Home brewers enjoy a glass of quality beer and don't mind the amount of work it takes to make one. Brewing any beer is part science, part art form. It takes work to find the right combination of malt and hops to make the perfect Extra Special Bitter, but once you've done it you'll know.
Instructions
Preparation
1. Buy home brewing supplies. You'll need the following: a brew pot, stirring spoon, tablespoon, glass measuring cup, glass jar, fermentor, airlock, bleach and thermometer.
2. Purchase ingredients. When brewing an ESB, you'll need malt extract, bittering hops, finishing hops and ale yeast.
3. Clean everything before you begin brewing your ESB. Also use your bleach and sanitize everything except the brew pot and the spoon. (These will be in boiling water so sanitization isn't necessary.)
4. Boil 2 gallons of water. Pour this into the fermentor and let it cool.
Making Wort
5. Boil 3 gallons of water. Turn off the stove and add the malt extract when the water boils. The malt extract should be completely dissolved before continuing.
6. Resume the boil and add bittering hops. Boil for 1 hour.
7. Add finishing hops during the last 15 minutes of the boil. The number of hops you add during these two steps will characterize your ESB.
8. Cool the wort. It needs to reach a temperature quickly between 65 and 90 degrees. Put it in a sink or bathtub full of ice to do this.
Fermenting
9. Pour the yeast into the fermentor followed by the wort. Pour the wort quickly so oxygen gets into the mixture and allows the yeast to grow.
10. Store the fermentor and add the airlock. Choose a location with a steady temperature rather than one that fluctuates. Once you've found that location don't move the fermentor again for 2 weeks.
11. Bottle your beer and enjoy the fruits of all your hard work.
Tags: malt extract, bittering hops, Boil gallons, Boil gallons water, Extra Special
