago, alilley said:

There's a book? I thought it was just recipes spread throughout various internet pages.

 

Gotta get a good ESB. Can't do the tin, far too bitter. But aiming for a dunkel this winter instead.

Certainly is a book, Brewing Classic Styles.

[alilley]

52 minutes ago, The Captain!! said:

Certainly is a book, Brewing Classic Styles.

Ta. I'll chuck it on the birthday list.

[alilley]

On 3/20/2020 at 2:49 PM, ChristinaS1 said:

Update on the Sour Cherry EBS. Having my first taste from the keg just now. The beer is 10 days old (kegged two days ago). Not fully carbonated yet but first impressions are good: thick, creamy head, nice lacing. Caramel, English hops, and dark, fruity aroma; not sure if this is from the sour cherry juice or the C120L. Think that there is enough Maris Otter to give it an authentic English taste. Nice mouthfeel. Very happy with what this yeast did for the recipe. This is my best ESB by far. I don't feel a need to change the recipe.

Cheers,

Christina.

What's the purpose of the Cherry Juice Christina?

[ChristinaS1]

 

40 minutes ago, alilley said:

What's the purpose of the Cherry Juice Christina?

Hey Alilly. Another home brewer I met by chance in a pub told me they put cherry juice in their English Bitter and that it was great, so I thought I would give it a go, without ever having tried their beer. In retrospect I think it was more the WLP095 yeast than the cherry juice that made that batch so yummy. That yeast makes great NEIPAs, and APAs too; I highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Christina.

[Tone boy]

Hey gang! I’ve just stumbled across this thread and been reading with great interest.  I’m now keen to give this style a bash. 

However I’m not a liquid yeast kind of guy, so......what’s the best dry yeast for an ESB? I gather they don’t attenuate quite as much to leave more malt flavour in the finished beer?

My LHBS has Lalbrew London English style ale yeast. Would that be suitable, or is there a better one out there? 
cheers everyone

[jamiek86]

@Tone boy I reckon any English ale yeast would be fine the only way you will know what you prefer is to try different ones. Personally the only dry English one I've used is Nottingham if you have used it before in other things maby give that one a go you mentioned above im sure it will still come out great.

[Tone boy]

45 minutes ago, jamiek86 said:

@Tone boy I reckon any English ale yeast would be fine the only way you will know what you prefer is to try different ones. Personally the only dry English one I've used is Nottingham if you have used it before in other things maby give that one a go you mentioned above im sure it will still come out great.

Cheers Jamie. Thanks for the reply. Yeah I guess you’re right I’ll just have to try one and see. I have used Nottingham before with great success. It did finish pretty dry though and wasn’t sure if it would suit the ESB “style”. 

[Hairy]

11 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Hey gang! I’ve just stumbled across this thread and been reading with great interest.  I’m now keen to give this style a bash. 

However I’m not a liquid yeast kind of guy, so......what’s the best dry yeast for an ESB? I gather they don’t attenuate quite as much to leave more malt flavour in the finished beer?

My LHBS has Lalbrew London English style ale yeast. Would that be suitable, or is there a better one out there? 
cheers everyone

Lallemamd London English Style yeast is a good dry yeast.

I am currently using it right now.

[Tone boy]

Thanks @Hairy mr Hairy. What temp do you run that yeast at? I’m guessing the higher end of its range to get a few esters? Or should these be avoided for this style? 

[Hairy]

16 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Thanks @Hairy mr Hairy. What temp do you run that yeast at? I’m guessing the higher end of its range to get a few esters? Or should these be avoided for this style? 

I run it at 19°C with a 0.5° variance setting.

[Tone boy]

6 minutes ago, Hairy said:

I run it at 19°C with a 0.5° variance setting.

Thanks brother. I’m going to give it a run after my next brew. I’ll post the recipe up on this thread when I put it on. Getting excited for this one....

[Hairy]

6 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Thanks brother. I’m going to give it a run after my next brew. I’ll post the recipe up on this thread when I put it on. Getting excited for this one....

Good stuff. English Bitters are great and perfect to play around with.

[Tone boy]

Borrowed a friends grain mill for my brew today so thought I would crack my ESB grains as well today. It won’t be brewed for 2 weeks or so, so I am vacuum sealing the cracked grain. It’s a partial mash with about 2kg of grain. It’ll be my first ESB...Cheers all

Edited April 16, 2021 by Tone boy

[Tone boy]

I think I’ve settled on a recipe for my first ESB. Feedback is welcome. If I’ve missed the mark here please let me know. It’s due to be my next brew -in about 2 weeks time. 

Black rock lager kit 1.7 kg (20 ibu’s)

1.2 kg Maris Otter 

300g Munich

200g light crystal 

150g Aromatic 

75g dark crystal 

250g LDME

250g Dextrose

25g EKG @ 30 mins

5g Fuggles @ 30 mins

Lallemand “London”

23 litres

the hops should add about 14 IBU’s by my calculations, for a total of 34 IBU’s. Expected OG 1.050 and Brewfather tells me expected FG is 1.012. BU:GU 0.68. 
I chose the black rock lager kit because it’s a nice clean base to build on with low IBU’s. I think the NZ Draught would also be a good kit as a base because it has some crystal (2.9%) and black malt (1.9%) in it already...so might save some time and effort on brew day...

Brewfather is a bit weird on working out IBU’s on partial mashes for some reason. I think it has a fair bit to do with me having NFI how to use it! I think it assumes all the fermentables are getting thrown into a 8 litre boil! But I’m not sure about that

Cheers legends

[Tone boy]

ESB Update...

I brewed my ESB today using the above recipe. The only variation was in the hop schedule. I ended up with:

25g EKG and 10g Fuggles -30 minutes 

10g EKG @ flameout.

Brew went pretty well ended up with 23.5 litres. I tried to mash a bit lower around 65 degrees C this time so hopefully the temp stayed in the mash tun for the 60 mins. Colour looked good. Pitched yeast at 22 degrees C and into the fridge set at 20 degrees C. 
OG 1.049; BU:GU 0.71; IBU 35