I bought some peated malt and was planning to brew a 1 gallon batch of an IPA with it. Some people say 5% peated malt is too much, but maybe they don't like Islay whiskeys. I smelled the peated malt and it doesn't smell that strong, so I'm thinking 5% will be way too weak, and someone mentioned having a good IPA that was 10% peated malt. On the other hand, some people are saying they love their 100% peated malt brews, but they aren't brewing 100% peated IPAs. After reading about the 100% peated malt recipes, I'm thinking about going up to 50% because I really like Laphroaig, and I want to make something that has that big peaty taste, but I also want the hops to come through. I plan to use a lot of hops (2.5 oz in 1 gallon with 2 oz coming in the last 20 minutes, also plan to dry hop with at least a half oz), so I think the hops will cut through even at 50% peated malt, but I'm worried the flavors could clash. On the other hand if I go 5-10% peated malt, I'm thinking it might not really give me that Laphroaig taste I'm looking for and will just detract from what could have been a good IPA. Just seeing if anyone who really likes strong Islay whiskeys has any experience brewing a peated IPA and could give me an idea of how much peated malt I should use.
Islay style IPA
- Thread starter ianmatth
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ianmatth
Well-Known Member
I decided to use 20% peated malt. My plan is to mash 2 lbs 2-row and 8 oz Peated in 1.25 gallons of water for 60 minutes at 145* then heat up to 170* for a 10 minute rest. That should give me an OG of 1.060 if I have 65% efficiency and 1 gallon after boil off. Interestingly enough this will actually be my first all grain batch as I have been doing PM so far.
Quadrupled
Well-Known Member
A couple things to think about:
1. You're mashing on the thinner side - not too thin, but I know many of us are around 1.25 quarts per pound
2. You're mash temp is going to lead to a more dry beer - is this what you're trying to achieve?
3. Low mash temperatures are generally mashed longer (i.e. 90 minutes) or step mashed from the lower temp to a higher temp (i.e. 145F for 30 mins then 155F for 30 mins).
4. Lastly, I'm unsure if it's a potential problem to combine low mash temps and having a thin mash - my thinking is you may have thinned your enzymes a bit and have less enzyme activity due to temps. Again this may not be real, just a thought.
Good luck with you're first AG!
1. You're mashing on the thinner side - not too thin, but I know many of us are around 1.25 quarts per pound
2. You're mash temp is going to lead to a more dry beer - is this what you're trying to achieve?
3. Low mash temperatures are generally mashed longer (i.e. 90 minutes) or step mashed from the lower temp to a higher temp (i.e. 145F for 30 mins then 155F for 30 mins).
4. Lastly, I'm unsure if it's a potential problem to combine low mash temps and having a thin mash - my thinking is you may have thinned your enzymes a bit and have less enzyme activity due to temps. Again this may not be real, just a thought.
Good luck with you're first AG!
ianmatth
Well-Known Member
I assumed a thinner mash would increase efficiency, and I am going for a dry beer. My first PM was a Pliny the Younger clone, and it was recommended to use 2 quarts per pound, mash at 145* for 60-90 minutes, then do a dunk sparge at 168*. I only got 48% efficiency. I did a PM Pliny the Elder clone after that and was able to get 75% efficiency mashing at 144* for 90 minutes, and then letting the grain bag sit in the kettle for 10 minutes and pushing it around with a spatula while the temperature increased from 156*-168*.
I would consider what I did a step mash, and I actually measured gravity at each point to determine how much efficiency each process gave me. I got 55% efficiency from the 90 minutes mash, and the 10 minute step up gave me an additional 20% efficiency, so I assume I can get 65% efficiency even if the initial mash is only 60 minutes.
What I'm actually planning to do here after the initial mash is heat the wort (which should be in the low 140s after a 60 minute mash at 145*) up to 170* while pushing the grain bag around with a spatula, then put the top on the kettle and let it sit at 170* for 10 minutes before removing the grain bag and boiling the wort. I assume using this process with the combination of an initial low mash temp and a thin mash will increase attenuation and efficiency.
I would consider what I did a step mash, and I actually measured gravity at each point to determine how much efficiency each process gave me. I got 55% efficiency from the 90 minutes mash, and the 10 minute step up gave me an additional 20% efficiency, so I assume I can get 65% efficiency even if the initial mash is only 60 minutes.
What I'm actually planning to do here after the initial mash is heat the wort (which should be in the low 140s after a 60 minute mash at 145*) up to 170* while pushing the grain bag around with a spatula, then put the top on the kettle and let it sit at 170* for 10 minutes before removing the grain bag and boiling the wort. I assume using this process with the combination of an initial low mash temp and a thin mash will increase attenuation and efficiency.
Quadrupled
Well-Known Member
Please know that I meant in no way to criticize or make you potentially uneasy with your decisions; I was just pointing out a few of my observations from your post.
Check out braukaiser's webpage, specifically this one. http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.ph...ity_and_efficiency_in_single_infusion_mashing
Again, good luck, switching to AG was a blast for me and I wish you great luck with this. I too enjoy the peaty scotches - I took a whiskey tour in Scotland during a business trip a few years ago and really enjoy smokey Scotch.
I was actually really looking forward to enjoying Schlenkerla a couple of years ago expecting a "Scotch" smokiness and was disappointed with a slimjim-like flavor.
ianmatth
Well-Known Member
I brewed the beer tonight. Here is the recipe:
2 lbs 2-row
8 oz Peated Malt
Mash at 150* for 240 minutes (I had to leave unexpectedly)
Heat up to 170* while stirring around
7g CTZ @ 60
7g mix Citra, Centennial, Simcoe, El Dorado, Amarillo, and Mosaic @ 20, 15, 10, 5, 2, 0
OG is 1.064. I pitched ~50 billion cells of WLP090 and plan to ferment in the kettle at 65*.
2 lbs 2-row
8 oz Peated Malt
Mash at 150* for 240 minutes (I had to leave unexpectedly)
Heat up to 170* while stirring around
7g CTZ @ 60
7g mix Citra, Centennial, Simcoe, El Dorado, Amarillo, and Mosaic @ 20, 15, 10, 5, 2, 0
OG is 1.064. I pitched ~50 billion cells of WLP090 and plan to ferment in the kettle at 65*.
The_Doctor
Active Member
I love me some Islay malts (give me my Lagavulin or give me death), but I wouldn't use that much (if any) peated malt in my ales. Of course these are just my opinions and amount to nothing if you like the beer.
1: Distilled malts leave most of the smoke compounds in the mash and still end up with quite a smokey flavor.
2: Any good malt is aged over a decade, then diluted and bottle. Again ending up with quite a smokey flavor.
3: Islay malts are quite dry which helps to balance the peat character. In my opinion lagers are the best beer medium for smoke as I've never tasted a smoked ale that I didn't regret. Ales, especially american ales, have too much bitterness, fruity compounds, and sugar to find a balance with the smoke. The cleanness and extended aging of lagers seem to favor better and are more analogous to how peated malts are used in distilling.
That being said, I'm interested in seeing how this turns out!
1: Distilled malts leave most of the smoke compounds in the mash and still end up with quite a smokey flavor.
2: Any good malt is aged over a decade, then diluted and bottle. Again ending up with quite a smokey flavor.
3: Islay malts are quite dry which helps to balance the peat character. In my opinion lagers are the best beer medium for smoke as I've never tasted a smoked ale that I didn't regret. Ales, especially american ales, have too much bitterness, fruity compounds, and sugar to find a balance with the smoke. The cleanness and extended aging of lagers seem to favor better and are more analogous to how peated malts are used in distilling.
That being said, I'm interested in seeing how this turns out!
ianmatth
Well-Known Member
I just racked to secondary and am dry-hopping with Citra, Simcoe, Centennial, and Amarillo leaf hops. Gravity is down to 1.006. I like the taste, big IPA taste and a good amount of smokiness, however the taste seems a little more meat than peat. I'll see how this turns out when it's 100% finished, but I like it so far. I think I'm going to go 50% peated malt the next time I do this and see how they end up comparing.
ianmatth
Well-Known Member
I thought about trying to dry hop an Islay scotch. I tried dry hopping a Cabernet once (interesting, but not so great). Anyway, I bought a bottle of Ardbeg today, and I'm not an idiot, so before I tried to dry hop it, I figured I'd do a search to see if someone had done this before...apparently not, so I guess I'll be the first one to try. I have 3g of leaf hops in a mesh bag (50% citra, 20% simcoe, 20%, centennial, 10% amarillo). I'm putting it in an 8 oz jar, pouring Ardbeg 10-year in it, and letting it sit for ~3 days. The bottle cost me $46 with tax, so I think I can spare $10-$15 of a good Islay scotch for this. If it sucks, I'll add oak chips for a week. I might just drink a shot and add oak chips for a week anyway, don't see how that could hurt a scotch.
ianmatth
Well-Known Member
Don't dry hop scotch, in fact don't dry hop any whiskey, and possibly don't dry hop anything above 25% ABV. I would describe the hop flavor as astringent lemon. I pulled out the hops and put a pinch of oak chips in, hopefully that can save my $12 of good scotch from being almost undrinkable.
HopHoarder
Well-Known Member
I too am interested in how this will turn out.
ianmatth
Well-Known Member
The beer is pretty interesting, but I think the peat taste (as I said it was more meat than peat) detracted from what was a perfectly good IPA. The next time I use peated malt, I will probably brew more towards a Scottish ale. 20% peat wasn't too much, so I will probably go with 50% peated malt next time. The oak chips probably smoothed the taste a little and are a nice compliment to either a smoked ale or an IPA. They also saved my dry hopped Ardbeg, it is actually pretty drinkable now.
