Bellhaven - St Andrews Ale

[Thirsty Boy]

Just tried for the first time a Bellhaven St Andrews Ale.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to getting around to tasting this beer, its in most of the bottle-shops I use and I've always meant to try it. And now that I come to think of it... its actually probably the first "Scottish Ale" I have tried. I've had Scotch Ales before, but not a 60,70,80 etc etc

I really liked this beer. Strongly malty in both aroma and taste, quite sweet but not heavy bodied so it was balanced even though the bitterness was low. The maltiness was quite grainy and bordering on worty. A little like a Manns brown ale but less worty than that. I looked for the faint "smokey/peaty" character and maybe if I screwed up my eyes I could notice it. Maybe a little diacetyl, or it could have just been a light crystal malt character - I lean towards the crystal, it wasn't quite like diacetyl as I know and hate it in so many lagers I try these days, but it was in a beer where it wouldn't be completely out of place so.....

Altogether a nice beer. At 4.6%abv I assume its a Scottish 80' (just looked at the BJCP and its one of the commercial examples mentioned...duh)

Been wanting to make a scottish 80' and I notice that this beer had some yeast haze in it - original bottle culture do you think? Worth trying to grow some up? Or is it well known by smarter brewers than me that its a bog standard wyeast variety that I might already have in my yeast library?

Any info from better informed AHBers would be greatly appreciated. Now that I've tried one, I'm definitely going to try and brew one.

Cheers

Thirsty

 

[Fents]

Peels's last swap was a scotish Export 80 wasnt it? Be nice to compare it against a commercial.

We talking St Andrews down here TB? As is St Andrew Sunday Hippy Market then down to the pub for lunch?

 

[warrenlw63]

TB

It's a lovely drop for such a smallish beer eh?

According to Gregory Noonan in his Scottish Ale's Classic Styles book it's basically Pale Malt, 5% crystal and 2% roast barley.

Previous attempts at similar beers tell me that Noonan is pretty close to the mark.

I reckon trying to reculture the yeast will probably not get you far. I'd just use Wyeast's Scottish strain maybe ??

Warren -

 

[AndrewQLD]

My copy of "Real Ales for the homebrewer" by Marc Ollosson has a recipe for this beer, I haven't tried it yet but all the other recipes I've tried from this book have been excellent.
Here's what it says.

O.G 1.046 F.G 1.011
IBU 36
Mash @ 66 for 90 minutes
Boil 2 hours
Makes 23 lt

4285g Pale malt
125g Crystal Malt
75g Black malt

100g WGV hops 4.5% start of boil (Whitbread Golding Variety) can be subed with 1/2 EKG 1/2 Fuggles
498g Invert sugar boil 1 hour
8 g fuggles last 15 minutes
12g Goldings last 15 minutes



Andrew

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Thanks Guys,

I'll give it a burl. I might try to culture up the bottle yeast just to see if I can, but I think I'll try it out on a small BiaB batch rather than the full motza.

Probably just go with the Wyeast Scottish strain as warren suggested for a full batch, then I can compare them.

Cheers

TB

Fents - thats St Andrews Scotland - off to the pub at the 19th hole for lunch and a pint

 

[brettprevans]

TB. your out of luck re Scottish yeast. I bottled my scottish heavy on Tuesday and couldnt be arsed saving the yeast (lazy I know as its costly). if I had of known I would have saved some and bought it to the caseswap for you.


EDIT: Mine was a Scottish heavy proly a 120 (9-10%). I struggled to taste the peat from the bottling sample. its was a very rich wort like taste with out the unfermented sweatness. should be a ripper. i love the scottish ales. long slow cooler ferment around 14C to replicate scotland temps.

 

[warrenlw63]

unfermented sweatness.

Yech, you know what they say about a Scotsman's armpit? :lol:

Warren -

 

[brettprevans]

Yech, you know what they say about a Scotsman's armpit? :lol:

Warren -

what? thats its better than whats under his kilt!!! :lol: actually maybe thats where the true scottish flavours come from. eeeeewwwww

 

[razz]

what? thats its better than whats under his kilt!!! :lol: actually maybe thats where the true scottish flavours come from. eeeeewwwww

Obviously where the "wee" in wee heavy comes from.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

now I'm not sure about this beer anymore, the last few posts has made me paranoid about where "Scottish Yeast" might come from :icon_vomit:

 

[BoilerBoy]

Thirsty Boy,

You've inspired me.
I've got a wy 1728 scottish ale yeast building right now, I'm thinking of doing an 80 shilling

5kg MO
300g Bairds med crystal
200g amber
50g Roast barley

Caramelize the first runnings from the mash (aprox 10L) for about 2 hours then boil as usual.

Fuggle hops to 26-28 IBU's

I'm still debating whether to add some EKG though?

Cheers
BB

 

[Thirsty Boy]

good lord!!

I hope that it was the first few posts that inspired you... if it was posts 7 through 10 I'm kinda scared.

That recipe looks nice. I don't know if the hops will matter all that much, the St Andrews certainly didn't have any major hop character to it. As long as the hops are British I reckon you would be fine. Or even anything that was just good and neutral like a Magnum or even a POR.

Course, thats just my guess from tasting one beer - so its a bloody long way from gospel.\

I have a couple of other beers in my brewing schedule ahead of this one, so you'll probably be drinking yours before I brew mine, let me know how it goes.

Cheers

Thirsty