Jesus, I was on my phone earlier when I responding and I couldnt see the reveal photo for some reason. So Im sorry Cardsman I was mistaken, so yea I was #4.

Is this a 5 Gallon batch?

This beer seems really low on LME/DME, I think youre going to need to up the malt extract a bit. I also think the IBUs are a little low, Id put an extra 1/2 oz at 20 mins to up it a bit.


I plugged this all into Beersmith assuming a 5 gallon batch and got some different numbers, most concerning is with that much LME the OG was 1.039. Id probably up it to 6-7lbs even.

Great, gonna go with 6 lbs malt. The beer I'm sort of designing this after only has 21 IBUs so I thought I'd keep it on the low side. Might up the hops 1/4 oz or 1/2 oz though. Thank you again.

I hope you like your beer really sweet. That 1lb of honey malt is going to give crazy sweet honey flavor.

Thats the idea! Is it excessive or would scaling back to like 1/2 lb be better?

My personal tastes would lead me to scale back but if you are fond of an intense honey sweetness then just let it ride.

Had a great brewday on Friday, another Saison. I brewed a Saison with Sorachi Ace and Simcoe 2 weeks ago that dried out big time using WLP 565 it finished at 1.002.

Then on Friday I brewed another one with the same grain bill but different hop schedule. Hit my numbers on the day, 1.066OG but ended up with 1/2 gallon more than I expected 11.5 gallons into the fermenter.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 14.17 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.54 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.60 gal
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 4.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 39.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 70.7 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
21 lbs Pilsner (Weyermann) (1.7 SRM) Grain 1 80.8 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 5.8 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat - White Malt (Briess) (2.3 SRM) Grain 3 5.8 %
2 lbs Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 4 7.7 %
1.00 oz Falconers Flight [10.50 %] - Boil 60.0 m Hop 5 17.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 10.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 7.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 4.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
2.0 pkg Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565 Yeast 10 -
1.0 pkg Farmhouse Brett (East Coast Yeast #ECY03 Yeast 11 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 26 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 31.00 qt of water at 158.7 F 148.0 F 90 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 4 steps (Drain mash tun, , 3.18gal, 3.18gal, 3.18gal) of 172.0 F water
Notes:
------

I split the batch into 2 fermenters, one got 200ml of harvested wlp565 from the previous brew and the other got a 1.5L starter of ECY03 Farmhouse Brett. Both got going in less than 3 hours, I finished brewing went out to happy hour came back and both fermenters were already bubbling.

Is there a general rule of thumb for pitching rates on washed yeast? I usually get about 3/4 a 12oz bottle of slurry of which 1/3 the bottle settles into yeast at the bottom.

Right now I'm just making 750ml starters with 1/2 cup DME but have no idea how much I'm pitching. Is the only way to know involve a microscope?

Are you saying this is from a 5G batch? That seems really low ... how long are you letting your primary go before collecting the yeast?

I'm sure there's something in the Jamil calculator that tells you, but for most batches I just use "a medium amount" and for big beers ( like the 1.126 OG I just did ) I use "a ****load" ... I like violent fermentations

Maybe I worded that confusingly. When I wash my yeast I collect 4 beer bottles worth of yeast. I then store them in my fridge until I'm ready to use the yeast. I take one bottle from fridge and make a 750ml starter with it. I pitch this starter into a 5gal batch. I usually use a stir plate but am wondering how I can estimate my cell count either way.

Are you using Jamil's rate pitch calculator at Mrmalty.com ?

If not you definitely should be, it'll help you get a good idea of you pitching rates from washed yeast.

It'll tell you a volume to use, so you might was to decant the bottles and leave the slurry then pour it into a flask with the proper graduations. Then pitch that into your starter.

For stepping up starters, this is a great link.

Mr. Malty Rate Pitching Calculator

Thanks guys. Playing around with the calculator it seems I'm pitching around the correct rate. Cheers!

So I did a tasting of a few of the ESB's that were brewed. I already reviewed RDH's beer, although I still have another one of his but I could only manage to drink so many beers at one time.

First, Lacticacid's ESB



Deep copper in color pretty spot on for the style. Thin off white
head leaving a bit of foam on top decent lacing. ***Head seems to hang
around better than I had originally thought.

Dark fruit aromas present, possibly figs and raisons, really intriguing. Maybe some apples
or pears mixed in as well

Toasty malt flavors feed to a bit of bitterness leaving an after taste
of fruit (apple?). Really nice beer, solid carb level and really nice
fruity esters make this an interesting beer and a very good session beer.


Second, Cardsman'S ESB (I think? Correct me if I am wrong)



Nice deep copper color with thin off white head that leaves tiny
coating, minimal lacing.

Smells malty with a touch of roast.

Malt forward, a bit of an under cooked loaf of bread taste. Minimal
bitterness up front that fades immediately.Medium to soft carbonation
is appealing.

I felt this one lacked a bit of a fruity ester character to balance out the hops and malt, dont get me wrong it was a good beer but a few of the other beers were a bit more well rounded. Maybe the beer was fermented a touch cold? Or maybe the yeast used isnt as fruity.


And here are the 2 beers next to mine as a color comparison, in this order...

Lacticacid, Cardsman, Coff



Mine was the lightest in color of the 3, which is funny bc I think others saw mine as darker in other reviews.

Although it wasnt featured in this tasting, I think RDH wins for best beer in this little experiment Ive only had the 1968 version but so far its my favorite. I actually enjoyed mine alot as well, apparently since it is now gone.

Edit: If I goofed up on whos bottle was whos please let me know.

Any talk of doing another of these "brew the same recipe, then trade" deals? I'm for sure in next time.

Yeah I'd like to do another one. I'll have to stay on the ball this time so I send off and receive beer though :P.

Have any of your guys ESB's become more fruity over time? Mines almost kicked but tastes quite a bit fruitier now then it did in the 2-4 week range.

I bottled a 12 pack of the ESB off the keg, made trades shared brews etc, and I have 2 left. But one thing I did notice was the bitterness started to fade a bit which in turn made it seem like a fruitier beer.

I might be in for another one, I have a Citra IPA to brew next then I'll be in for another round.

I wonder how much time in the bottle effects taste and clarity. As I didn't get much fruit in mine from the keg and was disappointed. I swear I didn't doctor the pictures, so surprised it looks so dark. I wonder if cold warm cold impacts clarity or color.

Just kegged my Belgian mild last night. It has a mini brown porter vibe. Brewing a Belgian imperial stout this weekend.

Sure, I'm up for it, it was fun. Can generally brew whatever whenever now that I've got my lager fermentation, ale fermentation, and serving units all up and running (brag).

I've been wanting to do a Scottish Ale for a while now. I've got plenty of hoppy beers at home so something more malt accentuated would be favorable for me at the moment.

We should narrow it down to 3 beers and have a vote. I have a feeling we might have more people involved this time.

ChicagoRY (sp) showed interest a few weeks ago to.

I'm having my first kind in like a week or two so who knows what kind of time I'm going to have.

I am down for this.

FYP?

haha, yea thanks. My first kid, not kind.

Nice congrats ... if your last name starts with A go for the IPA initials