311 In Progess

I wanted to come up with a nice malty, complex flavored English Old Ale to celebrate 11-11-11 that pushed the upper limits of an Old Ale with a 1.080OG and the use of my homemade candi syrup to increase flavor and gravity. I’m a fan of the slightly sweeter grains, so a fair amount of specialty grains were in order. With 12% Munich, 7% Honey malt (which I love) and 7% of some crystal (60 & 80), I thought I’d have enough residuals to really give some nice body and a malty sweetness. Hop variety is not as important, as the relative balance and aging process negate much of the varietal character of the hops-still, it's best to stick with a UK blend. "311 In Progress" is a law enforcement code meaning having different connotations in different states. For me, it's an oLD ale that may well be my first served on cask at some point in 2012. Here's my 311 in progress, see ya next year...
Grist:
11.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter
1.75 lb Munich Malt
1.00 lb Honey Malt
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
Additions:
1 pint homemade candi sryup-dark 10 min
2.00 oz UK Kent Goldings 60 min 5.8%AA
.25 oz Willamette 60 min 4.7%AA
1.00 oz UK Kent goldings 15 min
.25 Willamette 15 min 4.7% AA
1.25 oz Styrian Goldings flameout

Mash in 5.50 gallons 172 degree water for 70 minutes, target temp 155. Actual closer to 158. I am going to adjust the hop additions slightly to counter the high mash temps, this is going to hopefully help an overly sweet beer. Hitting my target mash temps is always my biggest issue.
Sparge with 3.50 gallons 170 degree water

Target OG 1.080
Actual OG 1.076 (the result of mashing in a bit high)
Target FG 1.020