Tasting Notes: ESB

The genesis of this beer was in a period of intense brewing leading up to this year's Longshot competition.  I had decided to enter pretty much at the last second, and was kind of scrambling for a third beer to enter (my friend Levi was supplying three beers, and with my three we were splitting Beer-d's six-for-the-price-of-five deal.) Eventually, I ended up not submitting it, favoring instead the Kosher (oyster) stout. As a result this has become somewhat of a neglected beer in my collection, and it wasn't until a couple of days ago that I decided to give it a proper tasting and write up notes. I kind of wish I hadn't waited so long, since Bitter should be drunk fresh, and after five months, this beer is beginning to loose its sparkle.

The Recipe:

Recipe: E.S.Bitching (ESB) TYPE: All Grain
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
---RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS-----------------------------------
SRM: 7.6 SRM  SRM RANGE: 6.0-18.0 SRM
IBU: 35.3 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 30.0-50.0 IBUs
OG: 1.057 SG  OG RANGE: 1.048-1.060 SG
FG: 1.015 SG  FG RANGE: 1.010-1.016 SG
BU:GU: 0.614  Calories: 535.8 kcal/l Est ABV: 5.6 %  
EE%: 72.00 % Batch: 20.00 l      Boil: 30.48 l BT: 90 Mins

---WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS----------------


Total Grain Weight: 5.08 kg Total Hops: 90.00 g oz.
---MASH/STEEP PROCESS------MASH PH:5.40 ------
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD WATER CHEMICALS BEFORE GRAINS!!<<<<<<<
Amt         Name                              Type    %/IBU         
4.75 kg     Pale Malt (Weyermann) (3.3 SRM)   Grain   93.5 %        
0.23 kg     Carahell (Weyermann) (13.0 SRM)   Grain   4.5 %         
0.10 kg     Caraaroma (130.0 SRM)             Grain   2.0 %         


Name     Description                   Step Temperat Step Time     
Mash In  Add 14.19l water at 74.7 C    67.0 C        60 min        

---SPARGE PROCESS---
Batch sparge: 3 steps (1.37l, 10.48l, 10.48l) of 75.6 C water

---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.046 SG Est OG: 1.057 SG
Amt         Name                                Type    %/IBU         
60.00 g     Goldings, E.K. [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop     35.3 IBUs     
0.50 Items  Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)         Fining  -             
30.00 g     Goldings, E.K. [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0  Hop     0.0 IBUs      


---FERM PROCESS-----------------------------
Primary Start: 5/8/2012 - 7.00 Days at 20.0 C
Secondary Start: 5/15/2012 - 10.00 Days at 18.3 C
Style Carb Range: 1.50-2.40 Vols
Bottling Date: 5/15/2012 with 1.9 Volumes CO2: 
---NOTES------------------------------------
Fermentation seemed to be over within 72 hours, so I started 

letting temp drop by one degree every 12 hours. This may not

 have been a good idae as FG ended up 1.019 instead of 1.014.

 Also ended up with 17.5L of beer instead of 20.

Taste Notes:
Overall the impression is of beer that is good, but past its prime. The carbonation was always a little light on this one, but when I tasted it it seemed particularly low. Don't know if that was just the specific bottle tough. 
Small stable head over translucent maple color 4/5
Aroma of some hops, caramel and brown sugar 6/10
Taste of some wood and light caramel medium body 6/10
Palate a little odd, and woody 2/5
Overall 12  Cumulative 29/50

This beer happened to also be reviewed by Keren MK in her blog where she says it was "Amber color, with aromas of malt and a touch of fruit, a little watery, bitter, with a grainy finish" (Translated from Hebrew). Others that have tasted this liked it a lot, but unfortunately, I don't have anything more detailed then "This is good" by way of review. :)

OOPS, Had a feeling I forgot something: The yeast used was English Ale Yeast (obviously). I used Dunstar Windsor, but I think it's no longer available in this country. I imagine Fermentis 04 would do a pretty similar job. (Thank Noam for the catch!)

Tasting Notes: Patriot Shame (APA)

Jews are by nature wine people. There's no other explanation for the fact that we have a holiday that requires you to drink four cups of wine in a single night, but forbids you from having beer for a week. Contrast that with the monks that LIVED on beer for 40 days, and you get the distinct sense that we (again) got shafted.

The upside of this is that it forces you to let the beer sit just a little longer. And sometimes the beer can really use the time. This was the case with this APA: I tasted it a week before Passover, made a face, and said "this needs a bit more time". So it was good timing for the holiday, for a change.

One thing that I did with this beer, that I've always wanted to do before but never got around to, is to compare tasting notes and brewing notes. This turned out to be very educational: My tasting notes talk about the beer being a bit thin and how it would benefit from a slightly higher mash temp. After I wrote that I went back to my brewing notes and found that, indeed, I did mash a bit lower than intended. It was good to see cause and effect outlined so clearly.

=================================================
Recipe as brewed:
Patriot Shame American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/2/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 20.00 l	Brewer: Boaz
Boil Size: 29.44 l	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (50L) and Cooler (24L)
Final Bottling Volume: 20.00 l	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage

Mash Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
4.50 kg	Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)	Grain	1	86.9 %
0.34 kg	Munich I (Weyermann) (6.1 SRM)	Grain	2	6.6 %
0.20 kg	Caramel Malt Pils (Shahar) (2.9 SRM)	Grain	3	3.9 %
0.14 kg	Medium Caramel/Crystal Malt - 45L - (45.0 SRM)	Grain	4	2.7 %

Mash Steps

Name	Description	Step Temperature	Step Time
Mash In	Add 14.46 l of water at 72.7 C *see below	66.7 C	60 min

Batch sparge with 3 steps (0.86l, 10.13l, 10.13l) of 75.6 C water
Estimated pre-boil gravity is 1.044 SG

Boil Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
20.00 g	Galena [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min	Hop	5	30.8 IBUs
7.00 g	Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min	Hop	6	14.2 IBUs
12.00 g	Cascade [5.40 %] - Boil 10.0 min	Hop	7	1.8 IBUs
7.00 g	Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min	Hop	8	2.8 IBUs

Steeped Hops

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
18.00 g	Cascade [5.40 %] - Aroma Steep 2.0 min	Hop	9	0.0 IBUs
16.00 g	Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.50 %] - Aroma Steep 2.0 min	Hop	10	0.0 IBUs
10.00 g	Galena [11.00 %] - Aroma Steep 2.0 min

Fermentation Ingredients

Amt	Name	Type	#	%/IBU
1.0 pkg	Fermentis Ale Yeast US-05	Yeast	12	-

--------------------------------------------------------------
Original recipe numbers (Listed in the recipe I used):
OG 1.052
FG 1.013
Attenuation 74%
IBU 40
Color 7 SRM
Alcohol 5.1% ABV
PreBoil 1.044
--------------------------------------------------------------
Brewing notes:
*Mash in: 14.5L @ 76 +.5L after daugh-in yielded mash at 65.5-66C <== This is probably the cause of the thinner body

Fermentation Notes:
Yeast pitched at 19.2 after 24 hrs
8 hours after pitch raised temp from 20 to 21.3 to try to get a bit extra attenuation due to lower than expected OG
After 8 days temp raised to 22.2 for diacitile and attenuation
12.3 (10 days) FG (by corrected refractometer) 1.008
13.3 (11 days) drop to laget temp (4C)
17.3 (15 days) Reached 4C
24.3 Bottled 21.3 Liters
---------------------------------------------------------
Taste Notes:
Appearance: Light copper, mostly clear with a large foamy head
Aroma: Citrus and Grapefruit, hoppy with a bit of yeast
Taste: Firm bitterness upfront, grapefruit and lemon, body a bit thin - probably overly carbonated a bit since carbonation is very lively
Palate: nice and bitter, fairly long
Overall: Good. Beer tastes rather like a light IPA, which if you think of and American IPA as a sort of extra-hoppy APA makes sense. For next version I would try slightly higher mash temp, sightly lower carbonation, and maybe just a touch more hops - probably as late addition
==============================================

One thing I thought about this morning, after I re-read the notes, was the hop schedule. When I tasted this beer I felt it needed a bit more hop character, and had originally though about another (late) hop addition. Re-reading this now I realize that while the character is a bit lacking, the bitterness is above and beyond the guidelines for an APA, and has in fact strayed into IPA territory. This causes me to think: Maybe the reason I feel the need for more hoppiness, is because of the extra bitterness. It is possible that, having drank many an IPA, I come to expect certain hop character at certain levels of bitterness, and my palate is interpreting this beer as a not-quite hoppy enough an IPA, rather than an APA. (The styles ARE very close, after all). So in looking at this recipe now, I think I would not add another hop addition, but rather move one of the bittering additions (probably the Challenger) to a later stage, thus reducing the overall bitterness, and upping the perceived hop character at the same time. (lower carbonation will help this too, I think). This is why it's good to re-brew a recipe several times: You get to experiment and test different ideas.

Tasting Notes: Hoppy Burton Ale (English IPA)

Taking a page from Mike "The Mad Fermentist" I've decided to start posting tasting notes for my beers. I've often wondered what my beers would rate like if I could post them on ratebeer, and this seems like a good way to quantify the experience in order to improve the beers in the future.

A general note about tasting notes: These are my personal impressions. If you have tried the beers I'm rating and would like to add your own evaluation, you are encouraged to do so in the comments for the appropriate beer.

Hoppy Burton Ale Ver. 1
A note about the name: After my diatribe about American IPAs I wanted to call this beer something that would distinguish it from the style. While it is true that the IPA is, fundamentally, an English beer, I felt that the "IPA" designation conjures certain expectations that this beer does not, and was never meant to meet.

Appearance - This beer is pretty. There's no other way to describe it. Deep golden color bordering on copper. A solid white head and decent lacing. Beer is somewhat hazy, though. I don't know if a couple more weeks of aging would clear that, or is it just a natural result of dry hoping (in primary, no less).

Aroma - I must admit that I was a little disappointed at the aroma at first. I poured the beer, sniffed it, and smelled almost nothing. But then I let it sit for a bit, and once it got a little warmer (about 12C) the beer just "opened up". All of the sudden there was a whole bouquet of aromas. Earthy notes, spices, and forest. It was a little disconcerting not to have the grapefruit notes that we all to often associate with (American) IPAs, but there was plenty of nose to satisfy. Still, I think it would benefit from more aroma next time.

Taste and Palate - Firm bitterness with plenty of hop flavor. Palate lasted a good 10-15 minutes. Very balanced and a good malt background means that it doesn't give you that lop-sided sear-your-throat taste that some IPAs can. In the same way that the beer could use some more aroma, it could also use a little more flavor (not bitterness, just flavor). But on the whole very nice.

Drinkability and general notes - Medium body and good mouth feel. This is a nicely drinkable beer. It needs to be served cool rather than cold, which is typical of English beers I suppose. Carbonation is a little on the high side for the style, and could be toned down a notch as well. All in all, I'm very pleased with the result.

Notes for next version - More late addition hops would benefit this beer. Perhaps something around the 5 minute mark, or simply adding more hops to the 10 min and dry-hop stops. This recipe calls for challenger, fuggle and E.K. Golding hops, with challenger being a bittering addition only, so perhaps a good choice here would be to add a little of it to the flavor stop as well.
Carbonation on this batch was 2.4 volumes, and should probably be dialed down to 2.3 or 2.2. This, along with the higher serving temperature, will give it more of a "real ale" feel, which is where this beer originates, after all.

Recipe (as brewed):

Batch Size (fermenter): 20.00 l	Brewer: Boaz
Boil Size: 29.44 l	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 80 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (50L) and Cooler (24L)
Final Bottling Volume: 20.00 l	Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.3 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.2 %
Est Color: 10.4 SRM

4.00 kg	Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)	Grain	1	85.0 %
0.18 kg	Wheat Malt, Bel (2.3 SRM)	Grain	3	3.8 %
0.18 kg	Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)	Grain	4	3.8 %
0.25 kg	Medium Caramel/Crystal Malt - 45L (45.0 SRM)	Grain	2	5.3 %
0.10 kg	Dark Caramel/Crystal Malt -107L (107.0 SRM)	Grain	5	2.1 %
45.00 g	Challenger [7.00 %] - Boil 80.0 min	Hop	6	38.1 IBUs
45.00 g	Fuggles [5.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min	Hop	7	19.8 IBUs
30.00 g	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days	Hop	14	0.0 IBUs
0.50 tsp	Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins)	Fining	9	-
15.00 g	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 25.0 min	Hop	8	6.0 IBUs
10.00 g	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min	Hop	11	1.1 IBUs

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body	Total Grain Weight: 4.71 kg
Sparge Water: 15.12 l	Grain Temperature: 16.0 C
Sparge Temperature: 75.6 C	Tun Temperature: 22.2 C
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 13.16 l of water at 75.1 C 66.7 C 60 min Mash Out Add 6.84 l of water at 95.7 C

Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 125.67 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 125.67 g Corn Sugar

Yeast: S-04 (Fermentis)
Fermentation Temp: 20C