Brewing a Scotch Ale for this winter

[Garage12brewing]

Hello all !

I want to brew a Scotch Ale tommorow that would be around 5,5-6% ABV

Here is my recipe I created by looking at different recipe. I am confused by all the terms Scottish Al, Scotch Ale, Export and also by the major difference there is between many recipes..... but I guess I am in the range of the style. In Beersmith I choosed the '' Scottish export '' style.

What temperature would you recommand for fermentation schedule ? People are talking about very low temperature in the 50-60F range ?

10 Gallons

Marris Otter 19lbs
Cara/Crystal 120L 1lb,4oz
Cara/Crystal 40L 1lbs
Munich malt 1lbs
Roasted barley 8oz
Chocolate Malt 4oz
Smoked peat Malt 1,5oz
Challenger hop 2oz 60min
Scottish Ale 1728 with starter

Here is my mash schedule for my Braumeister
40C 0min
52C 10min
69C 45min
73C 15min
78C 10min
90 minutes boiltime


Thanks for your opinion/help !

Cheers

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Hello all !

I want to brew a Scotch Ale tommorow that would be around 5,5-6% ABV

Here is my recipe I created by looking at different recipe. I am confused by all the terms Scottish Al, Scotch Ale, Export and also by the major difference there is between many recipes..... but I guess I am in the range of the style....


Roasted barley 8oz
Chocolate Malt 4oz
Smoked peat Malt 1,5oz

Depends what you're going for, something that would actually have been brewed in Scotland (in which case ditch the roast barley and smoked malt) or one of the bastardisations that have happened in the US and elsewhere - they're inherently simple beers generally with just pale, often crystal, maybe some grits or sugar. If you want recipes from the source, see http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/search/label/Scotch Ale - and be prepared for Scotch Ales of 136 IBU or more...

Typically pitched at 55-60F and left to free rise - that's not a "very low" temperature in Scotland!

 

[nobadays]

I did one last year but used Beechwood smoked malt.... peat is really strong even in small amounts.... the ale was a hit.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I would drop peat malt and reduce roasted malts to lower "accent" levels. I think that recipe will give you something in Porter territory.

 

[brewbama]

Scottish = “No long boils, normal fermentation temperatures and roast barley nowhere to be seen. And plenty of hops.” — Ron P.

...and no smoked malt

All ‘rules’ broken in OP recipe above.

Go for it!

 

[Garage12brewing]

Ok I got it ! I need to read more on this style I guess.

 

[Garage12brewing]

Then it would look like :


Marris Otter 19lbs
Cara/Crystal 120L 1lb,4oz
Cara/Crystal 40L 1lbs
Munich malt 1lbs
Chocolate Malt 4oz
Northdown hop 2oz 60min ( replaced the Challenger hops that arent available )
Scottish ale 1728 BEEN REPLACED by Safale S-04... my brewing shop is out of the 1728.

 

[kevin58]

And the Scottish brewing mythology lives on.

Did the Scots use peat to kiln their malt? No. The vast majority of Scottish Brewers were located in the central part of the country where coal was plentiful. So they wouldn't have gone through the expense of shipping an inferior fuel across the country when they had all that wonderful coal available.

The Scottish brewers boiled a long time... that's how they got that malty character. No. If you look at Scottish brewery logs that list boil times you will find that they boiled about the same time... and sometimes less!... than London brewers.

The Scots fermented cool. No. Not necessarily. In Scottish brewery logs there is often a page for logging "Heats and Beats" with heat of course being the temperature and beats being a notation of how many days after fermentation. Worts were typically pitched at 57° and rose to the upper 60's and even to the low 70's.

As Northerbrewer stated, Scottish recipes are/were dead simple. So much so that some brewers used the same grist for a majority of their beers with the only difference being coloring added at racking time.

 

[Garage12brewing]

And the Scottish brewing mythology lives on.

Did the Scots use peat to kiln their malt? No. The vast majority of Scottish Brewers were located in the central part of the country where coal was plentiful. So they wouldn't have gone through the expense of shipping an inferior fuel across the country when they had all that wonderful coal available.

The Scottish brewers boiled a long time... that's how they got that malty character. No. If you look at Scottish brewery logs that list boil times you will find that they boiled about the same time... and sometimes less!... than London brewers.

The Scots fermented cool. No. Not necessarily. In Scottish brewery logs there is often a page for logging "Heats and Beats" with heat of course being the temperature and beats being a notation of how many days after fermentation. Worts were typically pitched at 57° and rose to the upper 60's and even to the low 70's.

As Northerbrewer stated, Scottish recipes are/were dead simple. So much so that some brewers used the same grist for a majority of their beers with the only difference being coloring added at racking time.

Thanks for the information... still this style of beer isnt that easy to understand lol

 

[kevin58]

Thanks for the information... still this style of beer isnt that easy to understand lol

Just know that there has been a lot of romanticizing of Scottish brewing based more on lore and assumptions rather than the written record. Spend some time on Ron Pattinson's blog: Shut Up About Barclay Perkins and if you are really interested in the subject pick up a copy of his book: Scotland Vol. 2. It's not cheap but he offers discounts every once in a while. After a while you'll discover that Scottish brewing is really very simple... almost boring. The hard part is un-learning all the fluff that has been written before.