Peepz,
I'll be brewing a wee heavy which is to be ready by September 18th.
The occasion is a ceilidh, celebrating the Scottish roots of Da Missus' side of the family. Ages 4 till 94. Last year I brewed an 8% scotch which went down well, but was not festive enough to my taste. I'll dig up the recipe as soon as I can.
I want it to be malty, bordering on chewy. Stately, but drinkable. Best case scenario, we'll have thirsty octogenarians sitting in the sun all afternoon. Worst case they'll be sitting inside b****ing about the weather.
Either way, I want to keep them occupied with beer to keep them from continuously pinching the greatgrandchildren's cheeks all afternoon.
Couple of choices I need to make, and for which I'd like your advice.
Firstly: a wee
heavy or a
wee heavy?
Former case would be something like an Old Chub style brew, OG around 1.100 and about 10% ABV. That should cover both "festive" and "stately", as well as shut'm all up after a few rounds.
Latter case would a in the ballpark of Traquair House ale, OG around 1.080 and 7-8% ABV. Still far from sessionable, this would be more congruent with what
most Belgians consider a normal festive beer. Plus, given the size restrictions of my rig, it'll also mean more beer. 25 liters would make me very happy.
Grist would be (off the cuff)
80% Maris Otter
10% Munich
5% CaraMunich2
3% roasted barley
2% melanoidin
About a liter of the first runnings of this would be boiled separately to a thick syrup, to bring our the caramel, and then boiled together with the rest of the wort. 90' boil, with about 20-30 IBU's worth of EKG/Fuggles. Mostly early additions.
Ferment with Wyeast 1728 in a big beefy starter.
Advice and comments on the recipe would be much appreciated also
I have some oak chips which I've infused with Arran whisky which I'd been meaning to add as a throwback to the clan's geographic origins. That's right you lot: if a plane crashed on the right crowd, I could end up as the next owner of Brodick Castle.
Any other Scottisch ingredients or techniques which may be relevant, I'd be glad to hear about them.