Name: DRAFT + TABLEs Earl Grey ESB Recipe
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 8 lbs Maris Otter Pale Malt; 1 lbs Golden Promise or British Pale Malt (light); 0.5 lbs Medium Crystal (Caramel) Malt - 40L; 0.25 lbs Special B or Biscuit Malt (for toffee/biscuit notes); 0.75 lbs Flaked Oats; 0.25 lbs Dried Oats (optional for fuller body); 1 oz English East Kent Goldings (or Fuggles) - bittering; 10 g Earl Grey tea (high-quality loose leaf, e.g., bergamot-flavored black tea); 8 g Earl Grey tea (for aroma/finishing steep); 1 oz Orange peel (dried or fresh, preferably Italian/Malta oranges), zested; 4 oz Honey (runny, mild-flavored) - optional late boil or secondary; 1 tsp Irish Moss or Whirlfloc (clarifier); 1 vial English Ale Yeast (e.g., Wyeast 1968 London ESB / White Labs WLP002 or similar); 5 gal Water (adjusted to moderate sulfate/chloride balance, target 100 ppm chloride / 50 ppm sulfate); 1 each Campden tablet (optional, to remove chlorine/chloramine)

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

ESB based brewed with oats + select British malts, hopped with Earl Grey Tea with notes of honey, fresh black tea, + Italian oranges.

Heat 4.5 - 5.5 gallons of strike water to reach a mash-in temperature target of 152°F (67°C) when combined with the grain. Account for equipment loss; aim for final mash temperature 152°F.

Heat Strike Water

Combine the crushed Maris Otter, Golden Promise, Crystal 40L, Special B (or Biscuit), flaked oats, and dried oats in the mash tun. Ensure oats are well mixed to prevent dough balls.

Mix Grains

Dough in and hold the mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Stir gently every 10–15 minutes to ensure even conversion and avoid settled pockets. This temperature gives a balance of body and attenuation suitable for an ESB with an oat-silk mouthfeel.

Mash

Raise mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) and hold for 10 minutes to improve wort runoff viscosity from the oats.

Mash Out

Sparge with enough water to collect ~6.5–6.75 gallons of pre-boil wort (accounting for boil-off to yield ~5 gallons finished). Keep sparge water around 168°F (76°C).

Sparge

Bring collected wort to a vigorous boil. Watch for boilovers because of the protein and oat content; use a spray bottle of water and reduce heat as needed.

Bring to a Rolling Boil

At the start of a 60-minute boil, add 1 oz East Kent Goldings (or Fuggles) for bittering. This addition targets a classic ESB bitterness while letting the tea and orange shine later.

Bittering Hop Addition

With 15 minutes remaining in the boil, add 1 tsp Irish Moss or Whirlfloc to help clear proteins and improve chill haze.

Mid-Boil Clarifier

At 10 minutes remaining, add the 4 oz honey (if using) and the 1 oz of dried/fresh orange peel (zest). Dissolve the honey by stirring; adding it late preserves honey aromatics and fermentable contribution.

Late Honey & Orange

Turn off heat at 5 minutes remaining. Add 10 g loose-leaf Earl Grey in a sanitized muslin/hermetic tea infuser directly into the kettle or in a sanitized pot; steep in hot wort for 4–5 minutes, gently stirring to extract bergamot oils and tea character but avoid over-extraction that can cause astringency. Remove the tea leaves promptly and discard (or add to compost).

Earl Grey Steep - Hot

After the boil, chill the wort quickly to yeast-pitching temperature (66–68°F / 19–20°C) using a wort chiller. If you plan to add the finishing Earl Grey for aroma, cool to ~180–190°F first (see next step) before doing a controlled steep. Otherwise, cool fully and continue.

Cool Wort

For fresher tea aroma and brighter bergamot, perform a short cold/demi-cool steep: place 8 g loose-leaf Earl Grey into a sanitized mesh bag and add to the wort when it has cooled to ~100–120°F (38–49°C) for 20–30 minutes, then remove. This extracts volatile aromatics with less tannin. If using the boil tea addition only, skip this.

Earl Grey Aroma Steep (Optional)

Rack the chilled wort (after removing the aroma tea if used) into a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind as much trub as practical. Top up with pre-boiled, cooled water to reach target volume (~5 gallons). Aerate vigorously or oxygenate to ~8–10 ppm O2 for the English ale yeast.

Transfer to Fermenter

Hydrate or prepare the Wyeast/White Labs strain per manufacturer directions and pitch when wort is at 66–68°F (19–20°C). Aim for adequate pitch rate for an original gravity around 1.048–1.052 (typical ESB range).

Pitch Yeast

Ferment at 66–68°F (19–20°C) for 5–7 days until vigorous fermentation slows. Then allow the beer to finish at the lower end (64–66°F / 18°C) for another 3–7 days to clean up diacetyl and allow yeast to finish attenuation.

Primary Fermentation

Rack to a secondary for additional conditioning if desired. If you want enhanced honey aroma, you may add a small additional dose of honey (1–2 oz) to the secondary; note this can restart fermentation slightly and will add fermentables. Condition for 7–14 days at ~60–65°F (15–18°C).

Optional Secondary / Conditioning

Prime and bottle or force carbonate to 2.2–2.6 volumes CO2, typical for ESB. Age bottles a minimum of 2–3 weeks for flavor integration. On kegging, carbonate to the same range and cellar at 45–55°F (7–13°C) for a few days before serving.

Packaging

Maris Otter Pale Malt

Golden Promise or British Pale Malt (light)

Medium Crystal (Caramel) Malt - 40L

Special B or Biscuit Malt (for toffee/biscuit notes)

Flaked Oats

Dried Oats (optional for fuller body)

English East Kent Goldings (or Fuggles) - bittering

Earl Grey tea (high-quality loose leaf, e.g., bergamot-flavored black tea)

Earl Grey tea (for aroma/finishing steep)

Orange peel (dried or fresh, preferably Italian/Malta oranges), zested

Honey (runny, mild-flavored) - optional late boil or secondary

Irish Moss or Whirlfloc (clarifier)

English Ale Yeast (e.g., Wyeast 1968 London ESB / White Labs WLP002 or similar)

Water (adjusted to moderate sulfate/chloride balance, target 100 ppm chloride / 50 ppm sulfate)

Campden tablet (optional, to remove chlorine/chloramine)

Earl Grey ESB

Make Earl Grey ESB Recipe in just 6h . ESB based brewed with oats + select British malts, hopped with Earl Grey Tea with notes of honey, fresh black tea, + Italian oranges.

Earl Grey ESB

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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