The How My Averagely Perfect ESB Turned Out Thread

Anyone package yet and have feedback?

 

I bottled on the 27th. Kept a couple bottles in my kitchen behind some stuff in the back of a cabinet to keep it above 62 degrees but below 70 consistently. First bottle will be had this weekend.

I will wait until I drink a carbed up bottle before making too many comments, but will say one thing:
I have used Target and EKG before and know I like those. But from the moment I opened the Northdown packaging, I felt like following my nose and not using it. Through out my process something was sticking out as not right smell and flavor wise, and that is all that comes to mind.

 

Thanks for the tip on Northdown - The AP/ESB is first on my docket for when I come out of my summer hiatus and if others feel the same I might drop it.

 

Definitely Murphy's Law when I brewed this one yesterday:

• Delayed due to unexpected thunderstorms, relocated to ad hoc garage setup.
• Stuck mash that I had to scoop out with a strainer to get my wort.
• Dropped strainer in brew kettle twice & had to start over.
• Broke not one, but two thermometers.
• Forgot to add kettle salts.
• Homemade invert (more like inert) sugar was tough to get in the boil due to stickiness.
• Due to a lack of a thermometer, I had to guess at wort temp before transferring to carboy. It was 94 at first, and was only just a shade under 85 when I pitched because it was 11:30pm and I'd had enough.

More than anything, this tells me I need to replace my rectangular cooler mash tun. I thought I had fixed it after it did this two batches ago, and the last one went off without a hitch. I haven't brewed since we moved, so maybe the 6 month layoff contributed to my ineptitude. Oh well, RDWHAHB.

Due to a lack of 1469 at my LHBS, I ended up using 1768. I'll post my results if the high pitching temp doesn't kill off too many cells. I pitched at a rate of .81m cells.

 

Wow, that sounds like the brew day from hell! Better luck next time!

 

I cheated here and got Golden light syrup. Maybe not the same, but I knew making invert would not go well with my skilz...

 

Definitely going this route in the future. I underestimated how difficult it would be to regulate the temperature on an electric stove.

 

So the night has come. Bottle one was cracked with a nice sharp hiss. Poured a deep golden or copper colored. Perhaps from not using true Invert #2. Nice white head, that quickly faded away. Little to no lacing while drinking. Smell is kind of meh to me. I get some EKG/Target, with some hints of malt. Good news here. The urinal cake smell that I got when opening the Northdown hops is not present like it was at bottleing. Big relief for me there, just I guess I was expecting a little more here. Taste is nice and balanced at first slight malt, slight hop, slightly bitter. To me the bitter becomes muted almost clingy to the tongue, and the dry-ish finish makes it stand out more. Not sure if this is more of the Northdown. Feel is fairly smooth until the end where it feels like dry tongue, as mention before from a slightly dry finish. Over all I am impressed with how it turned out. Will try making it again and switch some hops around to see if that changes it up for me. Again the Northdown literally smelled like a urinal cake when I opened the package, was not really looking forward to drinking anything with that in it, yet most of that smell is not there.

 

I like me some urinal cake.

 

I kid you not when I say I almost went out and bought different hops.

 

Is it possible the package was just bad?

 

Maybe. Also I did not see any for of date on the labeling, so for all I know it was years old. I would think some of the bigger websites that sell it would have good turn around on it though.

 

Not to interrupt this thread, but this is a SUPER cool idea. Sort of a crowd-sourced recipe. From a cursory search it looks like you all have done more styles than just this ESB. Any favorites?

 

My first and only one was the AP NEIPA (also run by Vikeman) and I loved it. Excited to partake in this one but not until September for me.

ETA: I actually forgot that it's my avatar

 

The two IPA recipes yielded great beers for me. I did not like the saison, mostly because the Brett took away everything I like about saison, the awesome sacch yeast characteristics. I brewed the stout's grist but changed the hopping because (1) I had an American stout in my keezer and (2) I am not overly fond of chinook.

 

Yeah, those phenolics tend to overpower the pepper/rotundone and any esters that might be produced will be hydrolyzed more quickly.

Did anyone brew it without the brett addition?

 

Vikeman has run few of these and I think they are all in the recipe section, I think they have all gone over well with those that brewed them. I haven't made any yet but I really appreciate the progression of the threads and seeing how more experienced Brewers go about designing a recipe. I think the very first one (ipa) will be on my short list for my next brew.