Scottish 80 NB vs AHBS and Dry vs Liquid yeast

[BillTheSlink]

It's time for yet another go at this one. Last year's, from Northern Brewer, went down in a blaze of infection due to a loose fitting bung that kept falling out. This year I really want to do a good one, as I have never had a Scottish beer and favor malt tilted beers over hop bombs.

Firstly, can any one comment on Norther Brewer's kit verses Austin Home Brew Supply's? These would both be all grain. Secondly, can I get just as good of a result using Safbrew S-33 as Wyeast #1728 Scottish Ale Yeast. I would rather go dry, as it is cheaper and suits my temp rang better. I wanted to ask though as I was going to do an Irish Red and was told by a very active member here who is a dry yeast fanatic the Irish does better with liquid and I am assuming the two are a lot a like.

 

[android]

i haven't brewed either kit, but from what i can gather, they both have two grains in them (some sort of pale and some sort of crystal). i would assume the difference in grain is negligible. so, you should be fine with either one.

personally, i'd just bite the bullet and get the liquid yeast, you'll be happy you did... it's only $4 more and if you can keep this beer right around 70 (the beer, not the room), it should turn out great.

 

[tincob]

If I can hijack the thread a little.

What style of beers would work with the Scottish Ale yeast?

I recently brewed a Midwest Scottish Ale with Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast and harvested some yeast. It is currently being cold crashed. I was wondering what other styles I could make with it.

I've read stouts. Any others?

 

[R2-D2]

If I can hijack the thread a little.

What style of beers would work with the Scottish Ale yeast?

I recently brewed a Midwest Scottish Ale with Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast and harvested some yeast. It is currently being cold crashed. I was wondering what other styles I could make with it.

I've read stouts. Any others?

This site has a list of acceptable uses for the Wyeast Scottish Ale: http://www.highgravitybrew.com/beeryeasts/styles_for_scottish_ale_1728.htm

You can view all yeast usage recommendations at: http://www.highgravitybrew.com/BeerYeasts/

It's definitely one of the most useful resources i have found. I actually have the White Labs version of the same yeast and plan to use it in upcoming American Brown Ale and Irish Red recipes. I might even use it for an IPA as it's fairly neutral and can be used as an everyday strain without impacting hops.

 

[tincob]

This site has a list of acceptable uses for the Wyeast Scottish Ale: http://www.highgravitybrew.com/beeryeasts/styles_for_scottish_ale_1728.htm

You can view all yeast usage recommendations at: http://www.highgravitybrew.com/BeerYeasts/

It's definitely one of the most useful resources i have found. I actually have the White Labs version of the same yeast and plan to use it in upcoming American Brown Ale and Irish Red recipes. I might even use it for an IPA as it's fairly neutral and can be used as an everyday strain without impacting hops.

Thanks. That's a pretty cool (and useful) website.

It might answer the OP's question also.

 

[phasedweasel]

If you use either the S-33 or the liquid Scottish, do NOT ferment at 70°. Scottish yeasts like to work very cold for an ale, and you'll get totally inappropriate flavors above maybe 62°.

I would not use the S-33 in any case. The Scottish 80 is supposed to be very clean and malt forward, plus maybe a tad sweet. On one of his podcasts, Jamil says he does not recommend using the liquid Scottish yeast for Scottish beers. He prefers a regular, cleanly fermented American / Cali ale yeast.

If you want to do dry, you could simply pitch S-05 and ferment as cold as possible. The FG might drop lower than is appropriate for style (that's why I made my 80/- with the Scottish liquid), but it will be easier to get a clean ferment. Do it cold and long, and maybe have some fun with kettle caramelization instead of faking it with crystal malts.

 

[Beerrific]

If I can hijack the thread a little.

What style of beers would work with the Scottish Ale yeast?

I recently brewed a Midwest Scottish Ale with Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast and harvested some yeast. It is currently being cold crashed. I was wondering what other styles I could make with it.

I've read stouts. Any others?

Beer I have recently made with the Scottish Ale yeast:
-Ordinary bitter
-Northern English Brown
-English IPA
-Hoppy American ale
-Cider

I think porters and stouts would work just fine as well.

 

[R2-D2]

If you use either the S-33 or the liquid Scottish, do NOT ferment at 70°. Scottish yeasts like to work very cold for an ale, and you'll get totally inappropriate flavors above maybe 62°.

I would not use the S-33 in any case. The Scottish 80 is supposed to be very clean and malt forward, plus maybe a tad sweet. On one of his podcasts, Jamil says he does not recommend using the liquid Scottish yeast for Scottish beers. He prefers a regular, cleanly fermented American / Cali ale yeast.

If you want to do dry, you could simply pitch S-05 and ferment as cold as possible. The FG might drop lower than is appropriate for style (that's why I made my 80/- with the Scottish liquid), but it will be easier to get a clean ferment. Do it cold and long, and maybe have some fun with kettle caramelization instead of faking it with crystal malts.

Thanks for those tips. I wasn't happy with my first attempt at a Scottish Ale and these modifications sound like the right path for me. Do you think the Wyeast 1272 - American Ale II would work well? I have been thinking about acquiring some for another brew and the more bang for the buck I can get, all the better. TIA.

 

[BillTheSlink]

If you use either the S-33 or the liquid Scottish, do NOT ferment at 70°. Scottish yeasts like to work very cold for an ale, and you'll get totally inappropriate flavors above maybe 62°.

I would not use the S-33 in any case. The Scottish 80 is supposed to be very clean and malt forward, plus maybe a tad sweet. On one of his podcasts, Jamil says he does not recommend using the liquid Scottish yeast for Scottish beers. He prefers a regular, cleanly fermented American / Cali ale yeast.

If you want to do dry, you could simply pitch S-05 and ferment as cold as possible. The FG might drop lower than is appropriate for style (that's why I made my 80/- with the Scottish liquid), but it will be easier to get a clean ferment. Do it cold and long, and maybe have some fun with kettle caramelization instead of faking it with crystal malts.

Thank you. I had read that in "Brewing Classic Styles", but wasn't sure if that was indeed the way to go. I don't think I'll play around with kettle carmelization though as it requires a judgment call then fiddling with the pre-boil gravity. I am afraid I am good with neither.:cross: I'll try the S-05 as I am now set up to control my temps through "The Low tech Lagering System" from the Basic Homebrewing Guys.

 

[jsullivan02130]

I am drinking a Scottish ale made with US-05 as per BCS and I can tell you that, for me at least, it is a good way to go. Keep it cool and you'll have a nicely fermented SA with few esters.

 

[phasedweasel]

I haven't tried my new 80/- yet, it just hit the bottles, but this time I tried to keep it closer to the original grain bills. It is nothing but pale and a bit of roasted for color. I did this way because I wanted to play with kettle caramelization.

Instead of boiling the whole wort for like 3 hours to try to get caramelization / melanoidins, you can instead boil a small amount separately (I guess analogously to a decoction mash). I boiled a gallon in parallel to the main wort down to about a quart, and added it back. The beer has plenty of color, and I can't wait to see how the taste differs from melanoidin malts and caramel malts.