I’m curious of what you think. I set out to make an ESB, but used WY1728 Scottish Ale yeast. Its a miracle brew that I’m not going to stop making. Pitcure a Scottish but with 5.5% ABV and an EKG backbone that quickly supports the maltiness. Finishes dry.
I’m curious if this would fly as an ESB in comps. Statistical it’s 100% ESB, but with Scottish yeast instead of English.
I’d answer this myself, but so far my ESB experience is limited to Red Hook, which in my opinion is an APA with English yeast. Too citrusy to be a true ESB.
good chance to practice your judging skills. sit down with the beer and the guidelines. look less at the vital stats than at the descriptors. how does it fare?
the Scottish yeasts I have used and tasted lend a mild but distinct earthy/smokey/peaty thing to the beer. I am not sure that would be appropriate in and ESP which I think of as a maltier beer but I can’t taste your MacESB.
+1. And the fruity esters you get from WY1968 are (within reason) a part of the ESB profile. You wouldn’t get so much of that from the WY1728. I’m sure it’s a good beer though.
Will it fly? Probably. Will it score high across the board? Depends on what the judges are looking for. Seek out a fresh example of Fuller’s ESB for a good example of the hallmark of the style.
When I think of an ESB, I think of English yeast, English Crystal Malt and English hops. But a dry MO/EKG pale ale certainly fits the style as well. I’m not a judge, but if someone is looking for more fruity yeast character, or some Crystal malt character then you may get dinged.
I agree with Jonathon, a true Scottish yeast can throw a hint of smokey phenol into the beer. I have experienced this, but have not deciphered what conditions that yeast wants in order for it to create that phenol. Some brewers try to cheat and use a smoked malt of some form to add the phenol, but I haven’t been impressed with the result. I can tell you that achieving that phenol in conjunction with the characteristic Golden Promise sweetness is a beautiful thing.
In the case of an ESB that is likely to be more hop focused, I’m not sure you would pick out the phenol. In addition, I’m not sure that it would be a positive addition. However, if its reserved and melds well with the other malt and hop components, it could be fine. Do be on the lookout for excessive phenolic character. That will likely be dinged in judging.
I’ve been meaning to test this myself, because I’m not altogether convinced that it’s coming solely from the yeast. Every time I’ve picked this up in a Scottish Ale it’s been subdued enough that I could buy that it’s coming from the Roast Barley or maybe some scorched sugars during the kettle caramelization process. Maybe the yeast accentuates it a bit, but I can’t help but wonder if you brew something like an APA using just 2-row and light Crystal if you’d be able to detect that smoky note.
FWIW, I didn’t have any GP for my recent 70/-, but I have a sack of Crisp MO laying around so I used that instead. The Edinburgh Ale yeast does a fantastic job of bringing out all that biscuity MO goodness.
Like with many yeasts, temp is a factor there IMO. I use 1728 @ 58F and get a pretty clean beer. A few degrees warmer and I notice the ‘smoky’ character more.
I run my 1728 at 55°. I get plenty of the Scottish character without it being weird. My Schilling beers turn out quite nice. In the ESB the aroma of a Scott is there but the flavor is malt sweetness then plenty bitter then dry. I might just have to enter it and see what comes back.