So, as many home brewers may now be aware, Northern Brewer now has its own yeast strain furnished by the fine folks at Wyeast.
Welcome 1945 NeoBritannia to your brewing yeast library by brewing many varieties of English ales. This strain has been formulated to develop a thick, dense krausen (very distinct in the picture) which makes it ideal for top-cropping and open fermentations.
I decided to try my hand at an ESB with the new strain to see how it handles a classic English ale with all UK Boadicea hops.
It's too early to tell how the beer turned out, as it is still in the primary fermenter, but my airlock sniffing sense is tingling.
Here's the recipe:
Boadicea ESB
5 gallons
Target OG 1.058
- 9 lb English pale malt (I used Fawcett Optic, but you can use Maris Otter or Golden Promise also)
- 1 lb Simpsons Medium Crystal
- 2 oz Belgian Biscuit
- 1 oz Simpsons Black
Mash thick 1.25 qt/lb at 152 for 60 minutes
- 1 lb Corn Sugar (end of boil)
Hops (all UK Boadicea pellets, 7.3% AA)
- 60 min 1 oz
- 15 min 1 oz
- 5 min 1 oz
- flameout 1 oz
Yeast
- NB NeoBritannia 1.5 L starter
The batch is currently fermenting at about 70 degrees in the NB Milwaukee brew cave (AKA the basement). I'll post tasting results when the beer has come along a little more.
Sounds great! What's flameout?
ReplyDelete(I would guess you just add the last ounce after you take it off the heat)
When will the new yeast be available? How about the UK Boadicea hops?
ReplyDeleteThe yeast just went live today (8-20). As far as the hops, they may be hard to come by (we have a stash at the Milwaukee store). I believe the IBU turned out at about 44. If you can't find the Boadicea hops, try using Styrian goldings, East Kent Goldings or Fuggles. All will be a good option for an ESB.
ReplyDelete@Blake: Yes, flameout is the point where you're turning off the heat.
ReplyDelete@Everyone: Left Hand makes a 400 Pound Monkey English IPA using all Boadicea hops. It is delightful: http://beernews.org/2010/02/left-hand-400-pound-monkey-a-game-changing-ipa/