and so the Scottish succession begins...

[Got Trub?]

Zymurgrafy - nice series of posts. I'm getting ready to do a series also but only a 60/- and then pitch an appropriate amount of slurry into a wee heavy.

I've brewed a lot of lower gravity beers the past few years and found building a second, much smaller tun was the way to go. I have way more consistent mash temps with the smaller volume but I did have to insulate it with foil bubble wrap and throw some towels on top.

What are you finding is a good volume of CO2 and what temp are you serving yours at? I had been bottling previously and shooting for around 1.2-1.5 volumes but have since switched to kegs.

GT

 

[Zymurgrafi]

Got Trub?

I keep my kegerator as warm as I can with the regular thermostat which is about 40F. Some day I think I'll get a temp controller to have it at up around 50-55F. I currently keep my English/Scottish ales around 1.8 volumes. I realize that is on the higher end for these styles but it works for me right now. I tend to think I would enjoy a lower carbonation if I were able to keep and serve the beer at a warmer temp. So for now it is 1.80 volumes or so. That translates to about 6-6.5 PSI on the regulator at the temps my fridge will hold.

 

[farmbrewernw]

That beer looks tasty.

 

[BigNastyBrew]

Well, in my opinon (and others as well) peat smoked malt does not belong in a Scottish or Scotch ale!

AMEN!!!

Even recent BJCP judges have been duped into thinking these beers should have peat in them and it just isn't so. Scottish Heavy, if it has the flavor, arrives that way naturally and without the peat.

Anyway...I know it's an old thread but I had to praise this.

 

[Got Trub?]

Got Trub?

I keep my kegerator as warm as I can with the regular thermostat which is about 40F. Some day I think I'll get a temp controller to have it at up around 50-55F. I currently keep my English/Scottish ales around 1.8 volumes. I realize that is on the higher end for these styles but it works for me right now. I tend to think I would enjoy a lower carbonation if I were able to keep and serve the beer at a warmer temp. So for now it is 1.80 volumes or so. That translates to about 6-6.5 PSI on the regulator at the temps my fridge will hold.

Thanks for the info. I have a keezer with a controller and will raise the temp for these. When I get more organized I hope to be brewing beers for the seasons so I can be drinking warmer English/Scottish styles in the winter and cooler lagers etc in the heat of summer. I'll also need to make some shorter beer lines to balance the system for those lower pressures. Sigh... It never ends.

GT

 

[lordbeermestrength]

AMEN!!!

Even recent BJCP judges have been duped into thinking these beers should have peat in them and it just isn't so. Scottish Heavy, if it has the flavor, arrives that way naturally and without the peat.

Anyway...I know it's an old thread but I had to praise this.

I had a scottish ale that was just released at a fairly well known Portland brewery and I swear it had a touch of either peated or rauch malt in it. NOT good. Didn't even finish drinking it.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

This weekend though should see the return of the Scottish brewing.

Okay. So life happens and I did not get to it that weekend. Spent most of that weekend in the hospital with my daughter as she had a wicked case of croup and could not breathe. Several other less serious ailments going around the house as well...

But, I have returned. Bompa Bristle's 80/- ale is happily chugging away at 60F in the basement. Got to brew it on Friday (plus 13 gallons of other beers last week!!). Went much smoother this time around. With 9 lb. 2.5 oz. grain bill, the floating lid, a higher water to grist ration and a much higher strike water temp I actually had to cool it down a few degrees this time. I am thinking the grain weight was probably the biggest factor in having an easier time. It must be at the lower threshold of weight my system can take.

So. Recipe and changes this time around.

9 lb. of Marris Otter
2.5 oz. of roasted barley.

28 g of Golding hops.

Mash temp I went for 158F this time to give it lots of chewiness. I actually ended up with 61F after using a strike temp of 182. So I poured some cool water in and stirred until it cooled. Ended up with 159. Left it there as I figured it would drop some and it did. Was reading 156F to 158F at the end of the hour depending on the part of the tun I took the temp from.

Caramelized again as usual. Cold temps outside (single digits I did not write down the exact temp) made the reduction happen much quicker. I ended up reducing to 1.125 quarts. Had one nasty boil over too as I got a bit impatient at the end and messed with the nice boil i had going. Then left it... Not sure how much was lost there but I achieved my preboil gravity and was not over as I had been in the past. OG ended up being

Volumes were all spot on and transfer was much smoother with the auto siphon.

Got a bit of good reading material as I gear up for the final installment. Scotch Ale #8 in the Classic Beer Style Series by Greg Noonan. I highly recommend it.

Here is the book with a recent glass acquisition

Okay so it is my 70/- and not a wee heavy. Notice any similarities to the book...

 

[novafire]

Where would one go about buying glasses like that?

 

[jpc]

So. Recipe and changes this time around.

9 lb. of Marris Otter
2.5 oz. of roasted barley.

28 g of Golding hops.

Quick question... from some of what I've read, Scottish brewers prefer Golden Promise to Maris Otter. Is there a reason that you are using MO instead?

Just curious...

 

[Hodor_Baggins]

Well that did it, I saw this thread and I just had to brew your 70/- recipe. I really wasn't planning on brewing, but sometimes plans change I almost had to call this an 80/- because I got close to 80% efficiency! I'm used to getting 75%. Now comes the waiting game . . .

P.S. A tip to anybody boiling down the 1 gallon to 1 quart: use a huge pot to do it. I used Fermcap + an 8 quart pot, and it was still trying to boil over when it was at 1 quart.