Wyeast 1728, Scottish Ale . . . advice

I did a BA Wee Heavy with that strain a couple years ago and it was one of the best beers I ever made. I sent a bottle to @FATC1TY and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

So you all will use the same grist??

The one process key that I liked from our wee heavy and really most "Big" beers is do a long boil...
2 hours minimum and 4-5 hours maximum.

That strain fermented my friends wheat wine to 15% ABV with no issues as well. Really like that strain for big beers.

 

What are the restrictions on grain bill and brew practices?

 

1728 is an awesome, fairly neutral strain with a huge temperature range. A little less attenuation than Nottingham…but I find it fairly similar in other key areas. Got a tour by a brewer Van Havig who said it was his house ale strain when he was brewing at Rock Bottom in Portland, OR. Guessing he's using that strain as well at Gigantic Brewing now. Van is a very knowledgeable and techniques oriented brewer…so having him choose 1728 for his house strain says something to me

don't think I've seen @Naugled in a while…but he brewed an awesome high gravity beer where he boiled a gallon of the first runnings down to a syrup to add back in. That was an imperial stout iirc, but i've heard of folks doing that a plenty with wee heavy.

Best of luck PortLargo!

 

Long boil, as already mentioned, and cooler than normal fermentation temps, imho

 

I brewed a beer that started at 1.112 or so (according to Brewcipher was low, but was my first partial mash) and used just one pack of 1728 with out a starter (no I am not trying to start any kind of argument), and finished out a little high around 1.026 or so. It is still bottling, but the sample I had on bottling day was amazing.

 

I recently brewed a wee heavy that is entered in a homebrew competition that is being judged tomorrow. Aerate it as much as possible before you pitch your yeast. At bottling I would suggest adding just a little bit of fresh yeast with the priming sugar, otherwise it may take forever to carbonate or just not carbonate at all. Like telejunkie said, drain off about a gallon or so from your mash and put it in a pot on the stove and boil it down to a syrup and add it back to the full boil later. It will up the OG and help give the wee heavy its traditionally carmelized, slightly smokey flavor. Try not to scorch it while making the syrup, you have to pay attention to it.

 

So are they saying, "Here's your 2 oz of Fuggle to use in the batch. You have to use it all."

If so, I think that every Scotch Ale I've had was really icky sweet anyway. 5 more IBUs wouldn't be a terrible thing at all. Also, you're smart enough to bring your mash temp up into the mid 150s to keep some of that FG from fermenting out, if desired. In my experiences, (6-9% ABV), the strain was within the range given on WYeast's website. I got like 70 or 71% attenuation. I went with the old boil the first runnings down into a pint of sludge method.

Maybe if you have to use a specified amount of hop you're allowed to use some for an aroma addition.

 

I think it's going to be hard to brew a beer that is really going to stand out unless you process something at home. You may have your hands tied with yeast, and malts and hops, but you're allowed to manipulate them as you see fit? Maybe smoke a portion of your base malt, or roast a bit of it.

 

I love 1728. As mentioned, huge temp range. Also one thing that's nice, is there really isn't any tricks to it. No need to shake or bump temp to help it along. It just does its job. I like it on the low of the temp range. It's a clean / neutral yeast, but I prefer the low temp and resulting lower ester production.

As for other process tips, I boil and reduce the first runnings. Pull like 2 gallon-ish and reduce to 0.5 to a gallon. I still do a long boil, minium 90 mins, but don't be worried to go 2 hrs plus. I keep the caramel malts in check. You will easily get more than enough character from process.

 

@PortLargo I would give my left one to be able to brew inside. Nice range.

 

Was indeed a great tasting wee heavy. I agree on a longer boil myself.