Scotish Ale Recipe (with a modification or two)

BADS197 · 09-19-2008, 07:36 PM

I got a recipe from a magazine that had 150 clone brews. I went to my local hbs and they didnt' have the exact ingredients so I got what I could and changed things up a little to make it my own. The clone I used as a pattern is the Wee Heavy Scotch Ale from Steelhead Bewing.

Please let me know if this is a decent modification to it or tell me how it looks.

Starting with roughly 6 1/4 gallons of water to give me about 5 at the end.

Faw kin Hevy "Scotch Ale"
6lbs DME (start of boil)----------------- 1lb more than they suggested
8lbs LME (20 minutes left in boil)---------.13lbs less than they suggested

Steeping Grains
3/4lb Belgian Special B Malt--------------suggested 10.9oz
3/4lb Belgian Buscuit Malt----------------suggested 9.33oz
1/4lb Chocolat malt----------------------about 2x as much as they suggested

.55oz 12AAU Columbus Hops (60 minute boil)------ Suggested was Nugget Hops @ 7AAU and .02 more than suggested
.55oz Mt. Hood Hops 3AAU (20 minutes left in boil)------ .05 more than what they suggested

Scotch Ale Yeast - Wyeast 1728 Scottish---- ---- same
.75 cup priming sugar at bottleing----------------- same

This might sound silly but I would have liked to make an exact clone with the exact same ingredients but they didn't have them. I then decided to use it as a template so I hope it's not considered wrong to use someone elses as a pattern. I don't know enough about making beer to formulate my own. I have to use something as a pattern or guidline.

Thanks
Jake

srm775 · 09-19-2008, 09:24 PM

You might want to cut out the Special B and add in some darker crystal malts.

**niquejim** · 09-19-2008, 09:49 PM

Look at my http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f65/traq-air-owl-wee-heavy-59774/ and see how simple it is.

Cut back on some of the special grains and to not overdo the hops.

I would also add all the extract early, use more water and boil longer.

And ferment as cool as you dare(or can), not over 65

If you like Scottish beers, this will make a good one

denverd1 · 09-20-2008, 03:38 AM

I wouldn't know my way around a LHBS, but that sounds damn good! I'm looking for Scotch Ale and will definitely consider this as a reference.

BTW no LHBS. Anyone know of an extract kit that would be close? Looking for a Scotch Ale to do this fall. She was my first batch and always a true love.

BADS197 · 09-20-2008, 04:31 AM

Silly stupid me forgot to get a SG reading.

I left it in the fermenter capped for an hour or so while i went to eat and came back, pitched the yeast and forgot.

oh well... i'll let it do it's thing and test it in a couple weeks.

BADS197 · 09-20-2008, 04:06 PM

Pitched yeast yesterday around 8:30pm and it's 9am now.

According to the instructions in the pattern I should aerate every 12 hours till fermentation begins.

Should that still hold true here? Or take the old "relax... homebrew.. bla bla bla" stand.

**rico567** · 09-28-2008, 11:07 AM

Looks like a promising brew....we definitely need a followup on this one as it matures. As for the æration.....I don't know what to tell you. Some people take great pains to ærate, including bottled oxygen, or agitating the beer with stirring devices connected to an electric drill, etc. I've brewed some 14 extract batches, and all I ever do is pour the wort from the brewpot into the plastic bucket fermenter from as high up as I can manage (which makes for a lot of foam, indicating some æration, I suppose), pop the lid on, and leave it alone. I've always had airlock action within 24 hours, some types of beer more enthusiastic than others. The beer invariably works out OK, tastes fine.
I'd be receptive to a persuasive argument as to why I should ærate more / differently, but so far I haven't heard one.

BADS197 · 09-30-2008, 04:02 PM

I gave it a really good shake a day after posting this.. and i've kept the temps around 35-40 degrees and the yeast are having a field day on the top of the brew.

It's going better than all the other brews visual wise.

BADS197 · 11-18-2008, 01:42 AM

I just tested it and have a FG of approximately 1.031 and it smells like a lot of alcohol and tastes like a lot of alcohol with a nice scotch ale taste and kinda burns the throat on the way down....

Very nice..

Just an update.

bottleing it tonight.