Best fermentation temp for Wyeast 1728 Scottish ale

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Patirck

Patirck

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I am about to brew a Strong Scotch ale for the first time and have a 2L starter of wyeast 1728 on the stir plate now. The wyeast site says fermentation temp range is 55* - 75*! I would like a little direction from someone who has used this yeast before on what results they got from what temperatures.


I have never brewed this style or used this yeast before. I have sampled a few of the commercial varieties and love the smooth malty un hoppy flavor. A few (the great divide one comes to mind) had a bit of a smoky finish - this was ok but I am hoping to avoid it and get more of the Bell haven flavor.
 
I used the 1728 for the first time a few batches ago on a scotch ale.

I fermented in my basement where it is about a constant 68 degrees. The batch came out perfect. I havnt been doing this long enough to tell you anything as far as flavor's specifically due to the yeast. But I can say this is by far my favorite beer I've brewed and for sure right up w/some of the best I've ever had.

Not sure if all scotch ales do this or not, but I let mine sit in the scondary with oak chips for 3 weeks. Has a GREAT oak/smokey flavor. Wish I could give you a drink! :mug:
 
Patirck said:
I am about to brew a Strong Scotch ale for the first time and have a 2L starter of wyeast 1728 on the stir plate now. The wyeast site says fermentation temp range is 55* - 75*! I would like a little direction from someone who has used this yeast before on what results they got from what temperatures.


I have never brewed this style or used this yeast before. I have sampled a few of the commercial varieties and love the smooth malty un hoppy flavor. A few (the great divide one comes to mind) had a bit of a smoky finish - this was ok but I am hoping to avoid it and get more of the Bell haven flavor.
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I like to ferment my strong scotch ales at the lower end of the temperature range, it makes them smoother, of course this takes longer. I've used both of the McEwans yeasts (1728 and WLP028) and they both work good at lower temp's. In fact my first scotch ale was fermented at 48F with the 1728 with no problem.

Of course this takes longer and you need a larger starter as well as sound aeration practices,etc, similar to lager fermentation. A long cold secondary also helps to smooth them out, kinda depends on your ABV, and other ingredients, what's your recipe?
 
It mostly depends upon how estery you want your beer. On the low end, this yeast is very "clean," but can underattenuate a bit if you don't rouse it. It'll floc out like crazy. At higher temps, it can get a bit estery, but pleasantly so, I think (almost brett like with cherry and stone fruit flavors). Decent attenuation is easier, of course, at warmer temps. I've only used this yeast a few times, but I've used several temps. It seems to be a versatile and forgiving yeast, and I plan to make use of it more in the future.
 
I think I am going to see how the brew day goes and what kind of SG I end up with (I have been having efficiency problems). I think the lower the SG, the higher the ferm temp will be so I can get a decent ABV. I am going for the malty flavor profile I've tasted in the commercial stuff (like Belhaven). It also depends on the local weather. I have a chest freezer with a ranco thermostat but it seems to get cold and stay there if the outside temp is low. Right now I am planning on 65*
 
So i was getting ready to bottle a Scottish 80/- I made 3 weeks ago to date, took my hydro sample and it was 1021! yikes :( I know scottish ales should finish a little higher, but I guess I understimated the fermentability with my mash scedule.

How long are you all fermenting with this strain? I mashed at 158 (jamils recipe) My OG was 1048, I did a 2.5 gallon batch and used one smack pack and fermented at 60-62. Should I try to heat it up and rouse the yeast for a while here, or do you all think its done fermenting (cause I mashed so high)?
 
Even at that mash temp, you ought to get a bit more out of it. You're only around 56% now. I'd rouse and raise the temp to around 65-70 or so.
 
I've used WLP028 four times. Two of those are still bubbling; the others - a stout and a scottish 80 - came out great. I kept the temps in the low 60s.
 
I pitch @ 58F and keep the primary in the fermentation chamber @ that temperature for 6 weeks. After that, a rouse and a couple days @ room temp to dry it out and chew up the minimal diacetyl. If you care about conforming to style (it's fine if you don't), esters should be minimized.

Anecdotally, I find that it's hard to get the yeasty "smokiness" at higher temps. Perhaps the esters obscure it. I've had too many overwhelmingly smoky examples of this style where people dump too much peated malt into the grain bill. If you get your temp profile right, you don't need any smoked malt. If you must use smoked malt, limit it to less than 2 oz per 5 gallons.
 
SickTransitMundus said:
I pitch @ 58F and keep the primary in the fermentation chamber @ that temperature for 6 weeks. After that, a rouse and a couple days @ room temp to dry it out and chew up the minimal diacetyl. If you care about conforming to style (it's fine if you don't), esters should be minimized.

Anecdotally, I find that it's hard to get the yeasty "smokiness" at higher temps. Perhaps the esters obscure it. I've had too many overwhelmingly smoky examples of this style where people dump too much peated malt into the grain bill. If you get your temp profile right, you don't need any smoked malt. If you must use smoked malt, limit it to less than 2 oz per 5 gallons.
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I have not had any issues in getting the yeast to finish up within a week to 10 days in the mid to upper 50's temp ranges. The lower temps really create a clean finish and allow that yeasty smokiness to show. It's really too clean for my tastes on anything but the Scotch/Scottish styles.

I did a peat malt experiment and didn't like it. I used 4 oz in 12 gallons and the peat adds a lot of vegetal character that I thought was "ok" but would not be repeating.
 
brettwasbtd said:
Ya, I figured it was low, so I moved the fermenter to a warmer location and roused the yeast, I will give it some more time. Thanks!
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So I roused it and then moved it to a warmer location. Just took a gravity reading and it was about 1.018, so thats about 62.5% attenuation. I decided to rouse the yeast one more time. Its probably close to 70 degrees right now, so I think its about done. I am thinking that it is about done and the low attenuation is because of the 158 mash temp.
 
Randar said:
I have not had any issues in getting the yeast to finish up within a week to 10 days in the mid to upper 50's temp ranges.
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Yes, even at these temps that's a reasonable time to hit final gravity. This is a super-malty style so I let it sit on the yeast cake for another month to condition.
 

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