Partial Scotch Ale

[atomicfr33x]

Recently I brewed a Partial Scotch Ale batch, recipe as follows:

Grain steeped for 1/2 hour in 3Ltrs of water;
900g British crystal malt
55g chocolate malt
55g black malt

Softened cans added to fermenter;
2x can 1.1 Ltr Coopers Liquid Light Malt Extract
2x can 1.4 Ltr BrewCraft Ultra British Bulldog Ale kit (minus the included hop bag & yeast)
500mL Golden Syrup

No additional hops. None.

Wyeast liquid yeast, Scottish Ale #1728


Hot/Warm ingredients = 8.5 Ltrs
Cold water = 24.5Ltrs
Pitched yeast @ 22'C

OG 1.080
FG 1.025

The ferment went fine for 10 days with a nice cappuccino yeast head for most of the time. When the the FG read stable for 4 days, I moved the wort to a secondary fermenter for a further 5 days. The secondary fermenter was placed in a large Ezky and surrounded in ice and frequently topped up to maintain temperature at 14'C. Subsequent finnings were added and wort settled for primed bottling (using 740mL PET bottles & Coopers sugar pellets).

Presently the bottles have been for two weeks, I have opened 1x bottle for a tasting. It tastes fantastic, like Red Hill Brewer's Scotch Ale (my fav), and not as fruity as Grand Ridge Brewery's Dark Scotch Ale or even Snowy Mountains Brewery's Razorback. There are carbonation bubbles but zero head. This is the only problem.

Question: Should I be more patient with head formation? Should I re-bottle with another primer? Or just leave it and brew another batch differently?
Question: I am not buying anymore BrewCraft products, what would be a suitable swap-out for the BrewCraft Ultra British Bulldog Ale kit?

I am aware that craft breweries that produce Scotch Ale take 6months+ to make the final product, I wonder if that same fate awaits me.

 

[Bizier]

Are you absolutely sure that it is not any kind of residue on your glassware?

 

[atomicfr33x]

Yep dang sure bout that.. they get wash seperately from every thing else and tootin proper.. thx

i also keep a pack of plastic disposable single use clears as backup for tastings.. fool&full-proof..

 

[Bribie G]

Mate that is a mighty strong brew, more of a wee heavy. I would say that the head retention is probably due to the high alcohol content. re UK strong ales I have a sinful weakness for the Pom superlagers 9% from 1st choice liquor and they are quite fizzy but don't hold a head for more than a couple of seconds, and ditto the even stronger barley wines. As a test go and get a couple of cans of Scottish Tennents Superlager, open one and you'll see what I mean. Then post the other one to me to test B) B)

ps love that recipe, especially the syrup.

 

[braufrau]

How warm were they the last two weeks?
And umm ... the lids are on properly? I had a series of brews that had no head .. turns out I'm too puny to get the seals on.

 

[atomicfr33x]

The lids are have a built-in seal, I know for sure they are fine as I have always used them.. I am thinking for the repeat batch that i should get a box of Mutons KreamyX (shipp in from USA), alternately using licorice extract like in stout? but the taste would be an issue..

I have been storing the bottles @ 22'C

Maybe using some unmalted barley next time??

My next brew is a Youngs Double Chocolate Stout using the following recipe ingredients:

1.350kg dark malt extract
450g pale malt
500g crystal malt
225g roast unmalted barley
115g chocolate malt

Other:
-------
225g oatmeal
1/2 - 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (add to end of boil)
340g lactose
10mL liquid chocolate extract(added in secondary)
a dollop of blackstrap molasses
a dollop of licorice extract

Hops
----

30g Northern Brewer (bittering)
15g U.K. Fuggles (flavoring)
No finishing hops (cocoa instead)


Wyeast #1968


WIll i have head retension problems using the same process as the Scotch Ale??

 

[atomicfr33x]

The Scotch Ale is coming along well after a little more time.. Tastes great, very malty, nice bubbles and a head that vanishes after a minute.. that's fine with me.. it actually tastes better at room temperature rather than chilled, and I had some King Island Blue Veined Brie with it last night and OMG it was fantastic!! Heavenly. (that was dinner) :chug:

I began the Young's Double Chocolate Stout (recipe above) three days ago .. the yeast did not kick-off straight away and needed some prodding.. the wort smelled good enough to drink, but I managed to resist, it looked like the chocolate river at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.. I will update as the brew progresses as this stout seems to hold a lot of interest of several forums..

 

[NickB]

atomicfr33x - mate, update your location info, and you may just find a few brewers in your area to bounce ideas off, and who can turn you to the Dark Side....muhahahaha

Cheers

PS: Your Scotch Ale sounds like the perfect remedy for a cold winter afternoon (may not have those here in SE QLD but did in Tassie (where I gre up))

 

[atomicfr33x]

So I bottled the "Youngs Double Chocolate Stout" from the Brew Your Own magazine on the 18th April.

I have been drinking it this week (12th May), and it is truly great!

It's ever so slightly hoppy, subtle coffee, no chocolate is noticeable and it deep black with an excellent creamy espresso head.. very impressive overall..

Unfortunately I will probably not be doing another batch; as my all-grain rig setup is nearing completion.. but I will brew the all-grain version (from Brew Your Own magazine) as the first 10-gallon batch..

I have also bottled a revised Scotch Ale recipe (50Ltr batch) on the 11 May. Recipe as follows:

Scotch Ale #2

2x Cascade Pale Ale LME
2x Morgans Liquid LME


700g Crystal Malt 80L
80g Chocolate Malt
80g Black Malt
500g Roasted Barley
300g Oats

40g Bittering Hops [60min] Northern Brewer

500g Lactose
500g Demerara Sugar

2x Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale
Yeast Nutrient


I'll post progress in a month.

 

[Bribie G]

IMHO darker ales such as stouts, porters etc that rely so much for their character on kilned and roasted malts are ideal candidates for partials. Whilst I had good success with light lager style partials, they can't hold a candle to my All grain lagers and I've moved on from them. On the other hand the best stout I have ever made was based on two cans of Coopers Stout and not a grain anywhere in sight.

In fact I can feel a stout coming on shortly with the cooler weather ahead :beerbang:

 

[brettprevans]

i goota say im not a fan of the lactose in your recipe. not sure why you've added it? I recon it would have been better without it if your going true to style. but i certainly would like to taste it.

i also agree that its almost in the wee heavy territory. but i love wee heavies. and i love w1728 yeast. glas to see youve given it a big bang of yeast to carve up all those fermentables. though maybe you might want to read up on yeast cultivation as $30 on yeast every big brew is going to get costly.

 

[atomicfr33x]

i goota say im not a fan of the lactose in your recipe. not sure why you've added it? I recon it would have been better without it if your going true to style. but i certainly would like to taste it.

The Scotch Ale #2 recipe listed above is superb.. The head issue from the first recipe is resolved and the cloyingly sweet taste is gone.. This is a recipe I will keep making unless my all-grain brewing surpasses it..