haven't brewed since before thanksgiving... *shudder*... but getting back on the wagon with an ESB brewday on MLK day. gotta love having holidays off.

oh yeah, and you can thank the LHBS for a spur of the moment ESB. went in looking to get the ingredients for a scottish ale. they had them all, but they only sell grains by the pound... and my recipe only calls for 2 ounces of a couple different grains. why would i buy a whole pound of grain just for 2 ounces... especially peated malt... who could brew that much scottish ale before they go stale? it's ridiculous. i really am growing to despise that LHBS... oh yeah, and i'm having to sub willamette hops because they were out of fuggles. who runs out of fuggles?!?! but i digress...

3 gallon BIAB batch size...

5.0 lbs Maris Otter
.50 lbs Crystal 80
.50 lbs victory

single infusion mash, 154° F

.25 oz warrior, pellet, 60 minutes
.25 oz willamette, whole leaf, 60 minutes
.25 oz willamette, whole leaf, 20 minutes
.25 oz willamette, whole leaf, 7 minutes
.25 oz willamette, whole leaf, flameout
.50 oz east kent golding, pellet, dry hop
.25 oz east kent golding, pellet, flameout
.25 oz wlllamette, whole leaf, dry hop
.25 oz east kent golding, pellet, dry hop

i'll check back in with gravities and what not.

Looks good. Lots of hops.
What type yeast are you looking at using?

(I've purchased 1lb of Peated Smoked Malt. Still got 1/2 lb left.)

Sorry to hear about your LHBS troubles.

Just throw the other 14 oz of peated malt in a Wee Heavy.

Looks like a tasty ESB...if you can get it at your LHBS, I can't reccomend the Wyeast 1968 ESB yeast enough.

yeast will be straight up S-04... 1968 is great, and when i move up to bigger batch volumes, i can't wait to do starters and all that stuff, as well... but this go around, i really don't feel like soaking my brandy new netter bottle in PBW for eighty five days while the concret trub breaks up lol. plus, i do love that little blue sachet. plus, it's fun to type sachet. sachet. lol

I like the look of this one...makes me want to brew a Bitter again soon. Kind of a busy hop schedule but they arent huge ammounts. I agree Fuggles would have been great in this, but Willamette are some of my favorite as well. Bitters are about the only beer that I like the S04 in.

S04 is a good choice. Notty wouldn't have been bad (a good second choice).

This should be good. Agree with KNeace that the hop schedule looks busy. But I think it will have great flavor.

good luck

yeah, it is a busy hop schedule... i'm a big fan of hop flavor and aroma, so wanted to make sure to get those additions in (plus my thoughts were that the flameout addition will cover down on the flavor and aroma additions during the lag time it takes me chill).... plus, i don't want a ton of left over hops sitting around, so i might as well work them in to use them up

S-04 is a good choice for a bitter, especially an ESB. It's a bit more attenuative than 1968, so you might think of mashing a bit higher, especially since you do the free-fall mash.

alright... brew day is set for tomorrow. brew pot full of strike water is filled and sitting on the stove for the AM brew session. even got SWMBO's permission.

This is the most important step in brewing.

FYI, I go through a pound of peated malt fairly quickly. A few ounces in a Scottish Ale, and most of the rest in a Wee Heavy.

ended up mashing at 156&deg F...

adjusted the hop schedule, as well. i didn't take my recipe to the kitchen when i started measuring my hop additions... so i got confused a little and had to adapt. but, i like the way it's still looking.

mmm kay. yeast is pitched, and it's resting in a better bottle in a swamp cooler upstairs.

i don't have the gravity because the hydrometer test jar rolled off the edge of the counter and broke. so... all i know is: it's going to be beer. and i am ok with that.

didn't get a chance to dry hop this... changed the recipe to reflect.

bottled this last night. FG came in at 1.015... smelled great. the pipeline is flowing!

just had another one after sitting in the fridge for a couple weeks... VERY sweet finish. can't put my finger on it... almost like honey? i'll finish it and have another. maybe some priming sugar got caught on the lip of the bottle and mixed in when i poured? hmmm...

upon further assessment, it may have been the thin mint residue leftover in my mouth... all is well.

LOL! And you didn't notice the minty flavor?

well, my whole mouth was coated in mint chocolatey goodness, so i was kind of "palette blind", like when you drink an IPA and then try to drink a blonde... it all still tastes like hops.