Well........
Easy really: Extra Special Bitter, that's what it's all about. A bitter for special occasions, though brewed with the usual extra high quality ingredients and with the usual extra special attention to detail, this one is Special, and Bitter, in an Extra sort of way. It's for people who like their bitter trad': brown, balanced malt sweetness with tangy hoppy bitterness. Only, because this is ESB, it's a bit maltier, a bit tangier, a bit hoppier and far more bitter. It's Special alright.
This is Great Great Grandfather George's Special Recipe (he was an early advocate of the metric system):
(serves 3,400)
Crushed Pale Malt - 290kg
Crushed Crystal Malt - 28kg
Crushed Malted Wheat - 8kg
Twists of Roast Barley and Chocolate Malts
East Kent Golding Hops - 3.5kg
Kent Fuggles Hops - 3kg
Kent Northdown Hops - 2.5kg
3000 litres hot liquor (75 degrees Celsius)
1 kg Brewer's Yeast
Method:
Splash 150 litres of the liquor into a large pan with a false bottom and leave to warm for 5 minutes, splashing a further 1000 litres in along with all the malts. Mix well, but don't over do it. Leave to stand for 90 minutes, then drain the 'sweet wort' from the base of the pan and collect it in another large pan. Sprinkle the remaining hot liquor over the malt grains, collecting sweet wort from the base as you go along. Once the second large pan has 1900 litres of wort in it add half the hops and bring to a rolling boil for an hour. Add the remainder of hops, holding back the Fuggles, and switch off the heat. Cool through a heat exchanger and collect in a large bath. Add the Brewer's Yeast and leave for a week. Add those Fuggles, put a lid on and cool for another week.
Then ask your mates round for the evening and drink the lot. If that's too much effort, simply nip down to your local East Kent Hostelry and order up a flaggon of GADDS' "Dragon's Blood, ESB".
It's Bloody Special.
