DSB ESB

Target Gravity -- 1.060
Original Gravity -- 1.066
52 IBU

Malt Bill:
22# Maris Otter
2# 60l Crystal
1# CaraAroma
.5# Carapils
Hop Schedule:
60 -- 4oz Willamette (4.8%AA)
30 -- 2oz Willamette (4.8%AA)
15 -- 2oz Willamette (4.8%AA)

Brewday Notes:
Mashing thicker than normal 1.3 quarts per pound to produce more dextrines and body. Mash and sparge water was approximately 1:3 reverse osmosis water:Crawford, thinking it may be closer to the harder English water.

8:24 -- Dough-in
8:41 -- 152 degrees
9:36 -- Run-off begins
11:29 -- Run-off ends
11:57 -- Boil Begins
1:00 -- Boil Ends
1:07 -- Chilling Begins
2:10 -- Chilling Done
2:15 -- Beer #1 (1968) Ice Bath Begins
2:47 -- Beer #2 (1028) Ice Bath Begins
3:15 -- END

Mashing thicker went well, and I will likely abandon the 1.3 quart per pound as my norm. Mash / Lauter tun overflowed during sparge, so I will just keep my eye on it next time I use that much sparge water. I also had to bottle a little bit of wort so to check the gravity later because I broke my hydrometer today.

Looking at the times above, I think I will shoot for an 1.5 hour run-off rather than the 2 hour. I have been trying deliberately to lengthen my run-off since I had a bad efficiency day not long ago when I ran off very quickly. This beer came in .006 points higher than I planned for, so a more normal run-off should help that. I am impressed that chilling only took an hour, and that I had the presence of mind (relative sobriety) to let each beer sit in the ice bath for a half hour.

DSB ESB Notes

11.03.09 -- Read gravity from bottled wort (1.066)

1968:
11.22.09 -- Racked into secondary Final Gravity = 1.019 (6.1% ABV)
12.19.09 -- Kegged.



1028:
11.22.09 -- Bottled. Final gravity = 1.017 (6.4% ABV)
2.27.10 -- Tasting the 1028 version:

• Appearance: This beer has been cloudy since I first tapped the keg however long ago. It is now beginning to clear a bit, and is a very nice copper hue when held to the light. The head is ample and stays around for a while.
• Smell: Not a very aromatic beer. The biggest smell I notice is a bit of earthiness from the Willamette. I expected to smell more of the yeast character, but I do not.
• Taste: Hop character seems to be the lead with a good malty sweetness to back it up some. The hop flavors linger more than the malt, and the English yeast helps tie it together, adding a tiny bit of fruitiness the American strains do not have.
• Mouthfeel: This beer has a nice medium body that is perhaps accented by a higher level of carbonation than what is recommended for this style.
• Overall: I think this came out quite well, and cannot think of many things I would change. If pressed, I would say I would get back into the habit of using clarifying agents since this one took so long to clear. I might experiment more with biscuit malt in a beer like this as well. It will be fun to see how the 1028 version compares.

3.29.10 -- 1028 version scores a 32 in the Peach State Brew Off (VG). I expected better.
4.5.10 -- Here is the score sheet from said competition. Maybe I should not have been so down on my 32