Heather ESB

As a change from making strong beers, I thought it'd be fun to do a unique Extra Special Bitter (ESB). This is a classic British style that has a relatively low level of alcohol (at least compared to what I've been making and drinking recently), a slightly sweet malt character, and plenty of hop bitterness, but without a really hoppy flavor.

With that flavor profile in mind, it seemed that heather tips, which have a slightly floral, somewhat woody character, could be a great addition. Heather was one of the early herbs used to bitter beer in lieu of hops, and is still used in some Scottish beers like Fraoch. Since I've never really used heather tips before, I mostly guessed at the amounts by looking at some other beer recipes I found that use heather. To complement the heather, and (hopefully) keep it from dominating the flavor too much, I also dry hopped the beer with Northern Brewer and Amarillo hops, which should add a slightly spicy and citrusy character.

In regards to the malts, there's some crystal for sweetness, British brown for aroma, color, and a little bit of malt-oriented bitterness, and torrified wheat to help ensure that it has a thick, creamy head of foam.

Heather ESB

(Partial Mash)

Batch Size: 5 Gal

OG: 1.051

Anticipated Alcohol: 4.9% abv

Anticipated SRM: 12

Anticipated IBU: 43

Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Fermentables:

5 lbs Light malt extract syrup

2 lbs Pale ale

1 lb Crystal 55L

0.5 lbs Torrified wheat

0.5 lbs British Brown

Hops:

0.75 oz Amarillo (9.9% AA) – 60 min

0.25 oz Northern Brewer (8.0% AA) – 15

0.25 oz Northern Brewer (8.0% AA) – 5

0.5 oz Northern Brewer – dry hop

0.25 oz Amarillo – dry hop

Extras:

1 oz Heather tips - 15 min

1 oz Heather tips - 5 min

2 oz Heather tips – “dry hopped”

Yeast:

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

Mini Mash Schedule:

60 min @ 150˚ F

Notes:

Brewed 12/30/10

Added dry hops and heather directly to the primary

Racked 1/16/11