Scotch Ale

Ugh. I just tasted my first all grain scotch ale. It tastes like medicine. It has only been in the bottle for a week, but i thought i would give it a try. hopefully it will get better over time. Any thoughts?

long, cold age, like a lager. that's how the scots do it.

Mine had a sour apple flavor that took 6 weeks to condition out.

I age my Scottish for 5 months in a 5 gallon glass carboy before I even go near it. Give it time, time, and more time.

Okay. Thanks. My Doppelbock on the other hand is excellent! I will be a little more patient.

Definitely be patient. My Scotch Ale, not an AG but a BB kit, tasted really green and unbalanced at one week. I cracked another last night at about 2 weeks and it's like a whole different beer, and it's really heading in the right direction. It's got me really stoked about making more. I'm glad I didn't bottle all of it in 22 oz bottles, and set some aside in 12 oz bottles as testers. It's been really nice to see the progression.

Matt

What kind of yeast did you use and what was your O.G.?

I've found that the best Scot's I've made have been fermented with Wyeast 1728. As all have said, let it age for quite some time because it is a big beer. The result will be an excellent malty, strong beer. All mine have turned out great with good aging.

I'm always quite pleased with mine (Kiltlifter) after only 4 weeks in bottles although it's certainly a style that's best suited to bottle age for a few months.

I'd also recommend that you just forget about it for a while and come back to it in 2 months.