BBA Wee Heavy Scotch Ale.. input?

Backwood Bastard is a great beer, and more of my motivation. It's not a very dark beer, it says it's hopped to 50 IBU's, and it's around 10%. It's sweet, but just sweet enough to be a treat, and not hard to finish it at all. I like the hot boozy note it tosses. One of my favorites.

If I manage around 1.100 and get to 1.025 roughly, thats just shy of 10%, add in the bourbon oak, and I'm probably right on my 10%. BS has me at 1.110, but I'll be around that ballpark.

I'm thinking using UK Phoenix, and some Magnum leaf and getting around 50 IBU's.

I plan to pitch 2L starter of WY 1728, and some US05.

 

So I brewed it up not long ago.. maybe 3 weeks ago, and it's still somewhat bubbling along. Kept it nice and low for a good week or more at 62*. Used 1728 and US05 together in a co pitch. Hit it with 120 sec of O2, and then 60 seconds around 10 hours later.

I was down to 1.026 from 1.105 OG in 14 days. Tasted okay, not are caramel like as I wanted, still yeasty, but it was still fermenting away. A slight dark fruit and boozy rum note.

I can tell this beer will need some time, and it will need the wood notes. Plan to actually pull some and add some bourbon soaked vanilla beans to and see how it works with some of the barrel/wood notes. Might rack it onto the secondary that I've loaded with cubes that have now been used twice for a 14.5% RIS, and a 7% Chocolate stout. Add some heavy charred oak to it and a little vanilla bean and let it age away on the subtle 3rd use wood and some fresh spirals later.

Anyways- it taste good, slightly thinner than I want, and the IBU's are good. Went with around 45-48 IBU's I think it was. More than to style, but enough to hold up over time and the sweetness.

 

Already brewed it.. Wouldn't dare add any peat smoked malt to it anyways.

 

I get enough smokey phenols from the yeast. Not a fan of any smoked malt in my scotch ales. Not to say people don't add them and like them, but I just find them out of the question for me to add to my own.

Looks like it's pretty much done at around 1.019 from 1.105. 81% apparent attenuation. Not bad.

 

Interesting.. I co pitched because quite frankly, I didn't want a ton of the esters from the 1728, and I know it works well cold. I fermented at 61* pretty much the whole time, and figured the 1728 would help the US05. Not only that, but I didn't have the ample cell count of the 1728 to pitch alone and didn't want US05 to tear through it alone without a dance partner.

Good thought though.. I rarely co pitch, but I might play with it more in the future.

 

I'm assuming he's thinking it'll add an astringent like note on the tounge that will make it appear dry. Maybe similar to what Rye can do sometimes in large amounts.

 

Other than hating the taste of peat smoked malt, and the fact it's not something most brewers add, I opted out of using it myself.

I did however, pull 1g of first runnings and boil down to a quart and add back to the main kettle to garner some more color due to me saying piss off on the roasted barley or chocolate malt in there for color.