Extra Special

I've had glandular fever and been bedridden for the past two months. Not so much fun. In my current state I'm unable to brew but my wife Bron volunteered to brew for me. That's true love right there.

The first beer she did under my direction was an ESB. My favourite ESB, actually one of my favourite beer experiences ever, was at Redoak. Everything was perfect, it was a warm day, I was dodging class with a good mate and I was just discovering the possibilities of craft beer.

That ESB was a revelation to me, one I'll probably be chasing for the rest of my life.

For the brew I was limited to a partial mash because I don't yet have a pot big enough to do a full 23l all grain batch. I was aiming for a deep copper colour, assertive bitterness and some restrained fruitiness. I've used East Kent Golding hops a bit before so I went for Fuggles for something different. I went for a liquid yeast this time and propogated the yeast on 'slants' so I can bring my costs down. I'll post about that another time.

The Hargreaves Hill ESB. Delicious.

Recipe on Hopville.

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.017
IBU: 47

2kg Marris Otter
2kg Light DME
200g Crystal 120 EBC
100g Crystal 270 EBC

50g Northern Brewer @ 60 min
40g Fuggles @ 20 min
40g Fuggles @ 0 min

Wyeast 1968 London ESB

5/2/12 - Brew day. Went off without any drama.
6/2/12 - Pitched the yeast. Ferocious fermentation.
12/2/12 - Airlock is still, I'll leave it a few days and then get it into bottles.