Can't figure out how to nail an ESB

[mlager]

One of the things I love so much about a nice ESB is a quality I can only describe as raisin like... Every time I try to brew a so called ESB, I end up with just an average pale ale, nothing impressive. Without going into the recipes I've been brewing, what grains really lend themselves to this rasin like flavor I enjoy so much?

 

[emjay]

Raisin notes often come from the darker crystal malts. Special B is probably the most extreme example, but that one isn't exactly used in English beers.

Yeast MIGHT also make the difference - both the strain you're using and the temperature you're fermenting at. I think you probably just need some darker crystal in the grist (use sparingly!) but what strain and ferm temp are you using?

 

[mlager]

I typically have used a white labs English ale yeast around 68 degrees, I may have been trying to get my beer to the darker colorni desire by using roasted grain rather than a darker crystal, that's a great suggestion. The darker crystal will lend more malty like flavors without roasting the darn thing up.

Good stuff.

 

[Yooper]

I typically have used a white labs English ale yeast around 68 degrees, I may have been trying to get my beer to the darker colorni desire by using roasted grain rather than a darker crystal, that's a great suggestion. The darker crystal will lend more malty like flavors without roasting the darn thing up.

Good stuff.

Yes, a crystal of 120L or higher will really help give that toffee/raisiny flavor. Roasted grains really don't belong in an ESB.

 

[calebawilson]

Hit it with the 120!

 

[BigEd]

One of the things I love so much about a nice ESB is a quality I can only describe as raisin like... Every time I try to brew a so called ESB, I end up with just an average pale ale, nothing impressive. Without going into the recipes I've been brewing, what grains really lend themselves to this rasin like flavor I enjoy so much?

I think you do need to supply some of your recipe information as well as the name of a commercial version that you enjoy to get some quality feedback here. Fuller's ESB is the quintessential version and is at its' heart a pretty simple beer. IMO a lot of American homebrewers try to over think and over complicate this style. A good base of quality UK pale malt, a little crystal malt and hop presence from the right UK varieties are the short list of necessities. Raisin-like flavor is not something that comes to my mind for an ESB although if you are looking for a specific grain a dark European crystal like Special-B or CaraAroma can produce some raisiny/dried fruit character.

 

[lumpher]

raisin is definitely not what i think of when i think of esb. for 5 gallons, and this is up for individual interpretation, to get that flavor you want and still close enough to an esb:

9 lbs maris otter
.7 c120
1 carapils
.75 munich

 

[stevedasleeve]

My first and only ESB used Aromatic malt and C80 with Safale S-04 yeast. It was perfect IMHO and is a rebrew this week!

 

[mlager]

All fantastic suggestions... Now I know I've been doing it wrong. A couple of ESB's that I really enjoy are the Breckenridge ESB which is probably the most raisin / toffee like flavor, and I also really like the left hand sawtooth ale too.

 

[azscoob]

I think what you are looking for are the esters produced by the yeast during fermentation, maybe a little dark grain contribution, but I think it is mainly the yeast that give the fruit notes you are seeking in your English ales.

Can you post your recipe? maybe we can make a couple changes in the recipe or process.

Try fermenting at 65 degrees, let it rise to 68 then up to 70 towards the end of fermentation

 

[mlager]

Here is one of the recipes I did for a 5 gallon batch:

13.5 lbs Maris otter
.5 lbs brown malt
.5 lbs crystal 40
.5 lbs crystal 80

3 oz Kent goldings @ 60
1 oz Kent goldings @ 10
Wlp002 (English ale) @ 68 F

I'm thinking maybe get rid of the brown malt and replace the crystal with 1 pound for 120?

 

[BigEd]

Here is one of the recipes I did for a 5 gallon batch:

13.5 lbs Maris otter
.5 lbs brown malt
.5 lbs crystal 40
.5 lbs crystal 80

3 oz Kent goldings @ 60
1 oz Kent goldings @ 10
Wlp002 (English ale) @ 68 F

I'm thinking maybe get rid of the brown malt and replace the crystal with 1 pound for 120?

Getting rid of the brown malt is a good start. If it's a deeper color you're after try an ounce or so of chocolate malt instead. A full pound of 120L is way too much IMO, the dark crystals can be very aggressive. Drop the 80 crystal, up the 40 to a pound and add a 1/4 lb of 120. You can replace the deleted 1/2 lb of brown malt with another 1/2 lb of the pale malt if you like.

 

[devilishprune]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that maybe it didn't turn out because your OG was probably over 1.070.