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Beer of the Moment Article - Riggers' Strong Scottish Ale
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Paul
Rigby |
Strong Scottish
Ale
History
Any distinct
beer style from anywhere in the world has developed as a result of local conditions,
particularly climatic and geographic and the beers of Scotland fit this criterion
perfectly, in fact better than most.
Climate
is the key factor controlling the success or otherwise of any agriculture anywhere
in the world and agriculture is responsible for the generation of the two main
ingredients of beer namely barley and hops. Agriculture has always been a significant
aspect of the Scottish culture and at present agriculture occupies three quarters
of all land in Scotland, and barley is one of the primary crops. Barley from
the north is generally used in whisky production and that in the south is more
suitable for malting and beer production. As a result high quality malted barley
has always been readily available to the brewing industry unlike hops which,
despite all best efforts, simply will not grow in Scotland.
Climate
also plays another important role in evolution of the Scottish
styles. Average ambient temperatures in Scotland are generally
on the low side for ale production so to keep control of costs
the fermentation of these styles is usually on the lower end of
the temperature range for ale yeasts so that extra heat (and therefore
expense) is not required. Lower fermentation temperatures mean
that esters (usually fruity type aromas) from the fermentation
process will be minimal, and attenuation will also be low due to
a “sluggish” fermentation.
Storage temperature of the beer products post fermentation will
also be on the low side, not exactly lagering but certainly very
cool to cold. Climate also controls, or at least influences, water
- the other 93% of beer volume. Scotland boasts excellent water
quality (watch any whisky advertisement) but strangely enough most
Scottish breweries use bore water! So water used by commercial
breweries in Scotland is extremely variable from very soft with
low mineral content to the opposite i.e. hard with high mineral
content depending on the bore. Having stated that it is worth bearing
in mind that all commercial breweries treat their water no matter
where it comes from or what its mineral content is.
Where does all this information leave us? We can readily deduce
what Scottish ales have developed into.
Scottish and Scotch ales are generally very malty, lowly hopped
with just enough bitterness to counter the cloying sweetness of
the malt, very full bodied with alcohol ranging from very low to
very high
Basically
there are four ales which hail from Scotland, three are called “Scottish
Ales” and range in gravity from 1.030 to 1.050. These three are distinguished
by strength as Light (OG 1.030 to 1.035), Heavy (OG 1.035 to 1.040), and Export
(OG 1.040 to 1.050). The fourth style is known as “Strong Scotch Ale” it
is much higher in gravity (OG 1.072 to 1.085) and is also known by its nickname “Wee
Heavy”. Scottish ales are often labelled according to an old price based
system of identification. The Light, Heavy and Export are known as 60/-, 70/-
and 80/- shilling respectively, while the “Wee Heavy” is
90/- or possibly 120/- shilling.
Enhanced Kit Version
I suggest
starting out by purchasing a good pale or British ale kit. There
are numerous choices of brands and the quality of the kits in this
style are generally excellent and the final decision is yours.
Ordinarily there really isn't much that can be done to enhance
a kit beer but when making this malty full bodied style it is vital
that you use malt extract and not dextrose or cane sugar. Using
dextrose or cane sugar will result in a thin watery beer with high
alcohol, some may think this is a great idea, but it will not produce
a true to style “Wee
Heavy”
Strong Scotch ale is a very lowly hopped style so there is no need
for hop flavour and/or aroma, in fact any discernable hop character
is a fault!
Malt Extract & Partial
Mash Version
Base Malt – 3kg Light Dry Malt
Extract
1.5kg
Amber Liquid Malt Extract
Mini mash grains – 300gms Chocolate Malt
300gms Light Crystal Malt
200gms Peat Smoked Malt
200gms Amber Malt
20gms Roast Barley
Put 2 and a half litres of cold water in a saucepan and add grains
and heat up VERY SLOWLY (over a 25 to 30 minute period) until it
reaches 75oC. Strain the liquid into a saucepan for the boil. Discard
the grain residue.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 20 to 25 IBU's using any
general purpose hop you like, I generally use Pride of Ringwood
or Northern Brewer but it really doesn’t matter. Quantity
will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the hops selected.
Grain & Grape staff will be happy to do the calculations for
you. Strong Scotch ale is a very lowly hopped
style so there is no need for hop flavour and/or aroma, in fact
any discernable hop character is a fault!
Total boil time should be at least 120 minutes (this extended boil
is aimed at promoting some low level caramalization of the malt
to enhance the perception of sweet malt) with the hops boiled for
only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale. If you prefer the convenience
of dry yeast try Fermentis - Safale.
Full Grain Version
Grains - 4000gms Munich Malt
2500gms
Ale Malt
500gms Oat Malt
450gms Caramunich I Malt
300gms Peat Smoked Malt
300gms Crystal Malt
20gms Roast Barley
Mashing regimes are many and varied. Most modern malts are very
well modified and only need a simple single step infusion mash
to obtain very good results, with this in mind a simple mash regime
is quite adequate. For such a malty full bodied style such as this
a saccrification temperature of 68 to 70oC is necessary to achieve
the full body which exemplifies this style.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 20 to 25 IBU's using any
general purpose hop you like, I generally use Pride of Ringwood
or Northern Brewer but it really doesn’t matter. I usually
advise the use of lower alpha hops for all brewing purposes but
particularly bittering (especially for lower to moderate bitterness
beers up to about 35 IBU’s) because if your scales are a
little inaccurate two or three grams over in a total of twenty
or thirty grams of a lower alpha hop will not be noticeable but
three grams over in ten or twelve grams using a 12 or 14% AA hop
will mean an almost undrinkably bitter beer! Strong Scotch ale
is a very lowly hopped style so there is no need for hop flavour
and/or aroma, in fact any discernable hop character is a fault!
Total boil time should be at least 120 minutes (this extended boil
is aimed at promoting some low level caramalization of the malt
to enhance the perception of sweet malt) with the hops boiled for
only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale. If you prefer the convenience
of dry yeast try Fermentis - Safale.
Paul
C. Rigby - Grain & Grape |