Scottish Ale thoughts

[mtbiker278]

I recently brewed Boar Beer's Scottish 80/- ale this past weekend. I've been doing more research about Scottish Ales, the ingredients, and brew methods. I want to do another go at this after this batch has fermented out with a revised recipe.

I have a bunch of CW - 2row from a group buy that I want to use as the base. I'm thinking of using some Roasted Barley for color (300L). I might add in some Crystal 40L for flavor just in case, but I kind of want to stay true to the original ingredients. Other grains I've seen recommended are Vienna Malt, Golden Promise, Amber Malt, and Maris Otter. Any of these other grains I would use to suppliment the flavors instead of using them as base grains. Hops will be EKG with a 60 min addition targeting around 15 IBUs, and yeast will be WLP028.

For the methods I want to do a reduction boil on part of the mash runnings. However, I'm using the BIAB method so I can't effectively get at the "first runnings" since it's just one big volume. I'm thinking I would pull out 1gal and boil that down heavily. The ranges I've seen are anywhere between 2qts to 2cups final reduction volume. I'm thinking I would go for the lower end if I'm only using Roasted Barley. After the reduction boil would I add water back in to reach my pre-boil volume (typically 7.5gal for 6 gal batch)?

Thanks for the suggestions and help!

 

[gestyr]

It sounds to m like you are on the right track. A reduction boil will give you a nice mellow caramel flavor. I have done this for brown ales and it adds a lot of character.

 

[PGHBrew]

I just did a 80/- that was MO and little bit of roasted barley. I boiled 2 qts. of the first runnings down to 1 qt. for some carmelization. I'm very pleased with the results. The caramel flavor is very nice followed with a dry finish from the roasted barley.

 

[erikpete18]

I asked this same question a while back. The advice I got suggested pulling a gallon after you pull your bag out and boil that down almost to the point where you start to get worried about it burning. Mine didn't have roasted barley, so you might not need to go as far, but I figure I'll give it a shot and taste it along the way. Hopefully my AHB order comes in today and I can give it a shot this weekend!

 

[mtbiker278]

Any ideas on the amounts/ratios of the other malts to possibly include? I hear both Golden Promise and Vienna tend to impart a sweetness to the beer.

 

[erikpete18]

All I'm gonna add is some biscuit (~5%) and a little leftover special B I've got laying around (~2%). The special B probably doesn't belong there, but I always just like the taste of it . My base is MO, and the rest of the complexity I'm trying to get from the boil down caramelization. I guess we'll see if it actually works out that way

Edit: Forgot the roasted barley. I'd probably try to keep it less than 5%, since for me I don't know what to expect from the caramelization. If it gets too dark and with too much roasted barley, it might turn into a Scottish stout!

 

[larrynoz]

I recently posted a Scottish 60 recipe on my blog (click on the signature). I went the traditional route and used only Maris Otter and Roast Barley. It came out really well. If you want a Scottish 80 just increase the base malt and hops appropriately. I brewed this recipe a few weeks ago it was so good.

I think if you just pull a gallon of the wort and boil down separately you'll get the same effect as boiling down the first runnings. It might take a little trail and error though to get it right that way.

Brewing Classic Styles is a good resource for Scottish Ales as well as Scotch Ale (Classic Beer Style Series) by Greg Noonan if you haven't already read either.

Happy Brewing!

 

[mtbiker278]

I have a Borders near me that's closing and I've been meaning to get some brewing books.

On another thought, I'm wondering if brewers way back when even used roasted barley, but instead did just kettle caramelization of pale malts. However, when I think of it Stouts are pretty common, and I think they would have had some kind of roasted malt. Maybe a small scale experiment is in order with a couple of 1 gal jugs.

 

[mtbiker278]

Are there any other hops that could be used in a Scottish Ale?

Fuggles? Willamet?

 

[erikpete18]

A lot of different kinds could probably work, depends on how you're planning on using them. If you're trying to stay true to style, you don't really want any flavor/aroma hops, just enough bittering to balance the malt. Any noble hop should work well I would think, and the Brittish hops would be historically accurate. That being said, any clean bittering hop could be used I would think.

Of course, sticking to style isn't always the fun part . I'm a big proponent of trying something new, so long as you know what you are aiming for and why. No point in just tossing what ever floats your fancy in there, but if you've got a plan and a reason some tasty beers can be made. I always think of them as a little smoky from the yeast, so maybe a spicier hop (Tett?) for a small aroma or flavor addition could lend a nice depth?

 

[zgoda]

I made 70/- with Fuggles only. It turned out great. This weekend i'm gonna brew 80/- with Bramling Cross. I saw recipes from my colleagues and they used various British hops (Goldings, Fuggle, First Gold, Challenger). It does not matter that much since this beer gets hops for bittering only.

This spring Scottish ales are popular in Poland because 70/- is one of categories in largest homebrewing competition.

 

[BrewThruYou]

Are there any other hops that could be used in a Scottish Ale?

Fuggles? Willamet?

I brewed a Scottish 80/- with Fuggles and EKG (both bittering only) that got 38 in a decent size homebrew competition.

I used some black malt, tiny bit of roasted, and 6oz of sucrose. Mashed at 151°.