Best Bitter #1

This was an attempt to brew something equivalent to an Oxfordshire Ale (Think Old Hooky from Hook Norton, or Hooky Bitter) I wanted something on the dark end of the spectrum, with some residual sweetness.

Brewer:	Keith Aschinger		Email:	-
Beer:	Best Bitter #1		Style:	English Best (Special) Bitter
Type:	All grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	27 HCU (~14 SRM)		Bitterness:	34 IBU
OG:	1.046		FG:	1.012
Alcohol:	4.4% v/v (3.5% w/w)
Water:	Good Old St. Louis Tap water - Fairly hard
Grain:	6 lb. American 2-row 1 lb. American crystal 120L 1 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils)
Mash:	80% efficiency
	Basic mash/lauter tun setup (Phil's lauter tun) 120°F rest for 20 minutes 160°F Mash 90 minutes Sparge 180°F for 45 - 60 minutes ( I recirculate once before collecting wort)
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.038	6 gallons
	I split the boil into 2 pots( 4 Gals each) as I boil on the stove and can't fit an 8 Gal. kettle on the stove. I boil 6 gals of wort to produce 5 gals of beer.
Hops:	1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Fuggles (4.75% AA, 15 min.) 1 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast:	Wyeast 1968 - London ESB Ale
Log:	% gal batch - pitched yeast at 75°F fermented at 60°F for 7 days, racked and transfered to secondary for 10 days. Keg.
Carbonation:	Used low pressure ((10 lbs)Just enough to push through lines) otherwise naturally carbonated.
Tasting:	Not bad, yeast gives a nice fruityness, crystal malt gives a nice maltiness, I may try adding some choclate malt next time to add a different maltiness to the beer. Comments as always are welcome.

Recipe posted 10/27/09.