Extra Short Bus Bitter Homebrew

Brew Day #5 is coming on us quickly. I enjoyed myself quite a bit watching the brewing on the last two Brew Days, but this time I'm going to try my hand at it. KC Hophead was kind enough to offer the use of some of his equipment. I'm really hoping I don't screw something up.

The theme for this Brew Day is British beer, so I decided to go with an ESB, Extra Special Bitter.  ESBs are hoppier and have a slightly higher ABV than a traditional British session bitter.  Malts are pronounced to keep hops in balance.  Fuller's ESB is probably the best known of the style.  Many brewers put this out as a winter seasonal, so that also seemed appropriate for this time of year.

I found what looks like a simple enough recipe on BeerRecipe.org.

Ingredients: 5 to 6 pounds, Alexander's pale malt extract 1/2 pound, crystal malt, crushed 10 ounces, dextrose (optional) 1-1/4 ounces, Cascade hops (boil) 1/4 ounce, Cascade hops (finish) Munton & Fison ale yeast corn sugar for priming

OG: 1.058 FG: 1.022

Procedure: Steep crystal malt and sparge twice. Add extract and dextrose and bring to boil. Add Cascade hops and boil 60 minutes. In last few minutes add remaining 1/4 ounce of Cascade (or dry hop, if desired). Chill and pitch yeast.

Submitted by: Fred Condo

See?  Easy enough I shouldn't screw things up too bad.  A friend who lives on a farm grew some hops this year, for tea of all things.  She had some extra and was willing to donate it to the cause.  She thinks its Nugget, which I think will go well with a ESB.

For the rest of the ingredients I went to Bacchus & Barleycorn out in Shawnee, KS.  This was my first time to a home brew shop, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I know from experience that most specialty shops can be very insular and wary of non-regulars.  Even though I'm not very familiar with Kansas, I was able to find the place easy enough.  The weather was nice so the front doors were open to let in the cool evening air.  Inside it was very well lit and incredibly CLEAN!  It took me a second to comprehend that there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere.  I have three kids and two dogs, I have come to accept my life will be covered in some sort of grubbiness.  Not here.  Everything was well organized and there was no clutter on the shelves.  They seem to understand that there is such a thing as too much inventory.

The lady behind the counter spotted the recipe in my hand, and shooed an employee over to help me.  The kid (who I'm not sure he's old enough to drink) was really nice, but it did seem like he was new on the job.  He knew the layout of the store and helped me gather the things I need, but seemed a little unsure on the register.  It's cool.  The other lady was really patient and walked him through it.  I ended up getting a Basic Starter Kit, plus some extra grain and Cascade hops for the recipe.  All together it was about $100.  Not too bad.  I'll check back with you in a few weeks to let you know if this "special" guy could make a special bitter.

Cheers and Beers!