Seeking constructive criticism (Scottish 90)

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by DocT, Aug 18, 2012.

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  1. DocT

    DocT Initiate (0) May 14, 2009 Idaho

    Brewed this today. 10 gallon batch. Never tried the style. Read about it. Sounded good. Came up with the grain bill off the top of my head hop schedule from another recipe.
    13# Marris Otter
    5# Vienna
    2# Crystal 60L
    1oz Rauch Malt
    1# Table Sugar

    1.5oz Northern Brewer @ 60min
    1oz Cascade @ 15min
    .5oz each NB and Cascade @ 5min
    .5oz Centennial @ Flameout (this was .5 Cascade for 2min)

    O.G. 1.064 Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale

    So just lookin for a bit of feedback. It will be delicious beer I'm sure, but is it anywhere close to style. Is an ounce of Rauch malt even enough to impart any flavour? Any suggestions I should add to my notes for the day?
     
    #1 DocT, Aug 18, 2012
  2. bulletrain76

    bulletrain76 Maven (1,311) Nov 6, 2007 California

    Looks more like an amber ale to me. The rauch malt (weyermann?) isn't going to add anything in smaller than a pound or two, and the hops are going to add as much character as anything. Doesn't look like a bad recipe, but it would be stretch to claim it as anything scottish. But 90 shilling is mostly a made up style anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
     
    #2 bulletrain76, Aug 19, 2012
  3. telejunkie

    telejunkie Savant (1,107) Sep 14, 2007 Vermont

    sounds like it will probably be on the lighter end of the spectrum for a wee heavy both in color & alcohol, without any chocolate, RB or darker crystal malts in the mix. 1oz rauch malt won't give you anything...it's a base malt and is used as the main base malt for rauchbiers. I'm guessing you had peated malt in mind when you added it. That's all right, imho peat smoked malt is not really needed in a scotch ale.
    Next time, think about pulling like a gallon of 1st runnings and boil them down to a syrup...or when the bubbles start to pop...about 66 brix, add it into the boil.
    It's gonna be good, just my constructive criticism :slight_smile:
     
    #3 telejunkie, Aug 19, 2012
  4. DocT

    DocT Initiate (0) May 14, 2009 Idaho

    @bulletrain you are kinda right 90 schilling isn't actually a style but it actually comes from how they used to tax beer in the old world. A 90 schilling beer would be higher in alcohol and likely slightly higher quality and thereby be taxed higher (90 schillings). So suffice to say its just a scottish ale higher in gravity than the 80/export.
    @telejunkie my brew store actually had peated malt and rauch malt in the same grain bucket (seperate bags) and the owner said they were the same just one english one german i trusted her but it didn't sound right. Not to say that her word is infallible but she has run a store for 12 years and been brewing 4 or 5 years before that, to make it more confusing when i added 5 pounds of vienna she didn't think that was a base malt.

    Carmelizing is a great idea and i was already thinking about it so add that to notes for the next run maybe keep the bill 20# delete the crystal 60 and replace it with british choc to the same SRM and up the vienna? and switch to a real smoked/peated malt i want a very very slight hint of smoke like someone drinking it might question the whole thing may have been boiled over a wood fire.

    As far as the hops not exactly screaming british isles to me either any suggestion on subs that might keep it around 25 IBUs

    Thanks guys
     
    #4 DocT, Aug 19, 2012
  5. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (2,084) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah

    No, it isn't to do with the tax. The shillings was the wholesale price per hogshead (54 imperal gallon barrel).

    Historically (before WW II) 90/- wasn't a strong beer. It didn't really exist before the 1920's and 1930's when it was used for relatively low-gravity (about 1040ยบ) bottled Pale Ale or IPA. 90/- only started being used for a Strong Ale in the 1970's:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Morison's_India_Pale_Ale_label.jpg

    Strong Ales before WW II would have had a much higher number of shillings - 120/-, 140/- , 160/- or more. The first beer called Wee Heavy was Fowlers 12 Guinea Ale - that's 252/-.
     
    #5 patto1ro, Aug 19, 2012
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  6. DocT

    DocT Initiate (0) May 14, 2009 Idaho

    ^cool^ just learned something new this morning
     
    #6 DocT, Aug 19, 2012
  7. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    As for your beer, I think it will taste great. The late addition hops (especially flameout) will keep this beer from being as malt forward as you might like. As for the choice of hops, NB and Cascade would have been way down on the list of hops to use. I would have picked something earthy like EKG Fuggle, Willamettet or the like. I think the table sugar is unnecessary as well.

    A Scottish 90 would look something like this:

    I think Scottish ales tend to be pretty simple and only have about 4 grains in there
    MO is the majority of it and you'll find a pound or two of the following:
    Roasted barley
    Chocolate malt
    Special B
    Flaked barley
    and maybe brown malt

    As for the starting gravities for these beers, just like English bitters, they tend to start in the high 1.030s and gradually go up. For a 90 shilling ale, you'd probably be in the 1.055 range. Feel free to call it a hundred + kilt beer.

    Anyway, not trying to be mean, or say that you won't have good beer. You asked for constructive criticism and I'm just throwing in my two shillings.
     
    #7 inchrisin, Aug 19, 2012
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