Next batch: Gruagach Scottish Ale

I think I finally have the recipe ready for my 80/- Scottish Ale.


As usual, I am submitting it for scrutiny here. You guys always have great feedback on my recipes. I'm 1 full week from brew day, so I have time to make all manner of changes.


Comments? Suggestions?

The one thing I am not sure of is the rauchmalt. I've never used it before, but after asking around here, I was told that a couple oz is plenty to get a light smokey flavor.

-walker

If I'm not mistaken (and I frequently am), the peat smoked malt and rauch malt are two different animals. I believe rauch malt is beechwood smoked, unless it's kind of catchall for smoked malts in general. I recently used some rauch/beechwood malt in a stout that is headed to the secondary tonight, so I'll have more information on taste in a few hours!

sorry! typo.. I meant "BEECH smoked malt".

original post corrected. thanks for catching that.

-walker

Looks pretty good. I'd be weary of adding much more of the peat, as I've also heard a little goes a long ways.

All in all, I'd say it looks pretty true to the style. My only suggestion would to maybe throw a little Munich malt in there as well.

I was going back and forth between adding munich or adding biscuit. I only want one of the two in there, and flip-flopped several times on which to add.

However, after making my Fat Tire clone, I thought I'd give the biscuit a shot in the Gruagach, too.

-walker

Sounds like it will work. 2 oz. smoked should be good. Speaking from personal experience, 1/2 lb of peat smoked malt will make a barley wine taste like "Olde Bog Water". Took two years to get to the drinkable stage.

Note folks: I had a mistype in the original post. I'm using beechwood smoked malt and not peat malt.

Does the rule of "a little goes a long way" apply to both types of smoked malt, or just to the peated malt? (ie; is it OK to use MORE that a couple oz of beechwood smoked malt?)

-walker

My recipe called for 6oz beechwood smoked malt which was 3% of the total grain bill. In addition, it calls for oak cubes in the secondary, but I'll be giving it a sip before transferring it to secondary to see what the contribution of the smoked malt was. It was quite palpable in the mash.

A little brown sugar added to the boil might help to sweeten the final product and give a characteristically syruppy finish.

Looking around real quick, it looks like folks use up to 1/2 a lb of smoked malt - although those recipes has alot of other flavors going on to balance them out. Perhaps 2 to 6 oz, depending on how pronounced or balanced you'd want it to be.

Lupus... you seem to be getting the hang of things pretty quickly. Didn't you just start homebrewing very recently?

You are a quick study, man.... bravo.

BTW: did you put any smoked malt in your 90/-?

-walker

Walker said:

Lupus... you seem to be getting the hang of things pretty quickly. Didn't you just start homebrewing very recently?

You are a quick study, man.... bravo.

BTW: did you put any smoked malt in your 90/-?

-walker

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What can I say, it's one of the slower times of year here at work, plenty of study time.

My 90/- was a pretty loose interpretation of the style, so I opted for chocolate malt instead. I'm waiting to see how it comes out, but I'm thinking my next tweek is to work some smoked malts in there.

from what I've read (Designing Great Beers), the use of smoked malt is actually not a true-to-style thing. Apparently, beer judges are also surprised to find it in the Scottish Ales.

However, this is contrary to other things I have read which indicates that, way back in the day, ALL malt was smokey in flavor. This was inherent because of the way that the grains were kilned.

Whatever.... I use styles as guidelines and tweak from there. I WANT a smokey flavor, so I am going to by god make it smokey. To hell with snobby beer judges. They aren't going to get any of it anyway.

-walker

Given that barley corn is dried and kilned using peat as a fuel source in the production of Scotch led me to believe it would be a fairly standard flavor in a Scotch ale, but I can't say I've really researched the subject very much.

But Scotch Ale is from Belgium and not the same as Scottish Ale.

Took me a while to wrap my head around that idea.

-walker

Walker said:

But Scotch Ale is from Belgium and not the same as Scottish Ale.

Took me a while to wrap my head around that idea.

-walker

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I see. I have problems with Swiss/Swedish, too.

... and the whole concept that an english Bitter is actually NOT bitter.

weird....

-walker

Now I do like a nice ESB. A variation on the ***** Creek ESB clone is on deck for me as soon as my supplies come in. I believe Rhoobarb is also brewing a variation on that one.

BeeGee said:

... ***** Creek ESB clone is on deck for me ...

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Sounds like one mean ESB

It sounds like the addition of smoked malts is to emphasize what normally is characterized as a subtle smoke flavor. The slight smokiness is thought to be a characteristic the yeast helps produce, and not entirely due to the malts.

exactly.. that's why I chose the scottish ale yeast, but I am not sure if it will produec enough smokiness on it's own, so that's why I'm tossing in the rauch.

I think I'll just go with what I have posted at the top. I'm sure I'll like the beer, and if it's not smokey enough or is too smokey, I'll adjust for the next time I make it.

-walker

Walker said:

exactly.. that's why I chose the scottish ale yeast, but I am not sure if it will produec enough smokiness on it's own, so that's why I'm tossing in the rauch.

I think I'll just go with what I have posted at the top. I'm sure I'll like the beer, and if it's not smokey enough or is too smokey, I'll adjust for the next time I make it.

-walker

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Sounds good. Here's hoping the deadly AT doesn't strike once again

If I get bananas in my stout, fat tire, or scottish .... I'll GO bananas. Those first two are sitting comfortably in a fridge in the garage at a healthy 65-70 degrees, and the scottish will take the place of the stout once I bottle it.

No more "hell.. I'll just go for it.. it's only a few degrees above ideal temp in the house... what could happen?" for me.

-walker

I am doing this one next weekend.

What temperature would you say to mash at and for how long?