Extra Extra Special Bitter

Brew Day: 3/14/15

Bottle Day: 4/1/15

 

Original Gravity: 1.055

Final Gravity: 1.014

Estimated ABV: ~5.5%

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs Dark Malt Extract Syrup
• 1 lb Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
• 3 lbs Maris Otter Light Malt Extract Syrup
• 3 oz UK First Gold
• 2 oz UK Target
• 2 oz UK Phoenix
• 1 tbsp Irish Moss (for clarity)

Brew Day — 3/14/15

1. Fill beer kettle with 3 gallons of water and bring to a boil.

 

2. When water is boiling, add all malt extract and boil for one hour.

 

3. Add hops:

• 1:00 – 2 oz UK Target
• 0:45 – 2 oz UK Phoenix
• 0:30 – 1 oz UK First Gold
• 0:15 – 1 oz UK First Gold
• 0:05 – 1 oz UK First Gold

4. With 15 minutes left in the boil, add 1 tbsp of Irish Moss (for clarity).

5. After boiling for 60 minutes, turn heat off and add 2 gallons of cold water to bring total volume to 5 gallons.

6. Sanitize big mouth bubbler.

7. Filter wort through a mesh bag from brew kettle into the primary fermenter.

8. Cool the wort in the bathtub ice bath.

Bottle Day:

1. Sanitize all equipment.

2. Transfer beer into bottling bucket.

3. Put fizz drops in bottles in growlers. One drop per bottle, three drops per growler.

4. Use bottling wand to transfer beer into bottles and growlers.

5. Cap bottles and growlers and let the beer age for a week or two.

The ESB is well carbonated and relatively clear, definitely a success! There is a bitter and hoppy essence, which is exactly what the goal was, but has a pretty generic homebrew-ey flavor that we have had in a lot of our beers regardless of flavoring and styles. The color is wonderful and it tastes light but flavorful. Definitely a tasty beer!