Deschutes Bachelor ESB is a spectacular beer. Served almost exclusively in the brewery’s pubs and tasting room, this session Bitter is a local’s favorite (this local has logged more time with this beer than any other). I have tried several times to clone this beer but never hit the mark. I mostly attribute this to not enough time to get rid of each iteration’s beer, combined with a general tendency to get distracted on other things life throws my way. With smaller batch volumes, however, I can brew, bottle, drink, and make adjustments for each attempt producing the target profile I am after, so I have reset my sights on fine-tuning a version of this beer that I can add to my list of frequently brewed recipes.
Bachelor ESB is an american expression of a classic English Bitter, not far removed from its source of inspiration. This Bitter is medium bodied, 5% ABV, and is mildly bittered with american hops grown her in the pacific northwest. It is my ideal session ale.
What follows is the first round of brewing, plus take-aways. I will updating this post with a link to the post detailing the round of brewing once that is finished.
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 gal | 60 min | 38.9 IBUs | 8.8 SRM | 1.054 | 1.015 | 5.1 % |
| Actuals | 1.046 | 1.01 | 4.7 % | |||
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt (NW) | 1.7 lbs | 82.42 |
| Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L | 2.8 oz | 8.48 |
| Cara-Pils/Dextrine | 1.4 oz | 4.24 |
| Munich Malt - 10L | 0.8 oz | 2.42 |
| Munich Malt - 35L | 0.8 oz | 2.42 |
| Light Dry Extract | 0 oz | 0 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarillo | 0.1 oz | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 10.4 |
| Galena | 0.05 oz | 25 min | Boil | Pellet | 15.2 |
| Amarillo | 0.05 oz | 20 min | Boil | Pellet | 10.4 |
| East Kent Goldings (EKG) | 0.1 oz | 2 min | Boil | Pellet | 4.5 |
| East Kent Goldings (EKG) | 0.2 oz | 5 days | Dry Hop | Pellet | 5 |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ringwood Ale (1187) | Wyeast Labs | 70% | 64°F - 74°F |
Mash
| Step | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mash In | 152°F | 60 min |
Notes
| Recipe: At the LHBS, they didn't have EKG's, subbed domestic Goldings. They didn't have 20L munich, so went for 1/2 Munich 8-10L, 1/2 Dark Munich 35L. Mash: Was looking at strike water temperature, and nailed plan of going over by 9 degrees or so (so that I could stir it until it reached optimal strike water temperature). After pouring in the strike water, I didn't stir it down to 163.8. I just began mashing in. This triggered the impromptu task of juggling cold / hot additions to reach the target 152 mash temp. 1st run: after 60 min, temp was 142 (shit ... lost a lot there). Brix of first runnings 18.1 2nd runnings: 4.6 Final brix: 10.6 (1.045 sg) Added 3 oz of Light DME to bring up gravity to estimated target of 1.054 (0'd out that addition in the design to reflect intentions). Day 2 (8/10): Fermenting away. Airlock bubbling. Day 8 (8/16): 7.9 / 1.031. If same tomorrow, I'll bottle ASAP. Day 15 (8/23): 7.9 / 1.031. Bottling day. Observations: so my conversion rate was way too low. I think that first Mash mistake completely destroyed the enzymes and I ended up with a very small beer. According to NorthernBrewer ABV calc, 2.25%. |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |
Thank you for providing all of the details and documentation. I have been wanting to brew small beer batches, at home, but I don’t find a lot of information specific to smaller batch brewing. Will be returning regularly to read. Thank you for the information.