Wee Heavy/Old Ale

Classification: Scottish ale, wee heavy, old ale, strong ale, all-grain

Source: Martin A. Lodahl (hpfcmr.fc.hp.com!hplabs!pbmoss!malodah) Issue #751, 10/30/91

It's confession time. This was intended to be a Scottish Wee Heavy, but works much better as an Old Ale. I just haven't quite captured that uniquely malty characteristic of Scotch ales, but I'm still trying. I tried smoking the crystal malt over a peat fire, which really wasn't terribly successful in imparting peaty flavors to the malt. Next time I'll get the peat really soggy; perhaps that will work better. It's rich, vinous, with complex port-like ethers and not a hint of astringency (a common hard-water problem) or off-flavors. Next time I brew it, though, I'll delete the wheat malt (plenty of head, for the style, without it) and the brown sugar (the vinousness is too much for a Scotch ale), substitute 2 pounds dextrine malt or flaked barley (still mulling this over) for an equal weight of pale malt, and smoke the cystal more heavily.

Ingredients:

10 pounds, 2-row pale malted barley
2 pounds, 80 Lovibond crystal malt, smoked
8 ounces, wheat malt
1 ounce, chocolate malt
1 pound, brown sugar (in boil)
1 ounce, Northern Brewer (7.4 AAU) (boiling)
1/2 ounce, Willamette
1/2 ounce, Hallertauer
1/4 ounce, Cascade
3/4 cup, light dry malt extract (priming)
Wyeast 1098 "English" (Whitbread) ale yeast

Procedure:

Heat 18 quarts of mash water to 140 degrees, ph 5.3. Mash-in for 5 minutes at 130 degrees. Continue without a protein rest. Starch conversion of 60 minutes, 158-150 degrees. Mash-out for 5 minutes at 168 degrees. Sparge with 5 gallons water at 168 degrees, ph 5.7. Add brown sugar and boil for 90 minutes. Add boiling hops at 30 minutes. Dry hop with 1/2 ounce each of Willamette and Hallertauer 3 days after pitching, and bottled 4 weeks later.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.070
F.G.: 1.020
Primary Ferment: 4 weeks