Boudica's Bitters

Boudica's Bitters - wanted to do an ESB, I know this is just a little heavy for the style, but it came out great.

Brewer:	SchnauzerHaus		Email:	-
Beer:	Boudica's Bitters		Style:	English Best (Special) Bitter
Type:	All grain		Size:	5.5 gallons
Color:	36 HCU (~18 SRM)		Bitterness:	60 IBU
OG:	1.060		FG:	1.018
Alcohol:	5.4% v/v (4.2% w/w)
Water:	I used 4 teaspoons Burton water treatment to the boil @6.5 gl. Also Irish Moss with 15 minutes left.
Grain:	10. lb. British pale 0.50 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils) 1. lb. British crystal 50-60L 4. oz. British chocolate
Mash:	75% efficiency
	Mashed at 154* for an hour, heated sparge H2O to 170* and left that in tun for 15 minutes. The higher mash temp. left me with a little sweeter maltiness in final product. Used Maris Otter as my base.
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.051	6.5 gallons
	Irish Moss @ 15 min., Burton salts @ 60 min., 2 oz. Boudica hops @ 60, 1 oz. EKG @ 15, 1 oz. EKG @ less than 1 min.
Hops:	2.03 oz. Boudica (7.3% AA, 60 min.) 1.02 oz. Kent Goldings (5.4% AA, 15 min.) 1 oz. Kent Goldings (aroma)
Yeast:	Used a Wyeast smack pack ESB. and a dry pack of Windsor ale. I like experimenting with yeasts and wanted a nice solid fermentation.Tossed in a little yeast nutrient and energizer too, just because I had some.
Log:	Primary 1 week, secondary 2 weeks, primed and bottled for 3 weeks.
Carbonation:	Not quite 1 cup of corn sugar.
Tasting:	Not overly carbonated, little darker than I expected, smells inviting,, sweet malt taste upfront, very pleasing, disappears with a just a tickle of bitterness, finishes surprisingly dry,probably the best balanced AG batch (#3) I've made. Balanced! That's a good description. Leaves you wanting more. Maybe would toss alittle biscuit malt in, but it's nice as it is, and will make again.

Recipe posted 11/13/08.