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tthhee bbeesstt ooff EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER 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 ale malt 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 beer 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 pale ale malts. 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 brewing 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 American pale ale. 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 beers. If you find in many American-type pale you use North American two-row ales. 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 yeast 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 Continued on page 3 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 liquor 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 hops 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.