Smoked Wee Heavy
Long, slow, and cool fermentation is a crucial element for this beer, which otherwise gets too fruity and bitter; the smoked malt can develop fusel and/or sulfury notes if overdone or if fermented too warm. Hop levels are deliberately low; this beer is all about malt.
Smoked Wee Heavy (5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.070 FG = 1.022 IBU = 18 SRM = 15 ABV = 6.7%
Ingredients
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) pale malt 1 lb. (0.45 kg) medium crystal malt (50 °L) 0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked oats 2 oz. (57 g) roasted barley 1 oz. (28 g) peat-smoked malt 7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) amber liquid malt extract 0.25 lb. (113 g) light brown sugar 4 AAU Kent Goldings hops (60 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 4% alpha acids) Scottish ale yeast (Wyeast 1728 or White Labs WLP028) slurry 1/2 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Heat 1.5 gal. (5.6 L) water to 160 °F (71 °C). Mix in pale and crystal malts and oats. Hold at 150 °F (66 °C) for 75 min. Sprinkle roasted barley and smoked malt on top of mash, then sparge with 2.5 gal. (9.5 L) of 168 °F (76 °C) water. Take the first 2 qt. (2 L) of run-off and boil in a wide, flat pan for 20 min. or until caramelized (nearly burnt is fine). Add caramelized wort, malt extract, and brown sugar to the kettle and bring to a boil. Add Goldings hops and boil 60 min. Remove from heat, begin cooling. Top up in the fermenter with enough chilled, pre-boiled water to make 5.25 gal (20 L). When cooled to 65° F, pitch yeast slurry (aerate the wort well — cover the fermenter and shake for several minutes before pitching the yeast). Ferment cool (58 to 60 °F/14 to 16 °C) for three weeks, then transfer to secondary and age cooler (48 to 50 °F/9 to 10 °C) for three to four weeks. Prime with sugar and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate. It’s okay to age this one…the longer it’s in the bottle/keg, the better.
All-grain: Omit the malt extract, increase the pale malt to 13 lbs. (5.9 kg) and the crystal to 1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg). Mash in 18.7 qts. (17.7 L) water, and sparge with 4 gal. (15.1 L). Maintain the same times and temperatures, but caramelize the first 1 gal. (4 L) of wort. The rest of the procedure remains the same.
Extract with grains: Omit the pale malt, steep the oats, crystal, roasted barely, and smoked malt in 3 gal. (11 L) at 150° F for 30 min. Increase the brown sugar to 0.5 lb. (0.23 kg), dissolve it in 1.5 qt. (1.5 L) of water, and caramelize as indicated. Increase the malt extract to 8.5 lbs. (3.9 kg), then proceed as above.
