Very malty (read, too sweet) Strong Scottish Ale

[wbyrd01]

I posted this in another subforum but it may not have been the right place, only been looked at once and zero replies!


Last year I brewed a strong scottish ale that I wanted to have as a Christmas beer. Long story short, after eight months of aging I kegged it, hooked up the gas and let is sit for two weeks in the keggerator. First pint was super sweet, almost syrupy. So I waited two more weeks thinking more carbonation might help, but it didn't. I'm thinking what happened was I didn't consider the fact that because it was so malty additional hops would be needed to offset and that the IBU's generated in Beersmith were probably not correct.

Right now I'm considering two options:
1. Brewing a full 5gal hoppy ale and blending the two.
2. Brewing a small batch of strong scottish ale and making it super hoppy and blending it.

But I just thought of third option and wanted some opinions. What would happen if I took a few ounces of hops and boiled it in say half a gallon of water for an hour and then dumped that in my keg? Would that help bitter it? If this would work I think it would be the easiest and fastest way of getting this beer drinkable. What I'm not sure on is exactly how much hops would get the job done.

Thanks fellers!

I can post the grain bill if that will help.

 

[highgravitybacon]

I posted this in another subforum but it may not have been the right place, only been looked at once and zero replies!


Last year I brewed a strong scottish ale that I wanted to have as a Christmas beer. Long story short, after eight months of aging I kegged it, hooked up the gas and let is sit for two weeks in the keggerator. First pint was super sweet, almost syrupy. So I waited two more weeks thinking more carbonation might help, but it didn't. I'm thinking what happened was I didn't consider the fact that because it was so malty additional hops would be needed to offset and that the IBU's generated in Beersmith were probably not correct.

Right now I'm considering two options:
1. Brewing a full 5gal hoppy ale and blending the two.
2. Brewing a small batch of strong scottish ale and making it super hoppy and blending it.

But I just thought of third option and wanted some opinions. What would happen if I took a few ounces of hops and boiled it in say half a gallon of water for an hour and then dumped that in my keg? Would that help bitter it? If this would work I think it would be the easiest and fastest way of getting this beer drinkable. What I'm not sure on is exactly how much hops would get the job done.

Thanks fellers!

I can post the grain bill if that will help.

Malty and sweet are not the same thing. Malty can be dry or sweet. Sweet is just sweet. Sweet is never desirable in any style.

Is there something sacred about this beer? You have a beer that is not enjoyable. But you are willing to double down and risk a second full batch in the hopes you can blend it with this batch. It's not just possible, but likely, that you will end up with 10 gallons of crappy beer instead of just five.

If you're willing to go to the trouble to brew another batch, brew another batch but improve upon the recipe. Dump it and start over.

 

[wbyrd01]

Malty and sweet are not the same thing. Malty can be dry or sweet. Sweet is just sweet. Sweet is never desirable in any style.

Is there something sacred about this beer? You have a beer that is not enjoyable. But you are willing to double down and risk a second full batch in the hopes you can blend it with this batch. It's not just possible, but likely, that you will end up with 10 gallons of crappy beer instead of just five.

If you're willing to go to the trouble to brew another batch, brew another batch but improve upon the recipe. Dump it and start over.

Maybe I'll bring a sample in to the LHBS and see what they think about the taste, whether it's too malty or too sweet. Just to be sure I'm labeling the taste correctly.

Nothing sacred about the beer other than the eight months I aged it, and that I aged it on oak chips that I had soaked in Scotch for a month. I was just excited about it being my first try at a strong scottish, oak aged beer. And the grain bill wasn't that cheap.

Option one of brewing an entire new batch and blending the two would be the least favorable option, option two of brewing a small batch of the same style beer but overdoing it on the hops would be second. This is why I'm wondering about the third option I posted, boiling a couple ounces of hops wouldn't be expensive or troublesome. I'm just not sure if it would work.

Dumping the batch and starting over is something I'm not willing to consider just yet, given that I waited eight months on this one. I would rather try and fix it first.

 

[solbes]

What were your OG and FG? What was the bitterness in IBU?

Strong Scottish beers & Wee Heavies should be definitiely be malty. They should also be on the sweet side with low bitterness. If you finished really high though or didn't have a little bitterness you would have a problem.

Without the specs it will be hard to know how to compensate with a blending batch or additional hops.

 

[wbyrd01]

What were your OG and FG? What was the bitterness in IBU?

Strong Scottish beers & Wee Heavies should be definitiely be malty. They should also be on the sweet side with low bitterness. If you finished really high though or didn't have a little bitterness you would have a problem.

Without the specs it will be hard to know how to compensate with a blending batch or additional hops.

OG was 1.100 and FG was 1.030. Per Beersmith IBU's were 32.9, I did 1.25oz of EKG 6.4 Alpha @ 45 minutes and 1.0oz of the same hope @ 35 minutes.

 

[poptarts]

FG of 1030 no wonder its super sweet.

 

[cluckk]

It sounds like you hit acceptable numbers for a Wee Heavy. No offense Ranger, but are you familiar with the style? I know many who try their first Scottish Ale and see them as too sweet because they are used to the hop bombs or the really dry ales. I make a Scottish Ale flavored with Heather than has an almost soda like quality to it. It is more sweet than most, but my wife loves it.

Here is the BeerSmith description of the style: "Rich, malty and usually sweet, which can be suggestive of a dessert. Complex secondary malt flavors prevent a one-dimensional impression. Strength and maltiness can vary. Also known as a “wee heavy.” Fermented at cooler temperatures than most ales, and with lower hopping rates, resulting in clean, intense malt flavors. Well suited to the region of origin, with abundant malt and cool fermentation and aging temperature. Hops, which are not native to Scotland and formerly expensive to import, were kept to a minimum."

 

[solbes]

You are in the BJCP ranges. I could see a FG that was 1.025 or so might be a tad more desirable, but you are pretty close. Your hopping rate sounds perfect. Did you use any roasted barley? Sometimes just an ounce or two will give a perceived drier finish.

If you just don't like it, maybe brew up a small 1 gallon batch with simple light grain bill that is hopped at 30 IBU. Allow it to ferment all the way down, condition for a week, and combine the batches into 2 kegs. But if you lived closer, I'd swap you full kegs. It sounds tasty to me!

It could also be that this just needs more time. Yeah 8 months sounds like a long time, but my relatively modest gravity Wee Heavy (1.073, FG 1.019) was pretty uninteresting until the 9 month mark, its great now. You have a much bigger beer yet. You can't rush these big Scots.

 

[wbyrd01]

No offense taken as you are correct, this is my first time trying this style. Maybe I just need to drink more of it and see if it grows on me! It has been about a month since I've had a pint so I'll just keep trying it every month or so to see if it gets more to my liking.

Thanks for the input guys!

Edited to add, my grain bill was 22lbs of a MO / GP blend and 1lb of Crystal 80.

 

[cluckk]

Solbes is right about the Roast Barley giving a nice finish to a Scottish. I also use it in Irish Reds and it gives a nice crisp finish to the malt. If you make it agaiin, add some Roast to it to see if that helps to shade some of the sweetness.

 

[cluckk]

I see first Ranger Bat. I was with the 82nd. They cut division strength and shipped me and a bunch of others off to Korea before my slot for Ranger school came open. Always regret not finding a way to get back.

 

[wbyrd01]

Yeah, unfortunately I never made it to school either. Right about the time I was supposed to go they changed the policy on what rank you had to be to E4. In the Ranger Batt you had to have your tab to be promoted to E4 or hit 26 months which is or was the amount of time in where they had to promote you. By that time I had less than a year left and you had a have a year retainability in order to go to school. So I was F'd all the way around! Right about that time they changed the policy back and started allowing E3's to go again. I really wish I could have gone but I wasn't willing to re-up just so I could go. I did have a great time living the Ranger life though!

If I would have stayed in I would have retired two weeks ago...

 

[cluckk]

If I had stayed in, I would be hitting thirty this coming June.

 

[wbyrd01]

I joined with my best friend from high school. A few months ago he re-upped for five years. He loved it, I didn't. I just wanted my college money, when we signed up I didn't even know what an Airborne Ranger was!