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EXTRA SPECIAL

Please note all file contents are Copyright © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This file is for the buyer’s personal use only. It’s unlawful to share or distribute this file to others in any way including e-mailing it, posting it online, or sharing printed copies with others. Extra Special Bitter by Jamil Zainasheff

xtra special bitter, often produce British pale from cul - referred to as English pale tivars such as Maris Otter using a tra - e ale or strong bitter (ESB is ditional floor malting method. The a from Fuller’s that has come to result is malt with a slightly darker typify the style) is an average to mod - color (3.5 to 4.0 °L) and more flavor erate strength English ale. than other . It is the malt An ESB should be firmly bitter by of choice for many English beer fanat - taste (often falling in the range of 30 ics. British pale ale malt is highly modi - to 50 IBUs), but the bitterness should fied and well suited to single infusion not overpower the malt. Balance is mashes and a moderate mash temper - important and most examples range ature around 152 °F (67 °C) is a good EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER by the numbers from balanced to moderately bitter. target for this style. While many commercial examples can If you’re with extract, OG: . . .1.048 –1.060 (11.9 –14.7 °P) be described as “hoppy,” do not con - your best choice is an extract made FG: ...... 1.010 –1.016 (2.6 –4.1 °P) fuse this style with . from British pale ale malt. There are SRM: ...... 6–18 Strong bitter has more fermentation some British style malt extracts cur - IBU: ...... 30 –50 and malt character than American rently on the market made from 100% ABV: ...... 4.6 –6.2% pale ale and the hop character is noth - Maris Otter malt and they are an ing like the big, bold hop character excellent choice for English . If you find in many American-type pale you use North American two-row . Moderate is the key word here malt or extract made from it, you’ll and the hop character should be need to compensate with some addi - somewhat restrained and balanced. tional specialty malts such as Munich, This is the highest gravity version biscuit or Victory®, but use restraint. of the bitter family, which results in a For a 5-gallon (19-L) batch, add no 3 few noticeable differences from its more than ⁄4 pound (0.34 kg). kin. ESB tends to have a slightly fuller While there are some modern malt backbone than special/best bitter examples of strong bitter, called sum - and the appropriate bitterness to bal - mer bitter, brewed with pale malt ance the additional malt. The addi - only, my feeling is that a proper tional malt creates a little more alco - English bitter must have at least a hol, a bit more body and a touch more touch of caramel character. Even a flavor. Some examples will express a small dose of crystal malt adds touch of alcohol flavor and aroma, caramel notes, body, and helps fill out although I prefer examples that are the malt flavors. The type of crystal more subtle. Strong bitter ranges in malt also makes a difference. Darker color from golden to deep copper. color crystal malts add richer colors, These beers are also very clear, due as well as some dark caramel, toasty, to the highly flocculent and roasted and raisin flavors. Lighter the head is usually minimal, due to color crystal malts add sweeter low carbonation. caramel notes. The maximum crystal British pale ale malt is a key com - malt this style can handle without ponent of any bitter recipe. It provides getting heavy and cloying is around a background biscuit-like malt charac - 8 to 10% with a color range of 10 to ter that many people associate with 150 °L. However, the darker the crys - fine British beers. British pale ale malt tal, the less you should use. A bitter is kilned a bit darker (2.5 to 3.5 °L) with 10% 150 °L crystal malt may than the average American two-row not be cloying, but it can be too or pale malt (1.5 to 2.5 °L) and this intense a flavor for this style. On the higher level of kilning brings out the flip side, a bitter with all light color malt’s biscuity flavors. A few malt crystal malt will tend to be sweet and companies (Crisp Malting is one) still lack depth of character. Some bitter

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1 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine byo.com © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Strong Bitter until the yeast drops clear. With tightly in the bag, using more bags (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) healthy yeast, fermentation should if needed. Steep the bag in about OG =1.056 (13.9 °P) be complete in a week or less. 1 gallon (~4 liters) of water at FG = 1.016 (4.1 °P) Allow the lees to settle and the roughly 170 °F (77 °C) for about 30 IBU = 41 SRM = 9 ABV = 5.3% brew to mature without pressure for minutes. Lift the grain bag out of another two days after fermentation the steeping liquid and rinse with Ingredients appears finished. Rack to a keg warm water. Allow the bags to drip 10.75 lb. (4.9 kg) Crisp Pale Ale and force carbonate or rack to a into the kettle for a few minutes malt or similar British pale ale malt bottling bucket, add priming sugar while you add the malt extract. Do 0.5 lb. (227 g) Great Western and bottle. Target a carbonation not squeeze the bags. Add enough crystal malt 15 °L level of 1 to 2 volumes depending water to the steeping and 0.25 lb. (113 g) Great Western on your packaging. malt extract to make a pre-boil vol - crystal malt 120 °L If you’re cask conditioning the ume of 5.9 gallons (22.3 liters) and 8.5 AAU East Kent Goldings beer, add priming sugar, any cask a gravity of 1.047 (11.6 °P). Stir (1.7 oz./48 g at 5% alpha acids finings (gelatin or isinglass) and dry thoroughly to help dissolve the 1 1 (60 min.) hop with ⁄4 to ⁄2 oz. (7 to 14 g) of extract and bring the wort to a boil. 5 AAU East Kent Goldings hops whole East Kent Goldings hops. Once the wort is boiling, add (1.0 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids Allow the beer to condition in the the bittering hops. The total wort (0 min.) cask for several days and serve via boil time is one hour after adding White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) or a beer engine or by gravity feed at the bittering hops. During that time Wyeast 1968 (London ESB Ale) 50 to 55 °F (10 to 13 °C). add any other kettle finings with 15 yeast minutes left in the boil and the last hop addition at flame out. Step by Step Strong Bitter Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C) Mill the grains and dough-in target - (5 gallons/19 L, and aerate thoroughly. The proper ing a mash of around 1.5 quarts of extract with grains) pitch rate is 11 grams (0.4 oz.) of water to 1 pound of grain (a liquor- OG = 1.055 (13.6 °P) properly rehydrated dry yeast, 2 to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) FG = 1.016 (4.1 °P) packages of liquid yeast, or 1 pack - and a temperature of 152 °F IBU = 41 SRM = 9 ABV = 5.2% age of liquid yeast in a 2-liter (67 °C). Hold the mash at 152 °F starter. (67 °C) until enzymatic conversion is Ingredients Ferment around 68 °F (20 °C) complete. Infuse the mash with 7 lb. (3.18 kg) English pale liquid until the yeast drops clear. With near boiling water while stirring or malt extract (If you can’t get fresh healthy yeast, fermentation should raise the temperature with a recircu - liquid malt extract, it is better to be complete in a week or less. lating mash system to mash out at use 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) English dried Allow the lees to settle and the 168 °F (76 °C). Sparge slowly with malt extract) brew to mature without pressure for 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting 0.5 lb. (227 g) Great Western another two days after fermentation wort until the pre-boil kettle volume crystal malt 15 °L appears finished. Rack to a keg is around 5.9 gallons (22.3 L) and 0.25 lb. (113 g) Great Western and force carbonate or rack to a the gravity is 1.048 (11.9 °P). crystal malt 120 °L bottling bucket, add priming sugar Once the wort is boiling, add 8.5 AAU East Kent Goldings hops and bottle. Target a carbonation the bittering hops. The total wort (1.7 oz./48 g at 5% alpha acids) level of 1 to 2 volumes depending boil time is one hour after adding (60 min.) on your packaging. the bittering hops. During that time 5 AAU East Kent Goldings hops If you’re cask conditioning the add any other kettle finings with 15 (1.0 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids) beer, add priming sugar, any cask minutes left in the boil and the last (0 min.) finings (gelatin or isinglass) and dry 1 1 hop addition at flame out. Chill the White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) or hop with ⁄4 to ⁄2 oz. (7 to 14 g) of wort to 68 °F (20 °C) and aerate Wyeast 1968 (London ESB Ale) whole East Kent Goldings hops. thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is yeast Allow the beer to condition in the 11 grams (0.4 oz.) of properly rehy - cask for several days and serve via drated dry yeast, 2 packages of liq - Step by Step a beer engine or by gravity feed at uid yeast, or 1 package of liquid Mill or coarsely crack the specialty 50 to 55 °F (10 to 13 °C). yeast in a 2-liter starter. malt and place loosely in a grain Ferment around 68 °F (20 °C) bag. Avoid packing the grains too

2 Best of Brew Your Own Magazine byo.com © Battenkill Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved recipes include other specialty malts. Keep in mind that there are many fac - ing, you can add the mineral salts to My favorites are Special Roast, tors at play in the final impression of your water before you heat it. For all Victory®, biscuit and aromatic, but a bitterness for the drinker. The starting other water types, first try brewing fine bitter can be made without them. and final gravities, the character malts this style without any additional min - Commercial recipes range from selected, the type of base malt, the eral salts. including minimal, low-color specialty yeast strain, the pitching rate, and Like many beer styles, fermenta - malt additions to considerable even the yeast cell size have an tion creates much of the flavor and amounts of mid-color malts. Some impact on the perceived bittering. For aroma in most British beers. “English” commercial recipes also use a little most strong bitters, a bitterness-to- yeast strains provide a variety of inter - chocolate or black malt for color. If starting gravity ratio (IBU divided by esting esters and tend to be low to you take this approach, the amount of OG) between 0.6 and 0.9 gives the moderately attenuating, leaving some highly kilned malt should be small proper result. The bulk of the hopping residual sweetness to balance the bit - enough that the flavor is not apparent should be as a bittering addition at terness and help fill out the beer. They in the finished beer. Use an ounce or 60 minutes. I prefer a single, large, are also extremely flocculent, which two (28–57 g) at most in a 5-gallon late hop addition near flame-out. This makes them ideal for cask condition - (19-L) batch. Specialty malts are a big gives the beer a noticeable hop aroma ing. These produce a fairly low part of what differentiates one brew - without too much hop flavor like level of esters at cool fermentation er’s bitter from another, so feel free to earlier additions may give. You can temperatures (<65 °F/18 °C) and experiment. If you do want to brew add multiple small hop additions abundant fruity esters and alcohol 1 1 a summer bitter, just replace any around ⁄4 to ⁄2 ounce (7 to 14 g) for a notes at high temperatures (>70 °F/21 specialty malts with more British pale 5-gallon (19-L) batch at 20 minutes °C). It is better to start in the middle ale malt. and later, but for this style I like one of this range, letting the temperature While corn, cane sugar and other larger addition. Remember that this slowly rise a few degrees over a cou - are traditional in brewing isn’t an extremely hoppy style, so ple days. This method creates the many English beers, I usually omit don’t go overboard. Traditional cask expected level of esters and keeps the them unless I’m crafting a big beer conditioning can include dry hopping, amount of diacetyl in the finished beer 1 1 and I need to increase wort fer - perhaps a ⁄4 to ⁄2 ounce (7 to 14 g) per at a minimum. mentability, I’m trying to thin the 5 gallons (19 L). If you do dry hop, My favorite yeasts for this style body, or I’m trying to reduce the reduce the late hop additions to are White Labs WLP002 (English intensity of the base malt flavors. If keep the hop flavor and aroma under Ale) and Wyeast 1968 (London ESB you’re using a less attenuative yeast control. Ale). They provide a nice ester profile and don’t have the ability to control Much has been written about the without being over the top. If you like the wort fermentability through mash high sulfate water of Burton-upon- to experiment, try to select English temperature, then replacing some Trent being a key element in brewing yeasts that create interesting ester base malt in your recipe with simple bitters. It is true that water with high profiles and an attenuation percentage sugar can help. Simple sugars ferment sulfate content enhances the sharp, from the upper 60s to the low 70s fully, thin the beer, and provide very bitter aspect of hops. However, this is Fahrenheit (low to mid 20s Celsius). If little in the way of flavor contribu - very easily overdone, which results in you prefer dry yeast, DCL Safale S- tions. I’ve seen recipes that use brown a chalky, metallic, or harsh character. 04 produces good results. No matter sugar, but don’t count on it to add Brewers today brew good bitter with which yeast you’re using, it is impor - much in the way of flavor. Use it only a wide range of water types. In most tant to aerate the wort immediately for thinning the beer. If you want to cases, any water is well suited as is before or after pitching your yeast. add brown sugar/caramel-type fla - unless it is on the soft end of the spec - Oxygen is important to proper cell vors, use caramel malts. Corn and trum. If you have soft water, add growth and growth is important to other non- adjuncts reduce the some gypsum or Burton salts, but beer flavor development. overall malt flavors, when used in start low, targeting half the amount of Serving bitter at around 55 °F place of the base malted barley. I pre - sulfate typical of Burton water. Use (13 °C), allows the character of the fer a bold base malt flavor, so I don’t no more than 1 teaspoon of Burton beer to come out and can improve use adjuncts in my strong bitter. salts per 5 gallons (19 L) or no more drinkability. Colder temperatures Bitters are best brewed with than 3 grams (0.1 oz.) of gypsum per prevent the drinker from picking up English hops, such as East Kent gallon (3.8 L). It is always better to the interesting fermentation and malt Goldings, Fuggles, Target, Northdown add less than more. While this won’t flavors and aromas, so don’t go below or Challenger. The bittering level for exactly mimic the water of Burton- 50 °F (10 °C). Target a carbonation strong bitter is in the range of 30 to upon-Trent, it is more than enough to level around 2 volumes of CO 2 for 50 IBU. What you’re targeting is accentuate the hop bitterness. You bottled, 1.5 volumes for kegged, noticeable hop bitterness without can add your mineral salts to the and 1 volume of CO 2 for cask condi - overwhelming the malt background. mash water or, if you’re extract brew - tioned beer.

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