Specialty Smoked Beer 100% Peated Ale

[Alchemist42]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

1728 Scottish Ale Wyeast

Yeast Starter

Yes - 1 c DME/Qt

Batch Size (Gallons)

5.5

Original Gravity

1.096

Final Gravity

1.020 (jprojected)

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

20

Color

Dark Brown

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

Still there

Tasting Notes

This is the 2nd run of this. 1st was amazingly smooth in the peat give the amount.

I had one the the best brewing sessions I've had in years. It all went perfectly. Like clockwork. 2nd time I've brewed it. Thought I would toss it out to share:

Brimstone Peated Ale 5.5 gallons

14 lbs Bairds Peated Malt
1 lb Bairds Peated Malt lightly toasted
1 lb Bairds Peated Malt Medium roasted (Brown malt level)

2 oz Fuggles 6.7 alpha 60 minute boil
1728 Scottish Ale Yeast Wyeast

OG 1.096
FG 1.020 projected - in the primary

Mashed grains with 10 qt water @ 135 - stabilized @ 122 F. Held 20 min.
Added 2 qt boiling water - stabilized @ 130 F. Held 20 min.
Added 4 qt boiling water - stabilized @ 142 F. Held 20 min.
Decocted 4 Qt - Boiled 5 minutes & returned - stabilized at 155 F 60 min
Iodine test clean
Decocted 8 qt - boiled 5 minutes & returned - mash out at 174 F.

Sparged with 5 gallons at 175 F. Collected 6.5 gallon total.
Boiled 1 hour with hops.
Counter flow chilled.
Pitched yeast.

Oddly (in a great way), I got a way better extraction than I expected and wanted to toss that around. Using Beer Calculus it nominally projected an OG of 1.072. But I got a whopping 1.096. The only think I can really come up with is that the PPG of 32 is way low and my eff is better than the default 75%. Bumping to a PPG of 42 and an 85% eff gets me much closer, but damn, I know I'm good but I have trouble believing that good (small humor here) - that's DME levels.

So, any thoughts about what went on? I should mention that when I did this as a small test batch of a couple gallons a couple years ago, I got similar results but chalked it up to sloppy measurements, but I'm sure of the numbers above.

Aside from all that, I'm near giddy to get this into my keg - Laphroiag's ale cousin

 

[passedpawn]

I'd like to hear back from you how it tastes. I like the smoke.

 

[Steelers77]

You should make this an Eis ale to increase the alcohol. Let hear how it tastes in about a year, way to go!

 

[Alchemist42]

You should make this an Eis ale to increase the alcohol. Let hear how it tastes in about a year, way to go!

OMG why? It's already going to be over 9% - not even close to too shabby in my book. I recall the first one was amazingly quaffable after 2 months. I am certainly one to put this back for a while, but much may not be left after a year.

 

[smokinghole]

How's this going for you?

 

[dwarven_stout]

It's recipes like this that ruin smoked beer competitions. lol.

So how'd it go?

 

[Alchemist42]

It's recipes like this that ruin smoked beer competitions. lol.

So how'd it go?

LMAO.

I'll have to keep that in mind

It is going well. The FG seems a tad high at 1.029, but given that it started 1.096 I think it's fine. And also that I'm going to keg it, I'm not too worried about it over carbonating should it be slightly stuck.

Regardless, it's tasting great. Liquid smoked silk. It just slides down so smooth.

 

[Alchemist42]

Well, I kegged this up a couple days ago and have been religiously shaking it to carbonate for tomorrow. I could not take the suspense - I had to make sure I was going to serve a quality product (to three peated Scotch drinkers) tomorrow.

So I pulled a half pint. OMFG A beautiful rich red/brown topped by what I think is the densest ivory head I've ever had outside of a pint of Guinness. The aroma is of course is solid peat...but there is a great maltiness and hints of toffee in there too. And the taste. All I could hope for. The head is a thick as it looks and the smoke just melts in your mouth - suffusing delicate sweet smoke around your mouth. The ale has a touch of hops up front, breaking into that toffee and caramel (decoction mashing YEAH) and the most exquisite explosion of silky peat outside of a sherry casked dram of scotch.
(my daughter (11 - don't tell just walked past, and ask for a taste - I agreed - 'this is what you made - it's good' - that's my girl).

Anyway - I'm in love/lust/rapture with this. Ashtray? - pashaw. Not even close. Silken ambrosia to my taste.

 

[passedpawn]

Well, I kegged this up a couple days ago and have been religiously shaking it to carbonate for tomorrow. I could not take the suspense - I had to make sure I was going to serve a quality product (to three peated Scotch drinkers) tomorrow.

So I pulled a half pint. OMFG A beautiful rich red/brown topped by what I think is the densest ivory head I've ever had outside of a pint of Guinness. The aroma is of course is solid peat...but there is a great maltiness and hints of toffee in there too. And the taste. All I could hope for. The head is a thick as it looks and the smoke just melts in your mouth - suffusing delicate sweet smoke around your mouth. The ale has a touch of hops up front, breaking into that toffee and caramel (decoction mashing YEAH) and the most exquisite explosion of silky peat outside of a sherry casked dram of scotch.
(my daughter (11 - don't tell just walked past, and ask for a taste - I agreed - 'this is what you made - it's good' - that's my girl).

Anyway - I'm in love/lust/rapture with this. Ashtray? - pashaw. Not even close. Silken ambrosia to my taste.

So I guess you like it then?

I'd love to try it. Maybe I'll give it a shot this winter.

 

[Alchemist42]

You could say that.

And it was a 100% smashing success yesterday over Thanksgiving. Albeit all peated Scotch drinkers, it was quite appreciated, termed strong, but not over the top - or no more so than Laphroiag . One and all went back for multiple glasses.

 

[passedpawn]

I think a Peated Malt SMaSH is one of the least likely things I would ever see. Great job jumping on this. I'm truly impressed, and I'd love to try it myself.

 

[Alchemist42]

I think a Peated Malt SMaSH is one of the least likely things I would ever see. Great job jumping on this. I'm truly impressed, and I'd love to try it myself.

If you want to take the chance that a keg filed bottle might be a touch flat, I'd be happy to send you one - drop me a line. Also, any suggestions how to fill a bottle that is from a force keg carbonated would be great. Do I just drop my dispensing pressure and fill 'er up?

 

[passedpawn]

If you want to take the chance that a keg filed bottle might be a touch flat, I'd be happy to send you one - drop me a line. Also, any suggestions how to fill a bottle that is from a force keg carbonated would be great. Do I just drop my dispensing pressure and fill 'er up?

That's very nice of you to offer. But I think I'll just try this myself. Thanks again.

BTW, did you ever take a pic of your beer? Love to see what it looks like.

 

[fastenova]

Alchemist - where in Oregon are you? I'm just getting into brewing beer - been doing mead for several years now - and am starting off with a Sierra Nevada Porter clone.

This sounds AMAZING. I am a scotch lover and think that once I graduate to all-grain brewing, I would love to try your recipe. I have several scotch enthusiast/beer drinking friends that would probably love a peaty ale.

Sounds amazing and thanks for the wonderful idea and for sharing!

Aaron

 

[Alchemist42]

I'm in Eugene. And doing a Bourbon Imperial Stout today, even as I type this.

I'm thrilled to hear you think this is amazing? It's even better than it sounds

It's a great all-grain recipe to try. Good luck and feel free to ask questions if you have them.

 

[ChemLab]

My god, this sounds amazing! I am a big fan of peaty, smokey scotch, so I putting this in my queue. Thank you for sharing!!!

 

[WYOBrews]

Could you help an extract brewer out with this one....????? I love scotch and have been thinking about something like this for a while. Anyone ever add scotch to their brew, like in a bourbon barrel stout?

 

[smokinghole]

It'll be tough to do something like this with extract only. You'd have to do a partial mash because there's no one out there that makes extract with peated malt. You'll have to at a minimum do a partial mash with about half your fermentables being peated malt.

 

[Alchemist42]

I've added scotch to my ale before...but sadly (in this context) it does not even step into the same room as the peated ale.

I really can't come up with anything that would let an extract brewer try this. It's simply based too strongly on the peated malt. A partial mash is all I can come up with, and I think that would be both very costly and much less effective.

Or you could try peating/smoking your malt extract, but I have serious doubts about that working.

Maybe it's time for trying a small 1-2 gal all grain batch???

 

[WYOBrews]

Honestly, thanks for the input guys! I'm not ready to go all grain and don't really have the time to try out a small all grain batch. I'd seriously be willing to give the partial a shot if you'd be willing to share even if the cost would be high! Thanks so much! This beer/style is very intriguing to me!

 

[foltster]

Would you brew this again?

 

[Alchemist42]

Absolutely. 100% sure I would and will.

 

[GordonT]

Absolutely. 100% sure I would and will.

Sounds awesome. I've been experimenting with wood and smoke in beer and this fits right in. Once I get hold of enough peated malt to get going on this I'll report back how it turns out.

Thanks and cheers

 

[Alchemist42]

Looking forward to it. I'm curious how this works out for others.

 

[zeekage]

I brewed a half batch of smoked porter with 4oz of peated malt (this was mistakenly double what the recipe called for) and it was way over the top smoke for what I wanted. I can't imagine what 100% peated malt tasted like. I don't think I'll be brewing one myself but would love to try a bottle if anyone near me ever brewed one. I don't drink scotch so I cant compare tastes there.

 

[Alchemist42]

I think this falls into the 'never the twain shall meet'. I can't wrap my head around making a 'smoked' porter, and finding that 4 oz was over the top. I don't think I could even taste 4 oz. My latest Imperial Stout had 2 lbs of peated malt and was moderate in the peat.

 

[smokinghole]

I'm with you. My barleywine had two pounds and I can taste it but it's not intense to me. When I hand it to others they go "wow that's smokey". I can taste the peat but not the smoke as much. I am a cigar smoker though so my perception of smoke is different.

 

[zeekage]

I am curious if either of you consider stone smoked porter to have any smoke flavor at all. The beer I was going for was a clone of that. What I ended up making tasted like an ashtray compared to stone's version. To me, stone smoked porter has a definite smoke flavor but it's not overpowering. So to you guys it must just taste like a smokeless porter?

 

[smokinghole]

As a matter of fact using that as a reference beer I had a hard time finding smoke flavor in the beer the one and only time I bought Stone Smoked Porter. Due to not really being able to taste the smoke I never bought it again.

 

[Bobby_M]

I think this falls into the 'never the twain shall meet'. I can't wrap my head around making a 'smoked' porter, and finding that 4 oz was over the top. I don't think I could even taste 4 oz. My latest Imperial Stout had 2 lbs of peated malt and was moderate in the peat.

I think you might be confusing peat smoked with a smoked base malt like weyermans. There is no way in hell you can use pounds of peat.