Lilac Street Bitter

I am currently waiting while the grains steep for a batch of bitter. I've been craving this style for a while, ever since I read an article about session beers in the September/October Zymurgy magazine.

This recipe is one I've brewed before and is pretty simple in prep for an all-grain batch. Bring 3 gallons of water to 75 degrees C. Steep eight pounds of pale malt and 10 ounces of crystal malt for two hours. Sparge until you get 5.5 gallons of liquor. Boil with four ounces of hops for one hour. Add fifth ounce of hops and boil for five minutes. Cool to optimal yeast pitching temp, pitch yeast, and let the fermentation begin. I hope to have this batch done in time to compliment the Lilac Street Oatmeal Stout at New Years.

While I was at E.J. Wrens getting the ingredients, I also picked up a wine thief. I figure this will make it easier for me to get samples for testing final gravity, something I am not very diligent about. It seems pretty fragile so I hope I don't break it before I get to use it in two weeks...