Advice on a new Scotch Ale recipe...thanks...

Hey guys I am looking to do a nice subtle Partial-Mash Scotch Ale brewed with heather tips...and I was curious if you could once again give me some pointers...I have not done this style of beer yet and have been just getting familiar with the styles, history, and getting familiar with recipes that are out there...I want to do a small twist with something goldish/copperish/reddish with a hint of smokiness and floral/honey...can you please give me some pointers on this rough recipe I have going since I am not sure if this will even work since it seems a little out there...thanks appreciate it! Here is what I have so far...

6lbs. Briess Gold LME
1lbs. Golden Promise
4oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt 20L
8oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt 10L
8oz. Carared
4oz. Peated Malt

1oz. Kent Golding pellets - 60min.

1oz. Heather Tips 10min. boil
1oz. Heather Tips secondary for 30 days
1tbsp. Irish Moss
Edinburgh Ale Liquid Yeast

OG - 1.056
FG - 1.015
SRM - 8 (Gold to Copper)
IBU - 14.3
ABV - 5.5%

I would mash at 155F for 60min. in 3gallons of water
Sparge with 170F with 2.5 gallons of water
Boil for 60min.
Cool with wort chiller to 70F
Ferment in 68F-70F

Curious about aging as well...seems to be a huge debate on using primary only and using a secondary as well...hmm

Not really necessary to do a secondary, but it may be your preference to do so.

I recently made a scotch ale myself. It lacks some of the mouthfeel of a scotch ale and I went with non-standard ingredients (I relied on munich for sweetness instead of crystal -- explains the thinner mouthfeel) but it is still rather tasty. One thing I wish I had done is age it on some oak for a week or two. You might want to think about setting aside a gallon or half a gallon and putting it on some oak before bottling.

We are actually keeping oak out of this one since we have a very nice Irish Stout fermented with medium toasted oak...it's very nice...and I am not sure how oak would taste with the floral taste and aroma of heather...What do you think of the recipe and layout of the brewing method?

ReverseApacheMaster said:

Not really necessary to do a secondary, but it may be your preference to do so.

I recently made a scotch ale myself. It lacks some of the mouthfeel of a scotch ale and I went with non-standard ingredients (I relied on munich for sweetness instead of crystal -- explains the thinner mouthfeel) but it is still rather tasty. One thing I wish I had done is age it on some oak for a week or two. You might want to think about setting aside a gallon or half a gallon and putting it on some oak before bottling.

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We are actually keeping oak out of this one since we have a very nice Irish Stout fermented with medium toasted oak...it's very nice...and I am not sure how oak would taste with the floral taste and aroma of heather...What do you think of the recipe and layout of the brewing method?

Do you think that doing the heather tips in the boil will make any significant difference? Or should I just throw them all in during the secondary...or maybe we wont even do a secondary?

Thoughts:

1. Gravity too light for Scotch Ale. I like to see at least 1065 OG for Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy.

2. Peat = Yech. If you want peaty malt beverage, find a nice Islay or Highland single-malt whiskey. It's permitted in the style, but I find it utterly icky; I like to keep my milieux separate.

3. Heather = NOM NOM NOM. I'd add it in the storage vessel.

4. Scottish ales of all types must be star-bright. If you can't get your beer star-bright in primary, you have two options: Transfer to a storage/settling vessel or filter. I'd transfer it, add the heather tips, and leave it for a month.

5. You intend to use too much liquor for a mash. You've got 2.5 lbs of grain. You want 1-1.5 quarts of liquor per pound of grist. I'd use 3 quarts to dough in and sparge out with another 3 quarts. What's your setup like? If you can mash 3 gallons of volume, you should be able to mash more than 2.5 lbs. My advice, if you're partial-mashing, is to mash as much as you possibly can and make up whatever difference remains with extract. If you can mash 5 lbs, DO IT.

Cheers,

Bob

Bob said:

Thoughts:

1. Gravity too light for Scotch Ale. I like to see at least 1065 OG for Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy.

2. Peat = Yech. If you want peaty malt beverage, find a nice Islay or Highland single-malt whiskey. It's permitted in the style, but I find it utterly icky; I like to keep my milieux separate.

3. Heather = NOM NOM NOM. I'd add it in the storage vessel.

4. Scottish ales of all types must be star-bright. If you can't get your beer star-bright in primary, you have two options: Transfer to a storage/settling vessel or filter. I'd transfer it, add the heather tips, and leave it for a month.

5. You intend to use too much liquor for a mash. You've got 2.5 lbs of grain. You want 1-1.5 quarts of liquor per pound of grist. I'd use 3 quarts to dough in and sparge out with another 3 quarts. What's your setup like? If you can mash 3 gallons of volume, you should be able to mash more than 2.5 lbs. My advice, if you're partial-mashing, is to mash as much as you possibly can and make up whatever difference remains with extract. If you can mash 5 lbs, DO IT.

Cheers,

Bob

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Hey thanks for the input...do you think that there is an advantage to pitching heather into the boil vs. adding to the secondary? Would it be beneficial to do both? Also do you have any thoughts on other grains I could use besides the peated malt and should I use more Golden Promise or just throw in some six-row to build the OG? Thanks!

6lbs. Briess Gold LME
2lbs. Golden Promise
2lbs. Melanoidin
8oz. Carapils/Dextrine
4oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt 20L
8oz. Caramel/Crystal Malt 10L

1oz. Kent Golding pellets - 60min.
1oz. Willamette - 30min.

1oz. Heather Tips 10min. boil
1oz. Heather Tips secondary for 30 days
1tbsp. Irish Moss
Edinburgh Ale Liquid Yeast

OG - 1.070
FG - 1.019
SRM - 10 (Gold to Copper)
IBU - 19.3
ABV - 6.8%

I changed it up a bit...Any thoughts? I have just over 5lbs. of grains for the mash which means I can mash in about 2gallons of water at around 155F for 60min.? Would that work? Then sparge 3gallons at 170F? I have the capabilities to do a full 5 gallon boil so I would like to at least have 5.5gallons for the boil since some will boil down...

That's a lot of melanoidin. I'd replace it with more Golden Promise and add just a bit of Roasted Barley - maybe 2-3 ounces. That'll give you a nice red color without any flavor addition.

Cheers!

Bob

Bob said:

That's a lot of melanoidin. I'd replace it with more Golden Promise and add just a bit of Roasted Barley - maybe 2-3 ounces. That'll give you a nice red color without any flavor addition.

Cheers!

Bob

Click to expand...

How does this look?

6lbs. Briess Gold LME
4.5lbs. Golden Promise
8oz. Carapils/Dextrine
4oz. Caramel Malt 20L
4oz. Melanoidin
2oz. Roasted Barley

1oz. Kent Golding - 60min. boil
1oz. Willamette - 30min. boil

1oz. Heather Tips - 30min. boil
1oz. Heather Tips - in the secondary
1tsp Irish Moss

OG - 1.070
FG - 1.019
SRM - 11 (Copper to Red/Lt. Brown
IBU - 17.9
ABV - 6.8%

Do you have a brewing process you could help me with...Could we mash in 2.5gallons? I have a 26qt. pot I am using...then sparge with 3gallons? In the past we have lost approximately .5gallon in the boil...Thanks...

That grist looks better.

"How much mash liquor do I use?" isn't really dependent on volume. It's dependent on the mash itself. If you get too hung up on numbers, you could mash in too dry or too wet, neither of which is going to help you.

As I wrote above, the grist:liquor ratio is 1 to 1.5 quarts of liquor to every pound of grist. The calculation is simple. Software helps.

Bob

Bob said:

That grist looks better.

"How much mash liquor do I use?" isn't really dependent on volume. It's dependent on the mash itself. If you get too hung up on numbers, you could mash in too dry or too wet, neither of which is going to help you.

As I wrote above, the grist:liquor ratio is 1 to 1.5 quarts of liquor to every pound of grist. The calculation is simple. Software helps.

Bob

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the help...I think this is going to be a good recipe...and now that I took your advice and changed it up a little I will end up getting more of the color I wanted...I think going low on the hops and bring in the heather will be a nice touch...