I brewed your ESB using farmhouse Voss and a Burton'esque water profile. It's now been conditioned for 45 days and it has really come together. The bitterness has mellowed and the water profile creates a nice round, soft mouthfeel - Very enjoyable! I use Kveik for 90% of my brews and I still have to remind myself that even though Kveik goes from grain to glass so quickly, most of the beers need that conditioning time to really shine. In my experience they go from 'Good' when fresh to 'Fantastic!' after a month or two in the keg. As always, much gratitude for all that you've shared with us! I began brewing at the beginning of the pandemic and can humbly say the beers on tap at home are just as good as anything on tap at a brewery and better than most bottles off the shelf at the market. Cheers!
Great to hear. Yes, I agree that some styles benefit from more time despite the kveik. Oddly the alcohol level does not seem to matter here according to my taste buds.
Nice video! I prefer British beers. I've been brewing since 2001 and this never gets old. American IPA or NEIPA is not my cup of tea so this makes me happy!
Great video once again David. I have this recipe now setup in Brewfather for the weekend brew day. One small catch is that the fermentation profile in BF is showing as 7 days at 20 C. I modified to the Lallemand recommended 2 days at 40C, 2 days at 30C and 3 days at 25C. Thanks for dedicating your time to inspire us !
ESB sampled for the first time and it's very good. Another excellent recipe to go into my Top Brews folder. Thank you very much for sharing this and for everything else you do to help the home brew craft. Cheers or as we say in Scotland Slange Var :)
Brewed this one today. Its in the cube no chilling for the night and I'll pitch tomorrow at 35C. My first time using Kveik (Lallemand Dried Voss) ! Looking forward to seeing how quickly it goes off!!! I have been living in South Australia for 12 years and I"m looking forward to getting through some English styles! Thank you for all you do for the worldwide brewing community David.
Just thought I’d drop in to say thank you!! Carbed with one coopers drop per 750ml bottle. Poured slowly then pumped with a syringe for a creamy head and this smells and tastes like an English pub!! Heaven in a glass David!!! Delicious.
I agree with you, in that an ESB is a great session beer and one I can drink all day without tiring. ESB is without a doubt one of my top 3 beer styles and a frequent reoccurring style for me to brew.
Perfect timing! I just started writing a recipe for my first ESB and was looking for a recipe guide. I've been watching a lot of your videos since I started brewing in March and found them extremely well made and helpful. Thank you David and all the best from Finland :)
Nice One David! - Brewed this one a day before Xmas - with WLP002 instead of KVEIK - but it came out beautiful, it just finished carbonating today! I will be on me Kveik journey this year for sure, thanks to you!
ESB completed and looking forward to tasting in a couple of weeks. The Cream Ale is very nice and particularly good in a black and tan with sweetheart stout which after 8 test batches I have given up trying to make haha . :)
I brewed this one on the weekend. Split the batch and using M36 Liberty Bell yeast in half, WLP 007 in the other. Took me a long time to find the Golden Syrup. Realised today I’ve used Carafa 3, and probably should have used the lighter grade. It’s a fairly dark looking wort but I’m sure will be fine. Also took the plunge on the recommendation for water profile. I read a lot of information and opinion about this. It seems most are of the view it’s unlikely anyone ever used such a profile, but there are also those who claim their experience convinced them it’s the way to go. Eventually I decided the only way to know what I think is to try it.
Hi David, didnt believe those that suggest against this profile, its what kept British beer ahead for so long. If you followed the recipe then you will see why 🍻🍻🍻
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I’ve just tried the first bottle, about 3 weeks after capping. This was fermented with WLP007 and has been conditioning at quite low temperature, 11-12° C. I think there should be plenty of improvement yet to come, but I’ve no complaint even if it only ever got this good. This is the kind of beer I grew to love as a home brewer in the 90s. Very hard to find a commercial product like this in Australia. Rather pleased to have a stock of this in the cellar. I give most of my beer away but this is one I’ll reserve for personal use
Golden Syrup on sale at Iceland in Krsand at reasonable price. Storfs in Oslo too. The Old Speckled Hen clone is similar to this. Dry hopped with some home grown Phoenix that yield well with me to give a more fragrant finish. Not finished yet .
Wow what timing! I have an ESB mashing at the moment. The only thing that I am out of style on is that I have a dry hop addition but since there is no hop stand I think I'll just move the addition forward to then. Thanks David!
Perfect timing with this video My friend 🙂 I was actually planning a ESB brewday in the very near future. Looks like I'm out of excuses I've got to get this one going sooner than later 🍻
Great to hear Bradley :) It must be mentioned that most the beers brewed outside of the UK that I have had promising to be an ESB have not been. So you could be in for a nice treat :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew That's why I'm thrilled with your recipe and style overview. The recipe I had compiled was missing a few things. I'm quite happy to stand on your shoulders 🍻 I'm not thinking I have the recipe writing experience you do 🍻
Great, I want these guides to help people progress with recipe writing. It is sadly a dying art and it is important to keep it alive along with the right advice for each style.
I might try this recipe, I have Target flowers on hand for bittering. ESB was my very 1st A G so I make at least 1 a year(always different) never disappointing. Cheers from Tassie
Thanks David, One of my favourites, having practically grown up on these typically English style beers and still very glad to be enjoying them immensely. Sometimes use molasses instead of golden syrup for colour and flavour and of cause the Burton Ale water profile is essential. Looking forward to my next brew session which will be the ESB style.
I find the British yeasts, especially Lallemand Nottingham and imperial Pub, almost need a lagering period to condition well. Though drinkable within a week or two they’re mellowed and malty and best at about a month or so after kegging for bitter styles, especially if you use adjuncts like flaked corn to dry out your beer (like e.g. Harveys) given the flavour can be relatively powerful at first but mellows later.
When using British yeast I would allow 4-6 weeks for conditioning for most styles, unless they are higher ABV. Only hoppy, wheat and stout styles have the potential to be better earlier really, unless you use kveik :)
Thanks for covering this style David, you did a fine breakdown on which ingredients may be used and why. I’ve come to like this better than IPAs these days. I’m glad you mentioned not being concerned with following the BJCP guidelines. While those guidelines are a good reference, they can limit one’s creativity if allowed. The addition of chocolate malt to bitters makes for a wonderful beer and gives them a unique edge, even though my end result last time resembled a brown ale in color. I just concern myself with what tastes good, and the reaction of those who have tried my ESB tell me I’m on track.
Many thanks Alan, glad you found it useful :) Yes, many totally disagree with the BJCP on certain styles. Guidelines are only useful if they are accurate of course :) Bitters can range wildly in colour from light to dark, no problem there as long as the taste is on point as I see it :)
Ran a double batch of this on the BZ65 Gen4, it has come out as a beautiful ESB, just in time for Charlie's big day. Now all I need is a decent Melton Mowbray Pork pie and some scratchings - anyone know where I can get some in Oz? @David Heath now waiting for your guide on a speckled hen, Cheers Paddy
Thanks Jamie, I will be covering all styles by the end, this included :) I use the FB group for voting on the order of preference. Czech/Bohemian pilsner is next :)
Thanks David. I'm supprised your used Kviek for ESB. I would have though the yeast profile of UK yeasts were more important to obtain the correct ester profile and slight Diacetyl hint for true English flavour profile.
Glad you enjoyed it. Kveik is never going to be exactly the same as an English yeast , or any other for that matter but the types I mentioned sit well for what I find to be a very acceptable hybrid.
Hi! I really liked your recipe, I want to make it with S-04, what would be the ideal fermentation profile for this yeast? Would 18 degrees Celsius be ok?
Great video, I've only just recently started doing one gallon batches of BIAB after a few years of kit bears, I try to do things as cheaply as possible so will use one 10g packet of yeast fo two one gallon brews, I always go for the us pale ale yeast from CML, Because my favourite drink is an IPA but I've used the same yeast for a bitter similar to your recipe, am I wasting my time using this yeast? It's still very drinkable
Thanks Tom. I have video guides like this for many styles, including various IPA’s also. Really an ESB needs an English yeast to be in true form. I would not say its a waste if you enjoy it though :)
I made the mistake David warned about in the video about regarding the chocolate malt in this recipe - you definitely want dehusked at those levels. I used standard chocolate malt and mine was quite dark in color and the dark roasted malt flavor and bitterness/astringency were prominent. If you only have regular chocolate malt available, reduce the amount by an order of magnitude and you'll be about right. 3 percent would become 0.3 percent. This is also consistent with the best info available about Fuller's current recipe for their/the ESB of about 0.2% chocolate malt.
Hi David I recently made an ESB from your recipe on Brewfather and it turned really excellent, however i didn't use the Burton Profile that you recommended i used Hoppy Light for one reason, I'm using RO as the source water and when I use this RO source and the Burton on Trent target profile the mineral additions are scarily high: 31.5g Gypsum,13.5 Epsom, 5.4 Calcium Chloride. Surely I am doing something wrong. Help!
@@DavidHeathHomebrew So sorry to bother you again David but do the Burton mineral amounts seem OK to you? 31.5 Gypsum? Will that make the beer too bitter? So sorry for the stupid questions but I am quite new to brewing
Hey Dave, not long been home brewing but just wanted to drop a line and tell you how much your videos have thus far helped my journey into the world of homebrew. I got myself a 35 L brewzilla and a 27L fermzilla from your review recommendations and haven't looked back. Any tips on ferment pressure? Im brewing myself an ESB! Thanks once again. John, Queensland, Australia.
Great to hear John :) with an ESB part of the style is the esters from the yeast usually. So as such its not one to pressure ferment, at least during the first week. Then the safe zone would be between 10-12 PSI. Check out this video for more information:- ruclips.net/video/W7WSFn6bNoA/видео.html
Thanks for this video, I’ve been looking for an ESB recipe and look foreard to test. I cannot find Northdown in Norwegian stores. Can you suggest a replacement?
I wanted to come up with a version and what I ended up with in recipe was surprisingly close to your percentages (your recipe) but I swapped out golden naked oats for the crystal because I rather like those and have some on hand - and using the chocolate wheat malt (3%), and wheat malt (2%) which probably gives me back some of the colour lost by the oats.
Hi David, I've been enjoying your youtube channel , very informative and thank you. I am starting to play with water profiles (struggling) and want to ask did you adjust your brewing water to the Burton on trent profile for this ESB .....acknowledging this is the Burton profile but it seems extreme to produce a good beer. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and the producing your videos
Thanks Stephen. Yes Burton is certainly extreme but it produces some very special results for sure, not just in taste but also looks wise because it drops solids for crazy levels of clarity. I do not always profile my water, especially with test batches but I value the edge when I do.
I've enjoyed ESBs for the past year after discovering them - I will be getting some of the golden syrup for my next one and give this recipe a go...looks delicious. Do you think I can get away with using White Wheat malt and Briess Debittered Black Malt for the Chocolate? Other than that, I may have to order a few pounds of Chocolate - though I have some Pale chocolate which might yield the flavor profile without darkening the beer too much? Thoughts? And thanks so much for sharing a great beer that doesn't get much attention in the States.
Great, yes they are pretty awesome :) The white wheat will be fine but Im not a fan of black malt for this style personally. By all means try it and see what you think of course but dehusked chocolate is really the best way forward here I believe. I think ESB is gaining fans in the US, which is very cool.
Thanks for the video, enjoyed it! I have a couple of questions 1. I've only had Fuller's ESB, and was struck by how fruity it was on the nose. What should be the contribution from the yeast, in terms of esters, to this style? 2. I've used S-04, Windsor, and Lallemond ESB, and feel that they provide increasing character (in terms of esters and maltiness) in that order. Your thoughts? And how does voss kveik compare? thanks!
Hi Vjay, great to hear that you enjoyed it. Fullers ESB is a fruity one for sure. You will not get this from Voss. If you want this then English yeast is a must. Whilst kveik sits very well in this style it provides a less fruity hybrid.
Hi David, my ESB recipe calls for 8oz of golden syrup. But it is sold on 16 oz packages. If I put the entire 16 oz in the ABV will go from 5.3% to 5.8%. Will adding the extra syrup make it sweet? Or Am I creating any other problems? I would still only use one package of voss.
Hi David, if not using Kveik, for how long would you recommend conditioning an ESB? Just curious because I’d like to make one for the upcoming holidays and hope to have it in prime conditioning.
Will try this soon, looks good. If you don't mind, how did you calc your mash water volume? I have struggled with various methods of determining the correct equation and this doesn't follow the ones I have tried or your ROBOBREW BREWZILLA QUICK START GUIDE 35L 65L. I tend to use 3l/kg +3.5l which would be 16.5l and not the 19.62 you have in your recipe. Just noticing when you mash in it looks so much easier than when I do...
Thanks David. Brewed this recently but with the new verdant yeast. It foamed like crazy at high krausen and came out of the air lock making a mess... When I removed the lid at bottling time, almost half of the yeast cake was floating on top of the beer. Something I have never seen before in my many years of brewing. Well I skimmed it off and bottled as usual. Do You think this is ok or is it lacto? It didnt taste sour or off in any other way when bottling. I guess time will tell...
Thanks Tommy. Verdant is an agressive fermenter. Sounds normal to me :) I hope you enjoy the end result, I bet that will be great. I have been testing verdant with stout a lot and have my final recipe coming in next Sundays video.
Hi David! Many thanks for another great video 🙌 You have been a invaluable source of knowledge and also motivation during my first months as a homebrewer!!! I am infinitely grateful to you :) There is something I like to ask you, about your different recipes that hope you dont find cheeky. I noticed that you normally dont include anything about water conditioning (different salts concentrations and additions). Is that because it is not so important normally and you just do not do it, or just because it is sort of boring or uninteresting part of the brewing day?
Great to hear Pablo :) I often share a water profile but no point me sharing what I used as my water is going to be different to anyone elses, unless you are a neighbour of mine :) Water treatment is important I believe but it can be something a beginner can worry about a little later I feel, for example :)
Another great video David. Thank you. This is the beer style that got me into brewing. Low carbonation, not too cold and an aroma and mouth feel that typically can’t be found in California. I bought a beer machine recently and enjoy pulling a pint of Bitter. Do you prefer sparkler or no sparkler?
I’ve brewed alot of your recipes, all have been amazing and this is going to be my next. Would you say that Shepherd Neame’s 1698 Kentish Strong Ale fits within this category or something else entirely? Because when i drink that, i get very similar if not the same aroma and tasting notes. Thanks from a Brit living Australia!
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I’ve just sampled it and very happy. Like you said not the same, but very close. I’m getting a bit of a toffee hit at the end which I quite like.
Hi David, I tried this bitter and will brew it again. Do you remember Webster Yorkshire bitter ? Could you give me some pointers to building a recipe for this.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew not that I have found so far, but I plan on going home later this year, I can look then. I follow a few people online from the uk one has something that is close. I will keep looking. Your content is first class.
Brewed last weekend. Overnight the heat belt slipped off and the temp dropped to 8ºC (46ºF) and the airlock has stopped bubbling 3-4 days into the ferment. Any suggestions.
Hi David (yes me again). Have decided to brew this ESB and have just finished the Greg Hughes version (v. nice too), but have got a bit stuck with the hop amount calculations in your write-up. Various internet searches have proven tricky, so without appearing to be a thicky (which I actually am), can you help with your formula/approach from alpha acids and IBUs, to actual hop weights please? Many thanks.
Hi Martin, this is a very common question :) I have a video that explains this along with demonstration that I think should help but let me know if you have further questions:- ruclips.net/video/lYA_UzDkW9o/видео.html
Dear David, I brewed this recipe 10 days ago, using Wyeast 1968 ESB yeast. Original gravity was 1.050. The fermentation chamber had a constant temperature of 19C. Yesterday and today the gravity reading was 1.018. The airlock does not show any bubbling and I suspect that there is not much fermentation going on anymore. My question is: Can I leave the beer in the fermenter for another week in order to let the yeast clean up after itself and bottle (using carbonation drops) afterwards? Will there be enough active yeast cells left to carbonate the bottles? Or should I bottle sooner, although the yeast has not sunken to the bottom of the fermenter yet? Thank you for your help! Your videos made my first brew a walk in the park so far!
Sounds like your yeast is sleeping. I suggest giving the fermenter some gentle rocking to rouse the yeast and increasing the temperature by 1 deg c per day until you reach 23. This will protect against DMS and also help you bring the gravity down more. Very good practise for fermentations, with the temps being yeast dependant.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thank you, David. Did as you said and FG is down to 1.013 now. Temp in the fermenter ist 23C by now. Could you please advise if I could leave everything in the fv for another week before bottling on carbonation drops? Bottling would be 17 days after brewday then and I am really anxious that there won’t be any active yeast left by then. Should I put the fermenter in the 15C cool cellar in the meantime or would that be counter productive? Thanks again for your help!
Great to hear. As long as you keep the fv closed after fermentation stopped then it can be left for further time with no issues. 21 days in total actually works nicely for letting the yeast clean up after itself but 28 days is also fine.
Hey David, me again. This is my next brew, I plan on brewing this with Verdant yeast. I have trouble finding golden syrup here, so I will need to use the table sugar. I see in Brewfather that the yield of the golden syrup is 78.3% - does that mean that I use 78.3% of table sugar and 21.7% water (of the total amount of golden syrup). Apologies if this sounded too technical :)
Maybe to simplify my question, syrup is only for gravity/alcohol boost, there's no flavor addition from it? If so, I simply replace it with table sugar to arrive to the same OG 😂
You cannot get any syrups? Its the stuff used on pancakes. It does add flavour. However if you cannot get it the I suggest replacing with dextrose. Remove the sugar and replace the lost gravity 🍻🍻🍻
Your recipes BU:GU is much different than the 0.47 your style guide says? I assume you enjoy yours a little hoppier than average? Thanks for your videos i love watching!
Cheers, David! First of all, thank you for your fantastic explanatory videos. They offer great inspiration and advice for the aspiring home brewer. During some trips to the UK, I came across some very delicious Bitters/Pale Ales, which had a slightly fruity taste (passionfruit, ananas? etc.) to them. Is there any easy to follow recipe (I am a complete novice to homebrewing) for this sort of bitter that you would recommend? I will be using the Grainfather 30. Thanks a lot for your help and all the work you put into your videos!
Wow, it's like every time you post a new video it's the next beer I had in mind to brew!! I'd like to try this raw and was wondering how to handle the bitter addition. Should I just make a hop tea @180F with the bittering hops and add it to my mash?
I recently made what I called a "bitter" (at "best" strength) with Maris Otter, Crystal 40, and Victory (similar to amber malt). Do you think Victory/amber belongs in a bitter, or is this a different style? In either case it's the best beer I've brewed yet!
Technically no but you could get away with a small %. Having said that it depends on your intention. Competition or simply brewing a beer that you really enjoy. As I see it the later is more important :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew My Best Bitter has Amber malt, it may not be technically correct but surely neither is Kveik yeast? Anyway nice video, thanks for posting, I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to my brewing.
What is correct and what tastes best can be 2 different things for the individual. Taste is king :) If you want 100% traditional then no amber or kveik.
I’m planning my ESB brew. Up until now I have only used a relatively soft water profile in my brews. Guess I am nervous about trying the Burton on Trent profile David recommends. Can anyone comment if this has come out too minerally or harsh? Should I dial back the sulfate or just go with it? Looking forward to making this delicious looking ale! I’ll note that I’m going to be using S-04.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks David. I will go with it on your advice and experience. I have a full unopened bag of gypsum so I’m set 🙂. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
David, the ESB turned out well. I pick up a mild toffee flavor without being too sweet. Finished at 1.011. The body is thinner than I expected but I think I am mashing at too low of a temperature. So easy to drink but yet an interesting malty brew. Kind of rustic. Different from what I’m used to. Going to brew this again, thank you.
Thank you for this video, it’s one of my favourite styles! I currently have this recipe in my pressure barrel. First time using Kveik, how long do you find this yeast takes to clear? It’s been in the barrel for a week now...
Hi Phil, glad you enjoyed it. Naturally it would probably takes some months. If you add some finings and do a cold crash then probably 3-5 days max. Hope this helps :)
Mine has turned out lovely ,hit OG 1.054 but only finished 1.017 ? Brew day went well apart from forgetting Golden Syrup until after the boil ,so quickly added....would this affect FG ? I used MJ M15 Empire Ale Yeast ...
@@skuda9 This is a simple process and is also known as "rousing". Give your fermenter a gentle rocking motion, left to right , front to back. The idea being to pick up the yeast "sleeping" on the bottom of the fermenter. At this stage and at 18C I would also look to raise the temperature being 1C per day until you hit 21. This combination will ensure that your yeast does its full job and you will combat against DMS. I hope this helps Scott :)
Btw.I have some kveik Voss I’ve harvested from a previous brew(NEIPA) IYO do you think the yeast will carryover some of the dry hop flavours and possibly ruin the Esb flavour
I am fermenting this now and it has stopped on 1.016, and it should finish on 1.011. I am using lallemand windsor. I am thinking of repitching with Nottingham to try and get a lower fg, is that a good idea?
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Here's a report on the stopped fermentation. After plenty of shaking and also raising the temperature with the Windsor yeast I measured a fg of 1.017, so it seemed to have reached its limits. I then pitched 2 bags of Nottingham, because I watched an advertisement that it could restart a stopped fermentation. And after a bit of lagtime, it slowly fermented down to 1.012. It was a bit expensive, but worth it I think, I also learned something in the process. I am now looking forward to taste it, but i believe this one will need a bit of conditioning also. I am actually into British styles right now, having tired a bit of American beer for the moment. I rediscovered it by tasting an English ipa based on fuggle that I thought was brilliant. I would be a big fan of an English ipa recipe if you would be working on that some day. Cheers, and thanks for all the knowledge you are providing 👍
Hi David, enjoy your postings - do you use additions such as 'Purebrew' or 'Protafloc' at all? And I must say, I do appreciate the nice 'cheers' ladies towards the endings!
Thanks Martin, I use Irish moss usually. There are various alternatives out there :) Good to hear that you appreciate the beer girls, I have managed so far to find a different one for each video :)
Hi David... Me again :) All set for a brew day on the recipe but i have one question about water profiles. Using Brewfather, I've added in the burton water profile you show on screen and then also selected a bottled water profile that i created that has widely known profile. When getting close to the target values for the Burton profile, Brewfather is telling me that there is too much Sulfate under the Sulfate/Chloride ratio. As someone who's quite new to this I'm a bit confused as to whether i should just trust the profile numbers you put up or whether i need to actually dial it down a bit. My numbers are as follows: Ca2+ = 270 Mg2+ = 41 Na+ = 45 Cl- = 85 SO42- = 562 HCO3- = 269 Really appreciate any help you can give.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thanks for the reply David. The mineral water I’m using is quite light on all minerals. The issue I think, seems to be the sulphate to chloride ratio rather than the starting water. The levels it’s telling me to buffer to with salts are close but I can’t see anyone online using that ratio. So I’m not sure if something is amiss with the software or it’s a genuine difference
Well I went with the Porter profile here to be safe and I’m just trying it for the first time. I have to admit, I like English ales but esb is something that I have only ever had a fillers version. I’m getting what I thinks is a fruity taste to it. Not unpleasant but not what I expected. Would you say that’s right or has something gone wrong?
Hi David. You state in this Style Guide that this style isn‘t dry hopped, but I wanted to point out that Fuller‘s ESB, the quintessential ESB, actually is. Cheers! 🍻 - josh
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Hi David. That‘s certainly interesting. I had found this text, from the Oxford Companion to Beer that allegedly comes originally was from Fuller‘s History of their ESB, but I can‘t find it now originally on their website: „Fuller’s ESB (5.5% draught, 5.9% in bottle) was first brewed as Winter Beer in 1969 and became a regular beer under its current name 2 years later. It is brewed with 90% Optic pale malt, 3% crystal malt, and 7% flaked maize and has a rich coppery amber color. The complex hop recipe includes Challenger, Goldings, Northdown, and Target. The beer is late-hopped in the kettle with Challenger and Northdown, and then dry-hopped with Goldings in the fermentation vessel. Goldings are also used for further dry-hopping in the cask. Fuller’s ESB is brisk, with 34 IBUs of bitterness, and many writers have stressed the rich orange fruit character of the beer, with one writer likening it to “liquid Cooper’s marmalade.”“
@@DavidHeathHomebrew well, sure. any (home)brewer can dry hop any beer of theirs they want or not, whatever tickles their fancy, but the question is whether dry hopping an ESB is, in fact, to style or not.🤓 Cheers!🍻
Yum, one of my favorite styles! Thanks, David! Where do you get the syrup though? Is it available in Norway or do you just pick up a couple of cans when you visit the UK?
Hi David, great video, thank you. The Burton water profile calls for a massive 720ppm so4 ! I've never brewed this style before so I'm afraid of getting mineral flavour in the beer at this level, should I be concerned? Cheers, Phil
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I'm pretty concerned about it too as I have very soft local water. I'd have to add 16 grams of gypsum to mash and 14 grams to sparge water. Do you think it's still advisable to try this? Fantastic guide David!
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I'll go for it then! None of your recipes have yet failed me so I have high expectations of this one too. Your Irish stout recipe for example was highly regarded by all my friends. I feel like taking a masterclass in homebrewing following your all of your material. Kippis!
Hey David, I have long enjoyed your videos and have been homebrewing myself for just over a couple of years. After watching this, I'm very curious to try an ESB, as I have never made one before. This may be a bit off topic, but I'm curious if you now prefer the Brewzilla to the Grainfather? I picked up a Grainfather about a year ago, and it's really helped me dive into the world of all grain, but I have recently heard some complaints about the software. Just curious! Cheers!
Hi Andrew, great to hear :) Personally I love this style and feel everyone should try it and this is a very tried and tested recipe of mine that I especially enjoy. Hmm GF vs Brewzilla. I did make a video comparing them some time back but if I did a remake now then I would need to make some changes. If my GF died now then I would not replace it. Its price these days is not very realistic compared to the Brewzilla or Brewtools for that matter. This is partly due to the very troubled software but also that by standard it doesnt have a false bottom or camlocks. It also has old tech heating elements. In short, you can buy better for much less. If they manage to finally fix the software then it is still behind. Its a great shame but frankly it is a very old design that is obviously going to be updated soon, I am just surprised that it hasn’t come already. The GF community used to be very happy but these days that is clearly not the case in looking at the posts in the various groups. Having said all this, if you are happy with yours then that is really all that matters.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks David! I ended up adding a false bottom to mine for that exact reason, but I will say, I'd have to agree with you. I recently had to have the control box replaced on mine because it was not correctly controlling the heating element, and it was a horrible experience. I will have to check out Brew Tools in the near future to see what else is out there. Rumor has it that Ss Brewtech are also working on an all in one, so that may be interesting. Thanks for your response. Happy Brewing!
Hi David, just curious did you actually use the historic Burton profile. I’ve been doing a bit of research for doing my brews and 99%of what I’ve found says it’s probably wrong. I extract brew with distilled water and add all my dissolved chems at the end when I’m just adding the final water except the gypsum which I put in to the boil. I have had great results but the number that seem to throw off all the calculators is the SO4. So if you actually used these numbers which you show and the result was great I’ll give it a go. I’ve used the Brewersfriend water calculator and come up with these additions…for a 6 US gallon water volume Baking soda 8.45g, gypsum 20.7g, calcium chloride 3.15g, epsom salts 11g, kosher salt 0.54g, These give Ca 250, Mg 48, SO4 697, Na 115, Cl 81, HCO3 269. As im uncertain of which salts are present in the extract these numbers don’t allow for that. I will be eager to hear your thoughts Many thanks for a great video…I think I’ll convert this for extract. Cheers
Thanks very much mate I’ll give it a go. I might try with a 3gallon brew . No bad effects?? In Yorkshire where I grew up and I can’t tell if it’s true or not and whether a similar profile was used but there was a saying..’If you think the bottom has dropped out of your world, drink Sam Smiths and watch the world drop out of your bottom!”😂😂😂
Brilliant. In fact I plan to convert this recipe of yours with Brewfather and give it a whirl with the Burton profile. I’ve been doing a bit of work with BF re the hop utilization and the boil values since they are all shown for full boils and as I’m an extract user and usually do half boils then add the remainder of water at the end the numbers don’t fit but I’ve come up with a workaround I think.
This Kveik yeast sure is a beast. I tried brewing this recipe late Saturday and 2+ days later it is almost done. But the beer ended up being more of an EWSB where W stands for weird :P I got the boil off wrong and ended up having to adjust the recipe on-thy-fly with some additional water and DME to get closer to the right OG and not way too bitter. And since it anyway was going to end up weird I decided to try to pitch the yeast on the high-end of the temperature scale and let it work it's way from there in one of our warmer rooms. I took out a sample to test and tast today and it is definitely drinkable despite my mistake so I think Christmas is saved :) (And i'm going to try it again early next year with corrected recipe hoping to get closer to the intended result.)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I’m sure it will be ok in the end. That is one of the beauties of brewing your own beer. It doesn’t matter that the end result is not 100% ok according to the recipe 😊 And now my profile has been adjusted so the next brew will be better.
Bottled the beer tonight. The fermentation was quick in the beginning down to 1.014 (2 days) but a week later it was still fermenting and down to 1.011. So i let it sit in the fermenter for 2.5 weeks before bottling. All the time in regular room temperature. Unfortunately I smashed my Hydrometer so I could not get a FG but its probably very close to the expected FG from BF since it was only 3 steps off a week ago and it has kept fermenting all the time. Two interesting sidenotes...there were a lot of yeast at the bottom...and the beer was crystal clear without cold crashing. Will be interesting to taste it after 2-3 weeks. The taste sample today was special, kind of fruity, and I think it will be very easy to drink 😊
I brewed the ESB not so long ago. To my taste there is no bitter to this beer as to what i would have expected. Carbonation is good and no dominating alcohol taste. The malt flavor was good. My rating 4/10
The name bitter is very old and was given because other beers were usually sweet. If what you tried was just a 4/10 then I would suggest you try this recipe :)
If you had done your research you would have known that the ESB is barely bitter by today's standards. Looks like you screwed up your recipe and/or had some preconception of what an ESB really is.
Yes, we all taste things differently. Not every style is for everyone. Having said this I would still suggest trying this recipe. It is a good example of the style that really shines.
Thank you, David, for presenting a real bitter, not what North Americans seem to think it should be when they see the word ‘bitter’. This style family is very poorly described and defined by BJCP. Every North American craft example I have tried has been completely unbalanced, far too bitter and has very little of the caramel malt foundation showing through. I’m looking forward to trying yours. It just seems right judging from the ingredients.
No problem it was my duty :) I guess me being as honest about this as you have been here has ruffled some feathers as seen in some dislikes but there is nothing to be gained in hiding the truth and everything to be enjoyed in presenting the style in its true form :)
thanks for this David. quick question, i have a grainfather, and when i add the recipe, the overall numbers come out pretty similar, but the calculated mash and sparge volumes are much different (approx 15:13 as opposed to 19.6:7.8). Is the sparge SO different ? Do you recommend i stick with the grainfather numbers or go closer to the brewfather, and how much difference will it make ? Thanks
Hi Craig, glad you enjoyed it. There will always be differences between the different recipe calculators out there, the formulas used by each vary for prediction. The GF software though is further different than most and this is one of the reasons why I stopped using it. It could be better now, I have not checked since earlier this year. I just use Brewfather these days and find its predictions much more accurate. Naturally one thing that is important is to match my recipe with your own ingredients from malt to hops. Once you have done this then ensure that the BU:GU ratio matches along with the key stats. This will result in different levels of hops and malt but it gets you the closest to the recipe. Recipe software can only predict but if its predictions are not close then you end up brewing something that is not as intended, which is what I experienced previously.
ESB with Kveik yest? Are you serious? Did you really make 700ppm Burton water? Man, common..)) What's your ideal commercial ESB and how have you succeed in repeating it?
I'm bottling my first ESB today. It's also my first beer so wish me luck!
Great! Hope it goes well for you :)
“A British classic that I will never tire of.” Absolutely. A top 5. Just brewed a 1/2 bbl and it’s delicious!
Great to hear , yes its an awesome style for sure 🍻🍻🍻
Just brewed this - waiting for conditioning. Tasted good when I was checking the gravity.
I brewed your ESB using farmhouse Voss and a Burton'esque water profile. It's now been conditioned for 45 days and it has really come together. The bitterness has mellowed and the water profile creates a nice round, soft mouthfeel - Very enjoyable!
I use Kveik for 90% of my brews and I still have to remind myself that even though Kveik goes from grain to glass so quickly, most of the beers need that conditioning time to really shine. In my experience they go from 'Good' when fresh to 'Fantastic!' after a month or two in the keg.
As always, much gratitude for all that you've shared with us! I began brewing at the beginning of the pandemic and can humbly say the beers on tap at home are just as good as anything on tap at a brewery and better than most bottles off the shelf at the market.
Cheers!
Great to hear. Yes, I agree that some styles benefit from more time despite the kveik. Oddly the alcohol level does not seem to matter here according to my taste buds.
Thank you David, you are encouraging me and I’m sure others to expand their beer brewing and beer drinking horizons.
Great to hear Paul. So many awesome styles out there and variety is the spice of life as they say :)
The voice over on this video is outstanding.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
Nice video! I prefer British beers. I've been brewing since 2001 and this never gets old. American IPA or NEIPA is not my cup of tea so this makes me happy!
Thank you and great to hear :) I am gradually adding more and more British styles :)
Great video once again David. I have this recipe now setup in Brewfather for the weekend brew day. One small catch is that the fermentation profile in BF is showing as 7 days at 20 C. I modified to the Lallemand recommended 2 days at 40C, 2 days at 30C and 3 days at 25C. Thanks for dedicating your time to inspire us !
Thanks David. Yes, you will need to change the fermentation schedule. I hope you enjoy the end result as much as I do :)
ESB sampled for the first time and it's very good. Another excellent recipe to go into my Top Brews folder. Thank you very much for sharing this and for everything else you do to help the home brew craft. Cheers or as we say in Scotland Slange Var :)
Great to hear Paul. Yes, I am a big fan of this one too 🍻🍻🍻
fantastic style of beer, and your videos are really great! cheers from Sweden
Cheers Herman, much appreciated :)
Fantastic video as always. love the water profile addition as well David
Many thanks Craig, glad you found it useful :)
Brewed this one today. Its in the cube no chilling for the night and I'll pitch tomorrow at 35C. My first time using Kveik (Lallemand Dried Voss) ! Looking forward to seeing how quickly it goes off!!! I have been living in South Australia for 12 years and I"m looking forward to getting through some English styles! Thank you for all you do for the worldwide brewing community David.
Great to hear J P :)
Just thought I’d drop in to say thank you!! Carbed with one coopers drop per 750ml bottle. Poured slowly then pumped with a syringe for a creamy head and this smells and tastes like an English pub!! Heaven in a glass David!!! Delicious.
Great to hear J P. Yes, very nice beer :)
This has been my Christmas beer this year and it hasn't disappointed, not that I thought it would. Thanks for the video David.
Great to hear Greg :)
Thank you for sharing David. I will be brewing this recipe in the near future. Cheers
Great to hear Paul, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)
Thanks for the recipe! I will be doing an ESB for the first time in a BIAB electric system. I'll be looking forward to it. One of my favorites.
Great to hear David, hope you enjoy the end result as much as I do :)
I agree with you, in that an ESB is a great session beer and one I can drink all day without tiring. ESB is without a doubt one of my top 3 beer styles and a frequent reoccurring style for me to brew.
The Winking Pig Bar-B-Q great to hear :)
Fantastic guide as usual, thank you for all you do.
Many thanks Alan, glad you found it useful :)
Perfect timing! I just started writing a recipe for my first ESB and was looking for a recipe guide. I've been watching a lot of your videos since I started brewing in March and found them extremely well made and helpful. Thank you David and all the best from Finland :)
Great to hear Joonas :) I am gradually expanding the guides, usually by one a month. These guides take much longer to make than other video types.
Thanks for sharing the recipe and notes David .I was wondering what I’d brew next,I’ll give this a go.👍🏼
Great, glad you enjoyed it :)
Same David, I too would rather brew & drink rather than argue :) great video can’t wait to make this cheers
Great to hear Ken, it is certainly more satisfying :)
Nice One David! - Brewed this one a day before Xmas - with WLP002 instead of KVEIK - but it came out beautiful, it just finished carbonating today!
I will be on me Kveik journey this year for sure, thanks to you!
Great to hear Robert. It will keep improving :)
ESB completed and looking forward to tasting in a couple of weeks. The Cream Ale is very nice and particularly good in a black and tan with sweetheart stout which after 8 test batches I have given up trying to make haha . :)
Enjoy 🍻🍻🍻
Aha! Thanks for your quick response David. Should have known that you already had this covered. All this thinking is making me feel thirsty....
Haha, good that it is Saturday then :)
Yyyeeeeeeessssss!! One of my favorite styles! I'm so excited for this video. Thank you for all your information and hard work!
Haha, mine also :) Glad you found it useful :)
Thanks for the video and share the recipe I try it 👍
Thanks Allan, I am sure you will enjoy this one :)
Great vid been waiting for this one! Cheers
Many thanks Jake, glad you enjoyed it :)
I brewed this one on the weekend. Split the batch and using M36 Liberty Bell yeast in half, WLP 007 in the other.
Took me a long time to find the Golden Syrup.
Realised today I’ve used Carafa 3, and probably should have used the lighter grade. It’s a fairly dark looking wort but I’m sure will be fine.
Also took the plunge on the recommendation for water profile. I read a lot of information and opinion about this. It seems most are of the view it’s unlikely anyone ever used such a profile, but there are also those who claim their experience convinced them it’s the way to go. Eventually I decided the only way to know what I think is to try it.
Hi David, didnt believe those that suggest against this profile, its what kept British beer ahead for so long. If you followed the recipe then you will see why 🍻🍻🍻
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I’ve just tried the first bottle, about 3 weeks after capping. This was fermented with WLP007 and has been conditioning at quite low temperature, 11-12° C.
I think there should be plenty of improvement yet to come, but I’ve no complaint even if it only ever got this good. This is the kind of beer I grew to love as a home brewer in the 90s. Very hard to find a commercial product like this in Australia. Rather pleased to have a stock of this in the cellar. I give most of my beer away but this is one I’ll reserve for personal use
Great to hear David. You should fine some improvements over the next few weeks still.
Golden Syrup on sale at Iceland in Krsand at reasonable price. Storfs in Oslo too. The Old Speckled Hen clone is similar to this. Dry hopped with some home grown Phoenix that yield well with me to give a more fragrant finish. Not finished yet
.
Awesome, I will check my local Iceland at Asker.
Wow what timing! I have an ESB mashing at the moment. The only thing that I am out of style on is that I have a dry hop addition but since there is no hop stand I think I'll just move the addition forward to then. Thanks David!
Great to hear Justin :) Yes, dry hoping has no place in this style, if you want it to be authentic.
Perfect timing with this video My friend 🙂
I was actually planning a ESB brewday in the very near future. Looks like I'm out of excuses I've got to get this one going sooner than later 🍻
Great to hear Bradley :) It must be mentioned that most the beers brewed outside of the UK that I have had promising to be an ESB have not been. So you could be in for a nice treat :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew That's why I'm thrilled with your recipe and style overview. The recipe I had compiled was missing a few things. I'm quite happy to stand on your shoulders 🍻 I'm not thinking I have the recipe writing experience you do 🍻
Great, I want these guides to help people progress with recipe writing. It is sadly a dying art and it is important to keep it alive along with the right advice for each style.
I've brewed a couple ESB's and really love them (my wife does too) but now I need to try one using Kveik yeast! Sounds amazing!!
Go for it :) Very nice result in many peoples opinions :)
I might try this recipe, I have Target flowers on hand for bittering. ESB was my very 1st A G so I make at least 1 a year(always different) never disappointing. Cheers from Tassie
Go for it, Target will work :)
Thanks David, One of my favourites, having practically grown up on these typically English style beers and still very glad to be enjoying them immensely. Sometimes use molasses instead of golden syrup for colour and flavour and of cause the Burton Ale water profile is essential. Looking forward to my next brew session which will be the ESB style.
Great to hear Tim. I leave the molasses for stouts personally :)
I find the British yeasts, especially Lallemand Nottingham and imperial Pub, almost need a lagering period to condition well. Though drinkable within a week or two they’re mellowed and malty and best at about a month or so after kegging for bitter styles, especially if you use adjuncts like flaked corn to dry out your beer (like e.g. Harveys) given the flavour can be relatively powerful at first but mellows later.
When using British yeast I would allow 4-6 weeks for conditioning for most styles, unless they are higher ABV. Only hoppy, wheat and stout styles have the potential to be better earlier really, unless you use kveik :)
Thanks for covering this style David, you did a fine breakdown on which ingredients may be used and why. I’ve come to like this better than IPAs these days. I’m glad you mentioned not being concerned with following the BJCP guidelines. While those guidelines are a good reference, they can limit one’s creativity if allowed. The addition of chocolate malt to bitters makes for a wonderful beer and gives them a unique edge, even though my end result last time resembled a brown ale in color. I just concern myself with what tastes good, and the reaction of those who have tried my ESB tell me I’m on track.
Many thanks Alan, glad you found it useful :) Yes, many totally disagree with the BJCP on certain styles. Guidelines are only useful if they are accurate of course :) Bitters can range wildly in colour from light to dark, no problem there as long as the taste is on point as I see it :)
Apparently Fuller's do dry hop with a few extra goulding's in fermenter and maturation.
I think Fuller's is the king of ESB's 🍻
A small amount would not hurt for sure
Ran a double batch of this on the BZ65 Gen4, it has come out as a beautiful ESB, just in time for Charlie's big day. Now all I need is a decent Melton Mowbray Pork pie and some scratchings - anyone know where I can get some in Oz? @David Heath now waiting for your guide on a speckled hen, Cheers Paddy
Cheers Paddy, sounds like you are mostly set there 🍻🍻🍻 Enjoy
G'day David I don't Facebook but love to see a style guide line video for Irish red ale.
Thanks Jamie, I will be covering all styles by the end, this included :) I use the FB group for voting on the order of preference. Czech/Bohemian pilsner is next :)
I used to use a brilliant Dave line recipe, I never turned out a bad brew and had load of friends waiting for it to be ready to drink.
Try this one Mark 🍻🍻🍻
Thanks David. I'm supprised your used Kviek for ESB. I would have though the yeast profile of UK yeasts were more important to obtain the correct ester profile and slight Diacetyl hint for true English flavour profile.
Glad you enjoyed it. Kveik is never going to be exactly the same as an English yeast , or any other for that matter but the types I mentioned sit well for what I find to be a very acceptable hybrid.
Hi! I really liked your recipe, I want to make it with S-04, what would be the ideal fermentation profile for this yeast? Would 18 degrees Celsius be ok?
Sure, that will work well. Start at 18 and then towards the end raise at 1C per day till 21 and hold until you have a consistent FG for 3 days. 🍻🍻
Great video, I've only just recently started doing one gallon batches of BIAB after a few years of kit bears, I try to do things as cheaply as possible so will use one 10g packet of yeast fo two one gallon brews, I always go for the us pale ale yeast from CML, Because my favourite drink is an IPA but I've used the same yeast for a bitter similar to your recipe, am I wasting my time using this yeast? It's still very drinkable
Thanks Tom. I have video guides like this for many styles, including various IPA’s also. Really an ESB needs an English yeast to be in true form. I would not say its a waste if you enjoy it though :)
I made the mistake David warned about in the video about regarding the chocolate malt in this recipe - you definitely want dehusked at those levels. I used standard chocolate malt and mine was quite dark in color and the dark roasted malt flavor and bitterness/astringency were prominent. If you only have regular chocolate malt available, reduce the amount by an order of magnitude and you'll be about right. 3 percent would become 0.3 percent. This is also consistent with the best info available about Fuller's current recipe for their/the ESB of about 0.2% chocolate malt.
Sorry to hear that. You will not forget for the next batch I am sure 🍻🍻🍻
Hi David I recently made an ESB from your recipe on Brewfather and it turned really excellent, however i didn't use the Burton Profile that you recommended i used Hoppy Light for one reason, I'm using RO as the source water and when I use this RO source and the Burton on Trent target profile the mineral additions are scarily high: 31.5g Gypsum,13.5 Epsom, 5.4 Calcium Chloride. Surely I am doing something wrong. Help!
Hi Peter, great to hear 🍻🍻🍻
Yes the Burton water profile is an extreme one for sure!
@@DavidHeathHomebrew So sorry to bother you again David but do the Burton mineral amounts seem OK to you? 31.5 Gypsum? Will that make the beer too bitter? So sorry for the stupid questions but I am quite new to brewing
Great!
Thank you Paulo :)
Hey Dave, not long been home brewing but just wanted to drop a line and tell you how much your videos have thus far helped my journey into the world of homebrew. I got myself a 35 L brewzilla and a 27L fermzilla from your review recommendations and haven't looked back. Any tips on ferment pressure? Im brewing myself an ESB! Thanks once again. John, Queensland, Australia.
Great to hear John :) with an ESB part of the style is the esters from the yeast usually. So as such its not one to pressure ferment, at least during the first week. Then the safe zone would be between 10-12 PSI. Check out this video for more information:- ruclips.net/video/W7WSFn6bNoA/видео.html
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Okay, neat! Another great watch. Thanks dave 👍
Thanks John :)
Good Video. Made a Bitter over Xmas and used Pilsner. Result was not great. Like drinking chilled celery water. 😂
Thanks Conor, yes Pale ale or maris otter will be better :)
Thanks for this video, I’ve been looking for an ESB recipe and look foreard to test. I cannot find Northdown in Norwegian stores. Can you suggest a replacement?
Thanks Ketil. I bought mine in Norway :) Northern Brewer or Challenger are similar.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thank you. If you know where I can find Northdown I would be greatful for your help. Otherwise I will try the other ones.
A quick search did not reveal any sadly but the subs will work well 🍻🍻🍻
I wanted to come up with a version and what I ended up with in recipe was surprisingly close to your percentages (your recipe) but I swapped out golden naked oats for the crystal because I rather like those and have some on hand - and using the chocolate wheat malt (3%), and wheat malt (2%) which probably gives me back some of the colour lost by the oats.
Great, I hope you enjoy the end result :)
Another batch of this ready today it's very good. How would I increase the head retention? Cheers :)
Hi Paul, try increasing the pressure gradually 🍻🍻🍻
OK thank you @@DavidHeathHomebrew
Hi David, I've been enjoying your youtube channel , very informative and thank you. I am starting to play with water profiles (struggling) and want to ask did you adjust your brewing water to the Burton on trent profile for this ESB .....acknowledging this is the Burton profile but it seems extreme to produce a good beer.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and the producing your videos
Thanks Stephen. Yes Burton is certainly extreme but it produces some very special results for sure, not just in taste but also looks wise because it drops solids for crazy levels of clarity. I do not always profile my water, especially with test batches but I value the edge when I do.
I've enjoyed ESBs for the past year after discovering them - I will be getting some of the golden syrup for my next one and give this recipe a go...looks delicious. Do you think I can get away with using White Wheat malt and Briess Debittered Black Malt for the Chocolate? Other than that, I may have to order a few pounds of Chocolate - though I have some Pale chocolate which might yield the flavor profile without darkening the beer too much? Thoughts? And thanks so much for sharing a great beer that doesn't get much attention in the States.
Great, yes they are pretty awesome :) The white wheat will be fine but Im not a fan of black malt for this style personally. By all means try it and see what you think of course but dehusked chocolate is really the best way forward here I believe. I think ESB is gaining fans in the US, which is very cool.
Hi David! Would a „clean“ kveik like lutra ve suitable as well? Or would be sth like Omega Hothead, or Voss be more suitable for this?
Really you are better off with an English yeast with esters if you want to be true to this style.
Thanks for the video, enjoyed it! I have a couple of questions
1. I've only had Fuller's ESB, and was struck by how fruity it was on the nose. What should be the contribution from the yeast, in terms of esters, to this style?
2. I've used S-04, Windsor, and Lallemond ESB, and feel that they provide increasing character (in terms of esters and maltiness) in that order. Your thoughts? And how does voss kveik compare?
thanks!
Hi Vjay, great to hear that you enjoyed it. Fullers ESB is a fruity one for sure. You will not get this from Voss. If you want this then English yeast is a must. Whilst kveik sits very well in this style it provides a less fruity hybrid.
Hi David, my ESB recipe calls for 8oz of golden syrup. But it is sold on 16 oz packages. If I put the entire 16 oz in the ABV will go from 5.3% to 5.8%.
Will adding the extra syrup make it sweet?
Or
Am I creating any other problems?
I would still only use one package of voss.
Hi, Yes, due to the type of sugar it will be sweeter. I would advise againist this, it is not a sweet style, as such.
Hi David, if not using Kveik, for how long would you recommend conditioning an ESB? Just curious because I’d like to make one for the upcoming holidays and hope to have it in prime conditioning.
Hi Nick, 4-6 weeks will be normal.
Will try this soon, looks good. If you don't mind, how did you calc your mash water volume? I have struggled with various methods of determining the correct equation and this doesn't follow the ones I have tried or your ROBOBREW BREWZILLA QUICK START GUIDE 35L 65L.
I tend to use 3l/kg +3.5l which would be 16.5l and not the 19.62 you have in your recipe. Just noticing when you mash in it looks so much easier than when I do...
Great, thanks Phil. I use the Brewzilla profile in Brewfather, works well for me :)
Thanks David. Brewed this recently but with the new verdant yeast.
It foamed like crazy at high krausen and came out of the air lock making a mess...
When I removed the lid at bottling time, almost half of the yeast cake was floating on top of the beer.
Something I have never seen before in my many years of brewing. Well I skimmed it off and bottled as usual.
Do You think this is ok or is it lacto? It didnt taste sour or off in any other way when bottling.
I guess time will tell...
Thanks Tommy. Verdant is an agressive fermenter. Sounds normal to me :) I hope you enjoy the end result, I bet that will be great. I have been testing verdant with stout a lot and have my final recipe coming in next Sundays video.
Great video David this is next on my list to brew. Do you finings?
Thank you 🍻I tend to leave most beer to be natural. Clarity is not so important to me personally.
Hi David! Many thanks for another great video 🙌
You have been a invaluable source of knowledge and also motivation during my first months as a homebrewer!!! I am infinitely grateful to you :)
There is something I like to ask you, about your different recipes that hope you dont find cheeky. I noticed that you normally dont include anything about water conditioning (different salts concentrations and additions). Is that because it is not so important normally and you just do not do it, or just because it is sort of boring or uninteresting part of the brewing day?
Great to hear Pablo :) I often share a water profile but no point me sharing what I used as my water is going to be different to anyone elses, unless you are a neighbour of mine :) Water treatment is important I believe but it can be something a beginner can worry about a little later I feel, for example :)
Another great video David. Thank you. This is the beer style that got me into brewing. Low carbonation, not too cold and an aroma and mouth feel that typically can’t be found in California. I bought a beer machine recently and enjoy pulling a pint of Bitter. Do you prefer sparkler or no sparkler?
Awesome to hear Tim :) I love ESB, which ever way it comes, as long as it is done right :)
I’ve brewed alot of your recipes, all have been amazing and this is going to be my next. Would you say that Shepherd Neame’s 1698 Kentish Strong Ale fits within this category or something else entirely? Because when i drink that, i get very similar if not the same aroma and tasting notes. Thanks from a Brit living Australia!
Hi, yes. Same category 🍻🍻🍻
Awesome thanks. Can’t wait to brew this recipe, english beer is so expensive in Oz 😭
Enjoy 🍻🍻🍻
I just had my very first ESB. It was a Hargreaves Hill. I loved it! Would David’s recipe be similar to that?
Similar in ways but no exactly the same.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Well I’m going to brew your recipe next! If it is close to that, I will be very happy!
Great, I am sure that you will enjoy it.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I’ve just sampled it and very happy. Like you said not the same, but very close. I’m getting a bit of a toffee hit at the end which I quite like.
Great to hear. Cheers 🍻🍻🍻
Hi David, I tried this bitter and will brew it again. Do you remember Webster Yorkshire bitter ? Could you give me some pointers to building a recipe for this.
Hi Andrew, Yes I kind of do but not well enough to write a recipe for it. Nothing online?
@@DavidHeathHomebrew not that I have found so far, but I plan on going home later this year, I can look then.
I follow a few people online from the uk one has something that is close. I will keep looking.
Your content is first class.
Close is probably as good as it gets. It can be impossible to totally replicate brewery beer at home.
Brewed last weekend. Overnight the heat belt slipped off and the temp dropped to 8ºC (46ºF) and the airlock has stopped bubbling 3-4 days into the ferment. Any suggestions.
Hi, Increase the temp and give the fermenter a gentle rocking to rouse the yeast. This will fix it 99% of the time.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thanks indeed! I’ll give it a crack.
Cheers 🍻🍻🍻
Hi David (yes me again). Have decided to brew this ESB and have just finished the Greg Hughes version (v. nice too), but have got a bit stuck with the hop amount calculations in your write-up. Various internet searches have proven tricky, so without appearing to be a thicky (which I actually am), can you help with your formula/approach from alpha acids and IBUs, to actual hop weights please? Many thanks.
Hi Martin, this is a very common question :)
I have a video that explains this along with demonstration that I think should help but let me know if you have further questions:- ruclips.net/video/lYA_UzDkW9o/видео.html
Hi David, could this be done as a 30min boil or is this an example of when you should keep 60 minutes?
Hi Simon, yes no problem there 🍻🍻🍻
@@DavidHeathHomebrewthanks for the reply. I can’t get Northdown hops in my area. Would challenger be an ok substitute? Any other recommendations?
@simonturk9071 yes challenger is a good sub 🍻🍻🍻
This might be our first brew for our Big Boy fermenter. Doing 46L. Bitter always goes fast...
Good idea! Yes, it never lasts long here either :)
Dear David, I brewed this recipe 10 days ago, using Wyeast 1968 ESB yeast. Original gravity was 1.050. The fermentation chamber had a constant temperature of 19C. Yesterday and today the gravity reading was 1.018. The airlock does not show any bubbling and I suspect that there is not much fermentation going on anymore. My question is: Can I leave the beer in the fermenter for another week in order to let the yeast clean up after itself and bottle (using carbonation drops) afterwards? Will there be enough active yeast cells left to carbonate the bottles? Or should I bottle sooner, although the yeast has not sunken to the bottom of the fermenter yet?
Thank you for your help! Your videos made my first brew a walk in the park so far!
Sounds like your yeast is sleeping. I suggest giving the fermenter some gentle rocking to rouse the yeast and increasing the temperature by 1 deg c per day until you reach 23. This will protect against DMS and also help you bring the gravity down more. Very good practise for fermentations, with the temps being yeast dependant.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thank you, David. Did as you said and FG is down to 1.013 now. Temp in the fermenter ist 23C by now. Could you please advise if I could leave everything in the fv for another week before bottling on carbonation drops? Bottling would be 17 days after brewday then and I am really anxious that there won’t be any active yeast left by then. Should I put the fermenter in the 15C cool cellar in the meantime or would that be counter productive? Thanks again for your help!
Great to hear. As long as you keep the fv closed after fermentation stopped then it can be left for further time with no issues. 21 days in total actually works nicely for letting the yeast clean up after itself but 28 days is also fine.
You could keep the temps as they are now or reduce as you say. Some like to cold crash at this time (2-5C works) to aid in clarity faster.
Hey David, me again. This is my next brew, I plan on brewing this with Verdant yeast. I have trouble finding golden syrup here, so I will need to use the table sugar. I see in Brewfather that the yield of the golden syrup is 78.3% - does that mean that I use 78.3% of table sugar and 21.7% water (of the total amount of golden syrup). Apologies if this sounded too technical :)
Maybe to simplify my question, syrup is only for gravity/alcohol boost, there's no flavor addition from it? If so, I simply replace it with table sugar to arrive to the same OG 😂
You cannot get any syrups? Its the stuff used on pancakes. It does add flavour. However if you cannot get it the I suggest replacing with dextrose. Remove the sugar and replace the lost gravity 🍻🍻🍻
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Yeah, not really something that is commonly used here. I'll jump to lidl, maybe I can find it there, or I'll stick to dextrose..
🍻🍻🍻
Your recipes BU:GU is much different than the 0.47 your style guide says? I assume you enjoy yours a little hoppier than average? Thanks for your videos i love watching!
Do keep in mind that the guide figure quoted was merely an average. The recipes I share are aimed at the average taste :)
Ok cool thanks for the reply. Mostly just making sure I wasn’t missing something lol
No problem, I really like that you checked :) It is all in the details with brewing.
Do you find the kveik yeasts an exact replacement for the traditional English yeasts, or do they bring a little of their own thing to the beer?
Kveik is never going to be exactly the same as an English yeast but the types I mentioned sit well for what I find to be a very acceptable hybrid.
Cheers, David! First of all, thank you for your fantastic explanatory videos. They offer great inspiration and advice for the aspiring home brewer.
During some trips to the UK, I came across some very delicious Bitters/Pale Ales, which had a slightly fruity taste (passionfruit, ananas? etc.) to them.
Is there any easy to follow recipe (I am a complete novice to homebrewing) for this sort of bitter that you would recommend? I will be using the Grainfather 30. Thanks a lot for your help and all the work you put into your videos!
Thank you. This is all about the hops and yeast used. If you know the names of the beers then often there are clone recipes online
Unfortunately, I don‘t remember any names. I was therefor hoping for your suggestion. I will make sure to take notes next time I travel the UK...
I would suggest using this recipe but switch the yeast to Verdant IPA yeast. It will be amazing with extra fruity flavours ! :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks alot, David. I will do just that.
Great, I hope you enjoy it. Please do let me know :)
Hi David, all I have is EKG on hand, reckon this would work okay with this recipe?
Hi Laurie, Yes. No problem there :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thanks David!
Cheers 🍻🍻🍻
Wow, it's like every time you post a new video it's the next beer I had in mind to brew!! I'd like to try this raw and was wondering how to handle the bitter addition. Should I just make a hop tea @180F with the bittering hops and add it to my mash?
Haha, great to hear Paul. Yes I would do a stove boil with the hops whilst mashing and add that after mashout as part of the sparge.
I recently made what I called a "bitter" (at "best" strength) with Maris Otter, Crystal 40, and Victory (similar to amber malt). Do you think Victory/amber belongs in a bitter, or is this a different style? In either case it's the best beer I've brewed yet!
Technically no but you could get away with a small %. Having said that it depends on your intention. Competition or simply brewing a beer that you really enjoy. As I see it the later is more important :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew My Best Bitter has Amber malt, it may not be technically correct but surely neither is Kveik yeast? Anyway nice video, thanks for posting, I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to my brewing.
What is correct and what tastes best can be 2 different things for the individual. Taste is king :) If you want 100% traditional then no amber or kveik.
I’m planning my ESB brew. Up until now I have only used a relatively soft water profile in my brews. Guess I am nervous about trying the Burton on Trent profile David recommends. Can anyone comment if this has come out too minerally or harsh? Should I dial back the sulfate or just go with it? Looking forward to making this delicious looking ale! I’ll note that I’m going to be using S-04.
This has been one of the more successful water profiles for beer making in Englands history. Do a google on it and you will see what I mean.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks David. I will go with it on your advice and experience. I have a full unopened bag of gypsum so I’m set 🙂. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Great, please do 🍻🍻🍻
David, the ESB turned out well. I pick up a mild toffee flavor without being too sweet. Finished at 1.011. The body is thinner than I expected but I think I am mashing at too low of a temperature. So easy to drink but yet an interesting malty brew. Kind of rustic. Different from what I’m used to. Going to brew this again, thank you.
Great to hear Ed, for the most part. Perhaps next time you will be higher on the mash temp.
Thank you for this video, it’s one of my favourite styles! I currently have this recipe in my pressure barrel. First time using Kveik, how long do you find this yeast takes to clear? It’s been in the barrel for a week now...
Hi Phil, glad you enjoyed it. Naturally it would probably takes some months. If you add some finings and do a cold crash then probably 3-5 days max. Hope this helps :)
Brilliant thank you David, I added kettle finings but I might drop some gelatine into the barrel
Great, it all helps :)
David is that SO4 amount correct? 720?? Seems very high.
It is high but also correct
Ok no problem. Just checking.
🍻🍻🍻
What temp would you ferment this beer using kveik Voss without pressure fermentation?
Hi Ian, 35C if possible. But certainly over 25C
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thanks for that. I will let you know how it turns out
Great, please do :)
Hey David, no Northdown available locally. Will Northern Brewer or Challenger work well here?
Challenger is a good sub for sure :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew you da man!
Thank you :)
Mine has turned out lovely ,hit OG 1.054 but only finished 1.017 ?
Brew day went well apart from forgetting Golden Syrup until after the boil ,so quickly added....would this affect FG ?
I used MJ M15 Empire Ale Yeast ...
Great to hear Scott. This should not effect FG really no. Could have been the yeast not being happy for various reasons. Did you try waking it up?
How does one 'Wake Up' yeast ? I had it in a temp controlled fridge at 18 degrees for 2 weeks.....
@@skuda9 This is a simple process and is also known as "rousing". Give your fermenter a gentle rocking motion, left to right , front to back. The idea being to pick up the yeast "sleeping" on the bottom of the fermenter. At this stage and at 18C I would also look to raise the temperature being 1C per day until you hit 21. This combination will ensure that your yeast does its full job and you will combat against DMS. I hope this helps Scott :)
It does , I've learnt something ! Still the taste is great ....Thanks Dave 👍🏼😁
Great :) Taste is king :)
Btw.I have some kveik Voss I’ve harvested from a previous brew(NEIPA)
IYO do you think the yeast will carryover some of the dry hop flavours and possibly ruin the Esb flavour
Did you harvest it before dry hopping or after?
David Heath Homebrew
After
Harvesting yeast after a dry hop is not commonly advised practise as it can lead to issues. I would use something else.
I am fermenting this now and it has stopped on 1.016, and it should finish on 1.011. I am using lallemand windsor. I am thinking of repitching with Nottingham to try and get a lower fg, is that a good idea?
I would increase temperature a little and give the fermenter a gentle rocking. It is usually the cure 🍻🍻😜
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Ok. Thanks alot for the support, it means alot 🙏
Anytime 🍻🍻🍻
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Here's a report on the stopped fermentation. After plenty of shaking and also raising the temperature with the Windsor yeast I measured a fg of 1.017, so it seemed to have reached its limits. I then pitched 2 bags of Nottingham, because I watched an advertisement that it could restart a stopped fermentation. And after a bit of lagtime, it slowly fermented down to 1.012. It was a bit expensive, but worth it I think, I also learned something in the process. I am now looking forward to taste it, but i believe this one will need a bit of conditioning also. I am actually into British styles right now, having tired a bit of American beer for the moment. I rediscovered it by tasting an English ipa based on fuggle that I thought was brilliant. I would be a big fan of an English ipa recipe if you would be working on that some day. Cheers, and thanks for all the knowledge you are providing 👍
Great that you got it fixed. I guess that your original yeast had bad health. I will cover the English IPA at some point for sure.
Hi David, enjoy your postings - do you use additions such as 'Purebrew' or 'Protafloc' at all? And I must say, I do appreciate the nice 'cheers' ladies towards the endings!
Thanks Martin, I use Irish moss usually. There are various alternatives out there :) Good to hear that you appreciate the beer girls, I have managed so far to find a different one for each video :)
Hi David... Me again :)
All set for a brew day on the recipe but i have one question about water profiles.
Using Brewfather, I've added in the burton water profile you show on screen and then also selected a bottled water profile that i created that has widely known profile. When getting close to the target values for the Burton profile, Brewfather is telling me that there is too much Sulfate under the Sulfate/Chloride ratio. As someone who's quite new to this I'm a bit confused as to whether i should just trust the profile numbers you put up or whether i need to actually dial it down a bit.
My numbers are as follows:
Ca2+ = 270
Mg2+ = 41
Na+ = 45
Cl- = 85
SO42- = 562
HCO3- = 269
Really appreciate any help you can give.
Not all water will suit all profiles. I would try a London water profile instead.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thanks for the reply David. The mineral water I’m using is quite light on all minerals. The issue I think, seems to be the sulphate to chloride ratio rather than the starting water. The levels it’s telling me to buffer to with salts are close but I can’t see anyone online using that ratio. So I’m not sure if something is amiss with the software or it’s a genuine difference
It certainly is an extreme profile, so maybe that is it.
Well I went with the Porter profile here to be safe and I’m just trying it for the first time. I have to admit, I like English ales but esb is something that I have only ever had a fillers version. I’m getting what I thinks is a fruity taste to it. Not unpleasant but not what I expected. Would you say that’s right or has something gone wrong?
Hi Lee, fruity esters are to style:)
What is the best way to accurately measure and handle the 226g of golden syrup in this recipe folks?
I would suggest using scales as shown in the video :)
Thanks David; I don't remember that bit in the video; I will watch again :)
No problem :)
Hi David. You state in this Style Guide that this style isn‘t dry hopped, but I wanted to point out that Fuller‘s ESB, the quintessential ESB, actually is. Cheers! 🍻 - josh
Hi Josh, I would argue that that as a fact, as would many British people! 😎🍻
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Hi David. That‘s certainly interesting. I had found this text, from the Oxford Companion to Beer that allegedly comes originally was from Fuller‘s History of their ESB, but I can‘t find it now originally on their website: „Fuller’s ESB (5.5% draught, 5.9% in bottle) was first brewed as Winter Beer in 1969 and became a regular beer under its current name 2 years later. It is brewed with 90% Optic pale malt, 3% crystal malt, and 7% flaked maize and has a rich coppery amber color. The complex hop recipe includes Challenger, Goldings, Northdown, and Target. The beer is late-hopped in the kettle with Challenger and Northdown, and then dry-hopped with Goldings in the fermentation vessel. Goldings are also used for further dry-hopping in the cask. Fuller’s ESB is brisk, with 34 IBUs of bitterness, and many writers have stressed the rich orange fruit character of the beer, with one writer likening it to “liquid Cooper’s marmalade.”“
In the end its all a question of taste.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew well, sure. any (home)brewer can dry hop any beer of theirs they want or not, whatever tickles their fancy, but the question is whether dry hopping an ESB is, in fact, to style or not.🤓 Cheers!🍻
Totally they can. Its all personally choice and in the end personal opinion too.
Yum, one of my favorite styles! Thanks, David!
Where do you get the syrup though? Is it available in Norway or do you just pick up a couple of cans when you visit the UK?
Mine also 🍺. I can buy it in Norway but when I go to the UK I pick one up for the price saving :)
Hey David! this is right on my taste buds! what is that digital looking air lock bubbler that was shown?
Thanks Paul. Thats a Plaato hydrometer :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew right! I saw one of those a while back... tell meis it worth the cash drop? what about blow offs? is there a solution for those?
Its pretty good but with pros and cons. Its hard to recommend over a Brewbrain Float or Tilt.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I wish! Here in Canada the Brewbrain isnt available
I think they will export it to you, worth asking and checking the costs.
Hi David, great video, thank you.
The Burton water profile calls for a massive 720ppm so4 ! I've never brewed this style before so I'm afraid of getting mineral flavour in the beer at this level, should I be concerned?
Cheers, Phil
Thanks Philip. Yes it is pretty extreme. I avoid wild swings like this unless it's a small batch for testing first.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I'm pretty concerned about it too as I have very soft local water. I'd have to add 16 grams of gypsum to mash and 14 grams to sparge water. Do you think it's still advisable to try this?
Fantastic guide David!
This is a pretty common concern for most that have not tried it before. Its an extreme profile but it does give extremely good results :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I'll go for it then! None of your recipes have yet failed me so I have high expectations of this one too. Your Irish stout recipe for example was highly regarded by all my friends. I feel like taking a masterclass in homebrewing following your all of your material. Kippis!
Thanks Pantse, I am sure you will be happy with this one also :)
Hey David, I have long enjoyed your videos and have been homebrewing myself for just over a couple of years. After watching this, I'm very curious to try an ESB, as I have never made one before. This may be a bit off topic, but I'm curious if you now prefer the Brewzilla to the Grainfather? I picked up a Grainfather about a year ago, and it's really helped me dive into the world of all grain, but I have recently heard some complaints about the software. Just curious! Cheers!
Hi Andrew, great to hear :) Personally I love this style and feel everyone should try it and this is a very tried and tested recipe of mine that I especially enjoy. Hmm GF vs Brewzilla. I did make a video comparing them some time back but if I did a remake now then I would need to make some changes. If my GF died now then I would not replace it. Its price these days is not very realistic compared to the Brewzilla or Brewtools for that matter. This is partly due to the very troubled software but also that by standard it doesnt have a false bottom or camlocks. It also has old tech heating elements. In short, you can buy better for much less. If they manage to finally fix the software then it is still behind. Its a great shame but frankly it is a very old design that is obviously going to be updated soon, I am just surprised that it hasn’t come already. The GF community used to be very happy but these days that is clearly not the case in looking at the posts in the various groups. Having said all this, if you are happy with yours then that is really all that matters.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks David! I ended up adding a false bottom to mine for that exact reason, but I will say, I'd have to agree with you. I recently had to have the control box replaced on mine because it was not correctly controlling the heating element, and it was a horrible experience. I will have to check out Brew Tools in the near future to see what else is out there. Rumor has it that Ss Brewtech are also working on an all in one, so that may be interesting. Thanks for your response. Happy Brewing!
A BU GU ratio of .47?
According to the BJCP. My recipe however has 0.68. I did say many consider their guidelines to be incorrect :)
Hi David, just curious did you actually use the historic Burton profile. I’ve been doing a bit of research for doing my brews and 99%of what I’ve found says it’s probably wrong. I extract brew with distilled water and add all my dissolved chems at the end when I’m just adding the final water except the gypsum which I put in to the boil. I have had great results but the number that seem to throw off all the calculators is the SO4. So if you actually used these numbers which you show and the result was great I’ll give it a go. I’ve used the Brewersfriend water calculator and come up with these additions…for a 6 US gallon water volume
Baking soda 8.45g, gypsum 20.7g, calcium chloride 3.15g, epsom salts 11g, kosher salt 0.54g,
These give Ca 250, Mg 48, SO4 697, Na 115, Cl 81, HCO3 269.
As im uncertain of which salts are present in the extract these numbers don’t allow for that.
I will be eager to hear your thoughts
Many thanks for a great video…I think I’ll convert this for extract.
Cheers
Yes, ive used this profile a fair bit with really good results.
Thanks very much mate I’ll give it a go. I might try with a 3gallon brew . No bad effects?? In Yorkshire where I grew up and I can’t tell if it’s true or not and whether a similar profile was used but there was a saying..’If you think the bottom has dropped out of your world, drink Sam Smiths and watch the world drop out of your bottom!”😂😂😂
@neileyre6019 Great, at one time this was Englands secret weapon on very clear and tasty beer, so for sure its a very good profile 🍻🍻🍻
Brilliant. In fact I plan to convert this recipe of yours with Brewfather and give it a whirl with the Burton profile. I’ve been doing a bit of work with BF re the hop utilization and the boil values since they are all shown for full boils and as I’m an extract user and usually do half boils then add the remainder of water at the end the numbers don’t fit but I’ve come up with a workaround I think.
Forgot to mention…what would you think of using Wyeast1469 for this. I’ve used it for bitters before with constant great results
What's a Best Bitter?
A marketing term :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew That's what I thought ESB was. LOL
ESB is Extra Special Bitter :) Best is just another term for a bitter.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Yeah but ESB is a trademark of Fullers as far as I know.
Yes, though only the initials shortening the full name.
This Kveik yeast sure is a beast. I tried brewing this recipe late Saturday and 2+ days later it is almost done. But the beer ended up being more of an EWSB where W stands for weird :P
I got the boil off wrong and ended up having to adjust the recipe on-thy-fly with some additional water and DME to get closer to the right OG and not way too bitter. And since it anyway was going to end up weird I decided to try to pitch the yeast on the high-end of the temperature scale and let it work it's way from there in one of our warmer rooms. I took out a sample to test and tast today and it is definitely drinkable despite my mistake so I think Christmas is saved :)
(And i'm going to try it again early next year with corrected recipe hoping to get closer to the intended result.)
Ops. Well give it time and perhaps it will normalise :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew I’m sure it will be ok in the end. That is one of the beauties of brewing your own beer. It doesn’t matter that the end result is not 100% ok according to the recipe 😊
And now my profile has been adjusted so the next brew will be better.
Great :)
Bottled the beer tonight. The fermentation was quick in the beginning down to 1.014 (2 days) but a week later it was still fermenting and down to 1.011. So i let it sit in the fermenter for 2.5 weeks before bottling. All the time in regular room temperature.
Unfortunately I smashed my Hydrometer so I could not get a FG but its probably very close to the expected FG from BF since it was only 3 steps off a week ago and it has kept fermenting all the time.
Two interesting sidenotes...there were a lot of yeast at the bottom...and the beer was crystal clear without cold crashing.
Will be interesting to taste it after 2-3 weeks. The taste sample today was special, kind of fruity, and I think it will be very easy to drink 😊
Great to hear Roger. I hope you enjoy the end result as much as I do.
I brewed the ESB not so long ago. To my taste there is no bitter to this beer as to what i would have expected. Carbonation is good and no dominating alcohol taste. The malt flavor was good. My rating 4/10
The name bitter is very old and was given because other beers were usually sweet. If what you tried was just a 4/10 then I would suggest you try this recipe :)
If you had done your research you would have known that the ESB is barely bitter by today's standards. Looks like you screwed up your recipe and/or had some preconception of what an ESB really is.
@@kommi1974 fair to say we are different in our likes?
Yes, we all taste things differently. Not every style is for everyone. Having said this I would still suggest trying this recipe. It is a good example of the style that really shines.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew on my list once more to perfect and get a proper impression of what you described in your video.
6:27 Water profile - Click numbers on left to view the Burton Water Profile
Yes?
@@DavidHeathHomebrew It's a reminder to find the profile.
Ok, nice :)
Thank you, David, for presenting a real bitter, not what North Americans seem to think it should be when they see the word ‘bitter’. This style family is very poorly described and defined by BJCP. Every North American craft example I have tried has been completely unbalanced, far too bitter and has very little of the caramel malt foundation showing through. I’m looking forward to trying yours. It just seems right judging from the ingredients.
No problem it was my duty :) I guess me being as honest about this as you have been here has ruffled some feathers as seen in some dislikes but there is nothing to be gained in hiding the truth and everything to be enjoyed in presenting the style in its true form :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew, Well spoken.
@@100amps Thank you. In the end it benefits all that are happy to take it on board :)
thanks for this David. quick question,
i have a grainfather, and when i add the recipe, the overall numbers come out pretty similar, but the calculated mash and sparge volumes are much different (approx 15:13 as opposed to 19.6:7.8). Is the sparge SO different ? Do you recommend i stick with the grainfather numbers or go closer to the brewfather, and how much difference will it make ?
Thanks
Hi Craig, glad you enjoyed it. There will always be differences between the different recipe calculators out there, the formulas used by each vary for prediction. The GF software though is further different than most and this is one of the reasons why I stopped using it. It could be better now, I have not checked since earlier this year. I just use Brewfather these days and find its predictions much more accurate. Naturally one thing that is important is to match my recipe with your own ingredients from malt to hops. Once you have done this then ensure that the BU:GU ratio matches along with the key stats. This will result in different levels of hops and malt but it gets you the closest to the recipe. Recipe software can only predict but if its predictions are not close then you end up brewing something that is not as intended, which is what I experienced previously.
ESB with Kveik yest? Are you serious? Did you really make 700ppm Burton water? Man, common..))
What's your ideal commercial ESB and how have you succeed in repeating it?
Yes, it all works very well. Fullers ESB, brew this and you tell me ? :)
Easy to cast stones when you've never tried this recipe. Do you really think David would post a recipe that hasn't been tried and tested? Come on now.
@@kommi1974 Thanks, hopefully he will try it and come back a believer :) You never know!