Great Scot!

Great Scot!

(Strong Scotch Ale)
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.077 FG = 1.021
IBU = 25 SRM = 29 ABV = 7.2%

Ingredients
13.5 lbs. (6.1 kg) Golden Promise malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Briess Victory® malt 28 °L
10 oz. (0.27 kg) British caramel malt (70/80 °L)
3 oz. (85 g) roasted barley (550 °L)
3 oz. (85 g) peated malt
6.9 AAU Willamette hops (1.25 oz./35 g of 5.5% alpha acids) (60 min.)
1 tsp. Irish moss or 1 Whirfloc tablet (15 min.)
White Labs WLP028 (Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast) or Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale Yeast) yeast
0.75 cup (150 g) priming sugar (if bottling)

Step by Step
Mill the grains. Dough in using 5 gallons (19 L) of water with a target mash holding temperature of 156 °F (69 °C). Hold the mash temperature for approximately 60 minutes or until the conversion is complete. Raise the temperature of the mash to 168 °F (76 °C) and begin sparging with 170 °F (77 °C) water until you collect 6.0 gallons (22.7 L) gallons of wort in the kettle.
Total boiling time for this recipe is 60 minutes. Add the Willamette hop addition at the start of the boil (60 min.). Add the Irish moss or Whirfloc tablets when 15 minutes remain in the boil. After the boil is finished, cool the wort to 70 °F (21 °C), transfer to your fermentation vessel and aerate the wort adequately. Add yeast to the chilled wort. Ferment around 70 °F (21 °C) until the final gravity is reached, which should be in five to seven days. Rack to a secondary vessel and allow the beer to mature another five to seven days around the same temperature. Your beer is now ready to rack into a keg or bottles along with the priming sugar.

Great Scot!

(Strong Scotch Ale)
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.077 FG = 1.021
IBU = 25 SRM = 29 ABV = 7.2%

Ingredients
9.1 lbs. (4.1 kg) light liquid malt extract
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Briess Victory® malt 28 °L
10 oz. (0.27 kg) British caramel malt (70/80 °L)
3 oz. (85 g) roasted barley (550 °L)
3 oz. (85 g) peated malt
6.9 AAU Willamette hops (1.25 oz./35 g of 5.5% alpha acids) (60 min.)
1 tsp Irish moss or 1 Whirfloc Tablet (15 min.)
White Labs WLP 028 (Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast) or Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale) yeast
0.75 cup (150 g) priming sugar (if bottling)

Step by Step
Mill the specialty grains. Place the milled grains in a grain bag. Steep them in 2 gallons (7.5 L) of 156 °F (69 °C) water for 30 minutes. Rinse the grain bag with about 2 quarts (1.9 L) of water and allow it to drip into the kettle for about 15 minutes, but be sure not to squeeze the bag. Add enough water for a pre-boil volume of 6.0 gallons (22.7 L). Stir in the malt extract off heat to avoid scorching, then begin the boil.

Total boiling time for this recipe is 60 minutes. Add the Willamette hop addition at the start of the boil (60 min.). Add the Irish moss or Whirfloc tablets when 15 minutes remain in the boil. After the boil is finished, cool the wort to 70 °F (21 °C), transfer to your fermentation vessel and aerate the wort adequately. Add yeast to the chilled wort. Ferment around 70 °F (21 °C) until the final gravity is reached, which should be in five to seven days. Rack to a secondary vessel and allow the beer to mature another five to seven days around the same temperature. Your beer is now ready to rack into a keg, or bottles along with the priming sugar.

Tips for Success:
Traditional Scottish breweries originally drew water from underground sources. Although some no longer have private wells, soft water remains the ideal base for a malty Scotch ale. If you want to brew maltier styles like Scotch ale, and you haven’t done so already, request a water report from your town or city (if you are using a municipal water source) or have your home water supply tested to find out what is in your water. (Read more about the basics of water reports in “Beginner’s Block” in the July-August 2012 issue of BYO.)

If you feel that your water needs adjusting, download Greg Noonan’s “water witch” water chemistry spreadsheet from the Web at http://www.byo.com/resources/brewwater. For more tips about brewing water, visit https://byo.com/watertips for more information. If you like this recipe and style, be sure to read Greg’s book Scotch Ale, from the Classic Beer Style Series (Brewers Publications) for more advice about Scotch ales.