I brewed my first ESB a few weeks ago and made a last minute decision to alter what most likely will make this beer take on a completely different character. I opted to not use the recommended 1.3vol for carbing and bumped it up to a 2.3vol, more like an American pale. I’ve sampled low carb versions of ESB and just wasn’t my “Cup of tea”. I was wondering if anyone else is in my camp on the ESB carb. ;D
While I can appreciate a cask ESB with a fairly low carbonation, I prefer my homebrew ESB’s around 2.2 volumes. Not quite my usual 2.5 volumes that I use for most American ales, but still well carbonated for the style. Anything under 2 volumes just seems too flat for my tastes.
My favorite beer is a cask esb. But for my bottle conditioned homebrew I go closer to 2.1 volumes
So far the only ESB’s I’ve tried have been commercial bottled versions. I’d like to try a real cask ale. I wonder if it’s worlds away from bottles ESB?