Scottish Light Scottish Session (60 Shilling)

Single infusion mash at 158 for 60 mins. Brewed BIAB, partial boil, and sparged up to preboil volume of 4.9 gallons. With my equipment boils down to just under 4 gallons over 90 minutes, then topped off to reach correct OG (targeted volume of 5 gallons). Adjust hopping accordingly if you're doing a full boil.



5 lbs Golden Promise (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.0 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.0 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.0 %
2.0 oz Chocolate Malt (475.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.0 %
0.50 oz East Kent Goldings [5.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 12.0 IBUs
1 pkg Wyeast Scottish Ale (1728) Yeast 7 -

Measured Original Gravity: 1.035 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Alcohol by Vol: 3.0 %
Bitterness: 12.0 IBUs Calories: 115.8 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 15.7 SRM

This sounds like a great light weekend of brewing for me! Especially when I'm on the fence over funds/time.

I think I've got some leftover Saaz, maybe that'll do? also got some chinook as well.
Thx!

Between the two, I'd definitely go with the Saaz. But I wouldn't use it myself. If I didn't have a Goldings varietal, I'd go Fuggles, maybe Willamette.

Edit: then again, there's next to no hop character, so the saaz would probably be ok. But I'd think you'd get some piney dankness from the Chinook regardless, and I wouldn't use it.

Qhrumphf said:

Single infusion mash at 158 for 60 mins. Brewed BIAB, partial boil, and sparged up to preboil volume of 4.9 gallons. With my equipment boils down to just under 4 gallons over 90 minutes, then topped off to reach correct OG (targeted volume of 5 gallons). Adjust hopping accordingly if you're doing a full boil.



5 lbs Golden Promise (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 80.0 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.0 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.0 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.0 %
2.0 oz Chocolate Malt (475.0 SRM) Grain 5 2.0 %
0.50 oz East Kent Goldings [5.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 12.0 IBUs
1 pkg Wyeast Scottish Ale (1728) Yeast 7 -

Measured Original Gravity: 1.035 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Alcohol by Vol: 3.0 %
Bitterness: 12.0 IBUs Calories: 115.8 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 15.7 SRM

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I brewed an almost identical recipe recently. I used northdown for my hops, and cut out the Crystal 40, and upped the Choc Malt.

It is my favorite beer I've done to date. Love all the flavor and character I got out of this beer. I'll continue to brew this every couple months.

I made a Scottish 80 a while back that wasn't too different from this. Turned out great. I drained the first runnings and boiled those in a separate pot to get some kettle caramelization. Not sure what impact it had but the beer was pretty good.

Schemy said:

I brewed an almost identical recipe recently. I used northdown for my hops, and cut out the Crystal 40, and upped the Choc Malt.

It is my favorite beer I've done to date. Love all the flavor and character I got out of this beer. I'll continue to brew this every couple months.

Click to expand...

inhousebrew said:

I made a Scottish 80 a while back that wasn't too different from this. Turned out great. I drained the first runnings and boiled those in a separate pot to get some kettle caramelization. Not sure what impact it had but the beer was pretty good.

Click to expand...

I did a longer boil than I would for a different style (unless it's a pils malt base), but I opted to go the extra crystal over longer/split boil. I could see upping the chocolate malt being good, but I wanted just a hint and think the balance as it stands is great. I might try adding an extra couple ounces next time around and see how it comes out.

Rebrewed this a few weeks ago. Made some changes to the recipe in line with my more usual process and ingredients these days (swapping up some US ingredients for UK ingredients). Scaled up to a 10 gallon full boil batch. First runnings collected and boiled separately during the sparge and while heating the rest of the runnings boil, ie boiled for maybe 2.5 hours instead of 1 hour and then added back at the end. Hops split proportionately between the two kettles. In any case, the IBUs are probably a small bit off (which would be the case anyway).

More stable mash plus the concentrated boil seems to have created more dextrins. Last version was good, this version is better.

8 lbs Golden Promise (Simpsons) (2.0 SRM) Grain 5 76.2 %
1 lbs Crystal Dark - 77L (Crisp) (75.0 SRM) Grain 6 9.5 %
12.0 oz Crystal, Dark - 150L (Muntons) (150.0 SRM) Grain 7 7.1 %
8.0 oz Crystal Light - 45L (Crisp) (45.0 SRM) Grain 8 4.8 %
4.0 oz Pale Chocolate (Thomas Fawcett) (215.0 SRM) Grain 9 2.4 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [7.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 10 16.6 IBUs
2.0 pkg Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728 ) [124.21 ml] Yeast 11 -


Gravity, Alcohol Content and Color

Measured Original Gravity: 1.033 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 2.5 %
Bitterness: 16.6 IBUs
Est Color: 14.7 SRM

Adjusted mash water below. Measured mash pH of 5.3 at 1.5 qt/lb.

Ca⁺² 73.4
Mg⁺² 7.9
Na⁺ 39.5 (17.8 )
Cl⁻ 87.7
SO₄⁻² 45.9
HCO₃⁻ 150.5 (92.9)

Sparge water is the same, but with baking soda withheld yielding the parenthesized numbers, and then acidified to pH 5.5.

Is your updated recipe for a 10 gal batch? And how much did you boil down for carmelization?
I am wanting to try this out this weekend, but have never done a boil down before, bit I don't understand why you boil down for carmelization if you just add top up water at the end anyway. Is the purpose to reduce liquid or to actually carmelize the sugars in the wort for flavor? I appreciate the help, looks delicious and will by my first try at a Scottish Ale.

Yep. 10 gallon batch. 1st runnings were boiled down by about 50%, not to a syrup by any means, but fairly thick (from probably to ~1.080 to ~1.160 or so), and blended back post-boil. I think it adds something, but I don't know if it's crucial. With the amount of crystal malt in there, I'd say so sooner skip the caramelization than go thicker than that. For my Scottish ales, I think this adds a good balance of time, ease, and character.

Thank you for the response.

The grain bill only came to 5.25 lb for a 5 gal batch, and I wanted to make sure.

What do you think the pre and post volume was on your boil down liquid?

When did you add the boiled down liquid back to the boil pot? During cool down?

4arrows said:

Thank you for the response.

The grain bill only came to 5.25 lb for a 5 gal batch, and I wanted to make sure.

What do you think the pre and post volume was on your boil down liquid?

When did you add the boiled down liquid back to the boil pot? During cool down?

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If I recall correctly, it was ~3 gallons of 1st runnings, boiled down to ~1.5 gallons, and ~10 gallons sparge runnings (I double batch sparge, so two 5 gallon sparges) boiled down to ~8.5 gallons. I added the concentrated runnings after flameout, but prior to chilling, and then chilled together.

Thank you so much for all the help, I am very excited about brewing this weekend. I will update and let you know how brewday went. This is only my second AG so I am still trying to figure it all out.

4arrows said:

Is your updated recipe for a 10 gal batch? And how much did you boil down for carmelization?
I am wanting to try this out this weekend, but have never done a boil down before, bit I don't understand why you boil down for carmelization if you just add top up water at the end anyway. Is the purpose to reduce liquid or to actually carmelize the sugars in the wort for flavor? I appreciate the help, looks delicious and will by my first try at a Scottish Ale.

Click to expand...

Not sure if you edited, or if I somehow just didn't read half the question...

The longer and thicker a boil, the more maillard/melanoidin formation. In a normal batch with a normal boil length it's not particularly prounounced, but when doing long boils, or very concentrated boils, it can be pretty potent. Long full boils form them slowly, but when you go concentrated you can actually get near (or potentially even reach) caramelization temp, as the increased viscosity of the wort above that of water can push the temperature well above water's boiling point. It's not just to reduce liquid, but to actually alter the sugar compounds to emphasise the rich caramel character of a Scottish Ale.

Three general directions people go:

1. Lots of crystal malts (modern amongst craft brewers, including Scottish ones)
2. Basically ONLY base malt, and a LONG (hours upon hours upon hours) boil (the traditional method that isn't used much any more), but also allows you to get the best efficiency by drawing an astronomical amount of runnings and then boiling them down to a higher gravity.
3. And the homebrewer shortcut, taking the first runnings and boiling them down (some will only take a gallon or so, and literally boil it into a syrup and add it back to the rest of the wort).

I kind of take a middle ground between all three. I found the character of the "lots of crystal" alone to be lacking (particularly in mouthfeel), although Jamil Zainasheff has said if you want to succeed in competition, that's probably the best route. Nor do I want to boil my wort for 7 or 8 hours. Nor do I want to have to babysit a thick wort syrup to make sure it doesn't scorch (if you've ever burned LME at the bottom of a kettle you know what I'm talking about). My route's not necessarily the best for everyone, but I like the results.

Brewed this yesterday off your original recipe, except used Maris Otter instead of Golden Promise because of what the Home Brew store had in stock. Boiled 2qt down to 1cup for carmelization. Smelled delicious the entire time, like toffee and caramel. Completely forgot to take any gravity readings though.

This brew turned out delicious. I have had lots of compliments. Many people were wary because of the dark color, but took a sip and finished the glass with a smile.

Smells and tastes of toffee, caramel, but not overly sweet. Smooth malt profile.

Nice. Glad it worked out for you.

how did you carbonate this? I know these 60s are meant to be carbed very low.

I have never done a 60/- but plan to brew one soon. Would like to hear your tips on keg/force carbing this recipe.

I typically split it between cask and bottle. I usually take 5 gallons, bottle two gallons, and put three gallons in 1 gallon polypins. In bottles I prime to 1.8-2 volumes, in pins it's 1.2-1.4 volumes.