Scottish Heavy For Peat's Sake Strong Scotch Ale

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jgourd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
810
Reaction score
48
Location
Louisiana
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale)
Yeast Starter
3200mL
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
3500mL
Batch Size (Gallons)
11
Original Gravity
1.074
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
24
Color
14 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 days @60F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
3 days @32F
Tasting Notes
Beautiful smoke and peat that is surprisingly not too strong and hints of Islay!
Significant smoke and peat on the nose with detectable malt and bread. Quite malty flavor with strong smoke and peat; also quite bready with hints of warm biscuits in the morning. Finish is smoky and peppery and does indeed remind me of Islay Scotch (something like an Ardbeg, Laphroaig, or Bruichladdich).

I served this at a brew event (there were about 100 different kinds of beer there, including 15 different kinds of homebrews). This won brewer's choice (the best beer picked by homebrewers and pro brewers). I never thought that it would -- it was an experiment!

I heard the distiller's review of Ardbeg Supernova and how they experimented with smoking the malt over peat for 7 days. The initial thought was that it would be too overpowering. In the end, after aging in the barrel, the peat actually wrapped up the other flavors in the Scotch and was well balanced. So I decided to try this with beer. What the hell...100% peat smoked malt. And the result is actually quite well balanced! Here she is:

Code:
For Peat's Sake Strong Scotch Ale
---------------------------------
Batch Size: 11 gal (14 gal preboil)
Estimated OG: 1.075 SG (actual: 1.074 SG)
Estimated FG: 1.022 SG (actual: 1.012 SG)
Estimated IBUs: 24 (Tinseth; actual: 24)
Estimated Color: 14 SRM (actual: 14 SRM)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70% (actual: 70%)
Boil Time: 90 minutes

Grains:
27# Peated malt (87%)
2# Home toasted peated malt (medium color, 30 SRM) (6.5%)
2# Home toasted peated malt (dark color, 50 SRM) (6.5%)

Hops:
2.5 oz Challenger (UK) (7%AA) @90 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale)

Toasting:
Toasted 2# of peated malt at 350F for 1.5 hrs (lay the malt in a thin layer on a cookie sheet)
Toasted the other 2# of peated malt at 350F for 2.5 hrs (1 hr longer).

Planned decoction mash:
Mash-in at 122F for 20 min.
Increase temp to 130F for 20 min.
Increase temp to 142F for 20 min.
Decoct 2 gal, boil 5 min, and return to mash to increase temp to 155F for 60 min.
Decoct 4 gal, boil 5 min, and return to mash to increase temp to 174F for mash-out.
Recirculate and collect.
Sparge at 175F.

Actual decoction mash (because real life hardly ever goes as planned):
Mashed-in at 1.2 qts/lb with 138F strike water for a target temp of 133F for 40 min.
Decocted 2 gal, boiled for 5 min, and returned to mash; temp increased to 145F; mashed for 30 min.
Decocted 4 gal, boiled for 5 min, and returned to mash; temp increased to 154F; mashed for 60 min.
Started recirculating mash shortly thereafter, then increased temp to 174F for mash-out.
Collected and sparged at 175F for a target preboil volume of 14 gal.

Yeast starter:
Made a 3200mL starter with Wyeast 1728.
After three days, added an additional 3700mL wort to the starter (actually split across two flasks).
This made a total of 6700mL starter, split among two fermenters.  Of course, it was cold crashed and decanted before pitching.

Fermentation Schedule:
Primary fermentation: 14 days @60F
Secondary fermentation: cold crash 3 days @32F

Notes:
This one needed a blowoff tube.
 
I find it very difficult to believe it is drinkable unless your peat smoked malt was VERY different than what I use. I used .1 pound in a 5 gallon batch and got a pretty heavy flavor. I would limit what I use to no more than .5 pound in a batch??????
 
I can't tell from the link what the peat smoked malt really was but mine made no mention of being a peat smoked whisky malt.

And the link does say "almost undrinkable unless blended"

I am sure what I used would be undrinkable unless blended.
 
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