Beer Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
(8C)
Recipe Type: extract
Yield: 5 US gallons
I cooked this batch up after realizing the two lagers I was working on wouldn't be ready 'til spring. I wanted something fairly quick. I made some modifications to John Palmer's "Lord Crouchback's ESB" recipe from his excellent on-line book (www.howtobrew.com) to darken it a tiny bit and get hints of nut-brown ale involved, and cooked it up. To my astonishment, it turned out to be one of the best tasting beers I've ever had. It's not very nutty, but it's got a complex flavor, with a nice balance of hops and caramelly malt flavors. The color is darkish and reddish, really quite beautiful.
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.013
Alcohol by Vol: 5.89%
Recipe Type: extract
Yield: 5.00 US Gallons
(Experienced brewers will get all info needed in Ingredients list above; for beginning brewers, I've tried to be very thorough with the instructions below:)
1. Boil 2 gallons and put it in fermenter.
2. Bring 3 more gallons to 160 degrees.
3. Put 1 lb. Crystal 60L malt in nylon grainbag, tie off, chuck into pot. Keep flame on until wort gets back to 160, then shut flame off, put the lid on and set timer for 60 minutes. Meanwhile, put another pot on the stove and boil a gallon or two of water in it, then turn it off and let it cool with the lid on.
4. Put your hops in 3 small grainbags, an ounce in each. You don't have to do this, but it makes things a lot easier if you do.
5. Dump all the malt extract into the pot and stir it up until there are no clumps on the bottom where they could burn. Once it's all in solution, put the flame back on and heat it up to boiling.
6. When it's boiling nicely, skim the foam off the top and throw it away, then pop the Northern Brewers into the pot. Set the timer for 30 minutes. Don't put the lid back on. Keep it at a rolling boil.
7. When the timer goes off, toss one of your Yakima Goldings bags in and set the timer for 15 minutes.
8. Repeat Step 7 for the last ounce of Goldings.
9. When the timer goes off, turn off the flame, put the lid on the pot and cool it to room temp as fast as you can. Put it in the fermenter, top up to 5 gallons with the water you boiled earlier, check temp. It needs to be under 80 degrees. Cool it down some more if it's not there yet.
10. Pitch yeast, fit airlock or blowoff tube and let 'er rip.
I bottle conditioned mine for two weeks but the few bottles I snuck out early tasted fine. You could probably get away with just one week in glass if you were really thirsty.
Source: Finn John