160/- Strong Scotch Ale

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PintoBean

Hailstorm Brewing Co
HBT Supporter
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
507
Reaction score
107
Location
Frankfort
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
WY1728
Yeast Starter
0.75 gal
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.126
Final Gravity
1.037
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
56.6
Color
25
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 @ 68°F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 @ 68°F
Tasting Notes
Malty, mild smokiness, rich...really hit what I was going for with this one
I came up with the recipe as a way to push (and exceed in some cases) the limits of the Strong Scotch Ale (9E) category. Mashing this was quite the chore...it came almost to the lip of my 15.5 gallon keggle. Make sure you mash with a low water/grain ratio (1lb/qt), recirc the runnings ALOT, and then sparge the heck out of it for maximum efficiency. That said, this came out really good, IBU's may seem a bit high, but I was using 1 year aged hops, so adjust accordingly. I tasted when trasferring to the secondary, and it was already fantastic, so I can't wait for the next two weeks to pass, and then get it carb'b up. I'll post a follow up once it's ready.

Recipe: 160/- Scotch Ale TYPE: All Grain
Style: Strong Scotch Ale
---RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS-----------------------------------------------
SRM: 25.0 SRM SRM RANGE: 14.0-25.0 SRM
IBU: 56.6 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 17.0-35.0 IBUs
OG: 1.126 SG OG RANGE: 1.070-1.130 SG
FG: 1.037 SG FG RANGE: 1.018-1.030 SG
BU:GU: 0.450 Calories: 242.2 kcal/12oz Est ABV: 11.9 %
EE%: 72.00 % Batch: 5.50 gal Boil: 7.24 gal BT: 60 Mins

---WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS----------------


Total Grain Weight: 26 lbs 2.7 oz Total Hops: 8.00 oz oz.
---MASH/STEEP PROCESS------MASH PH:5.40 ------
>>>>>>>>>>-ADD WATER CHEMICALS BEFORE GRAINS!!<<<<<<<
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
19 lbs 10.0 oz Golden Promise (2.7 SRM) Grain 1 75.0 %
3 lbs 14.8 oz Amber Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 2 15.0 %
1 lbs 13.3 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.0 %
12.6 oz Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.0 %


Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Protein Rest Add 26.16 qt of water at 131.1 F 122.0 F 30 min
Saccharification Heat to 156.0 F over 15 min 156.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F 10 min

---SPARGE PROCESS---
Fly sparge with 5.34 gal water at 168.0 F

---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.104 SG Est OG: 1.126 SG
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 14.1 IBUs
2.00 oz Willamette [4.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 18.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Willamette [4.70 %] - Boil 45.0 min Hop 7 8.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.90 %] - Boil 30.0 Hop 8 7.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 9 4.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Glacier [4.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 10 4.7 IBUs

---FERM PROCESS-----------------------------
Primary Start: 12/26/2011 - 14.00 Days at 67.0 F
Secondary Start: 1/9/2012 - 14.00 Days at 65.0 F
Style Carb Range: 1.60-2.40 Vols
 
Well, it's been 30 days since I brewed this and I'm hanging steady at 1.036. It tastes fantastic, definitely my best beer to date. It's already smooth, alchohol is present, but not "hot." I can't wait to see what this beer is like 6 months from now.

I normally keg and force carb, but was thinking of bottle conditioning this one. The yeast is good to 12%, I'm at 11.8%. I was going to add yeast at bottling, but don't wan't to waste a $7 smack pack of the yeast I used to ferment with. Will it alter the flavor if I throw some S-05 in at bottling time with the priming sugar?
 
It came out really good. I ended up with extra so I decided to keg 5g and slow force carb, and I still have a 1/2 gal aging in a growler w/an airlock that I'm going to bottle condition after a year of aging. I entered it into a comp and the judges thought it had too much roast flavor, which I'm thinking came from the smoked malt, since there are no roasted grains in the recipe. Other than that, it did well. They also said it would benefit from extended aging.
 
This sounds delicious. I am thinking of brewing a dark Scottish 160 shilling and want to base it on your recipe (adding a small percent of roasted bar ley). My question is, why did you choose Wy1728 over WLP028? Not very fammiliar with either yeast so I am wondering if it is personal prefernce or does Wy1728 have a distinct advantage at such high gravity?
 
They are the same yeast. It is often described as "clean" in that it contributes little in the way of esters. The bulk of the flavor profile of a Scottish comes from the grains, the mash, the boil, and the hops (roughly in that order), and not from the yeast.

The president of the local brewclub actually recommended that I just use US-05 in my Scottish, just for the sake of simplicity. I have tried it and I think it's fine. Although I prefer using Edinburgh yeast for the sake of "tradition," I don't think I could pick it out in a taste test.

YMMV. Cheers!
 
This sounds delicious. I am thinking of brewing a dark Scottish 160 shilling and want to base it on your recipe (adding a small percent of roasted bar ley). My question is, why did you choose Wy1728 over WLP028? Not very fammiliar with either yeast so I am wondering if it is personal prefernce or does Wy1728 have a distinct advantage at such high gravity?

Yep, it is the same yeast. If you want it to be a little higher attenuated, a clean yeast like S-05 would work, I went with the Edinburgh strain to keep it full bodied. Make sure you ferment at cooler-than-normal al temps.
 
I 've been working on a recipe for a Wee Heavy for Nov. I keep going back and forth between a concentrating boil and Carramalt, C-60, c-80. what I am leaning towards now is maybe halving the caramel/crystal and boiling down a gallon.

Thoughts?
 
I 've been working on a recipe for a Wee Heavy for Nov. I keep going back and forth between a concentrating boil and Carramalt, C-60, c-80. what I am leaning towards now is maybe halving the caramel/crystal and boiling down a gallon.

Thoughts?
I posted this in another thread, several months ago, but here it is:
At the LHBS, I was chatting about Scottish Ales with a guy who had won awards with his, so his opinion was worthwhile. But when I revealed my plans to use kettle caramelization (KC), he scowled and tried very hard to dissuade me. "Takes a long time....too much trouble....not worth the effort." With all due respect, the effort is not that great: I took the first gallon and set it on the stovetop for a satellite boil. If you are already committed to a 90 minute boil, it's no big deal because they finished at about the same time.

As for the results: I've made several Scottish Ales with Jamil's cocktail of specialty grains to mimic the effect of KC, and they were indeed very good. This also came out very good, so if you want to try the traditional method, all it really costs you is the extra 30 minutes boiling time.

Also, a candy thermometer is essential. I aim for 230*, which doesn't happen until virtually all the water is gone. So you need the thermometer to tell you when the temp is rising above 212*.

Cheers!
 
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