Is a SMaSH still a SMaSH if . . .

[patpawlowski]

Is a SMaSH still a SMaSH if you toast a pound of the base malt? I have some Wyeast1728 Scottish Ale and was thinking of using it in a SMaSH with some Floor Malted Maris Otter and East Kent Goldings for a Scotch Ale, but it seems that it will need some color and roastienss. I'm considering taking a pound of the Marris Otter and roasting it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350˚. Is there a SMaSH Reinheitsgebot?

Thanks,
-pat

 

[Kevin58]

How much color are you looking for? Scotch Ales were often very light in color. Ron Pattinson is the expert on Scottish brewing and I snagged the first three recipes on his website. The darkest is 9 SRM. And a good number of them were SMASH recipes... Just pale malt and EKG hops. To answer your question though I think since you are roasting the same base malt it would still qualify.

Let's Brew Wednesday (Saturday edition) – 1851 William Younger 140/-

Finally, a beer of the type that made Scottish brewing famous: Scotch ale. And one that's really that, not some modern geek's guess at wha...

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Let's Brew Wednesday - 1868 Younger No. 3

This is a very special day. Not just because this is actually appearing on a Wednesday. It's more to do with the beer: Younger's No. 3. A be...

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Let's Brew Wednesday - 1949 William Younger XXPS

Something light for the spring. That's what Kristen asked. So why not go with a light little Scottish number? XXPS. One of the things I lo...

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[patpawlowski]

Interestingly, these recipes don't seem to align with the BJCP guidelines for a wee heavy, but I'm game. I remember making a Scotch Ale in my previous brewer life that involved pulling the first gallon of runnings and boiling them down to a quart before adding them back into the boil. That, combined with the low hops, made for a sweet, malty brew. I don't remember it being particularly high in alcohol, though.

Most of my original recipes came from a book, now lost, that had very basic recipes. No Polk Salad Wheat Cream Ales, just the basics. I'm sure you can make some nice beers with a dozen fermentables and six different hops, but I prefer to keep the fermentables to a maximum of three and the hops to one or two.

 

[Kevin58]

Interestingly, these recipes don't seem to align with the BJCP guidelines for a wee heavy, but I'm game. I remember making a Scotch Ale in my previous brewer life that involved pulling the first gallon of runnings and boiling them down to a quart before adding them back into the boil. That, combined with the low hops, made for a sweet, malty brew. I don't remember it being particularly high in alcohol, though.

Most of my original recipes came from a book, now lost, that had very basic recipes. No Polk Salad Wheat Cream Ales, just the basics. I'm sure you can make some nice beers with a dozen fermentables and six different hops, but I prefer to keep the fermentables to a maximum of three and the hops to one or two.

haha! These recipes predate the BJCP by as much as 135 years! These recipes are from beer historian Ron Pattinson who researches brew logs and recipe books from these time periods. Combined with his collection of trade publications, news clippings, articles and even court records he puts together a fairly comprehensive picture of what brewing was like in the era. He will analyze the hand written brew logs and then translate them into workable 5 gallon batch for today's homebrewer.

Ron has unearthed dozens of myths and misconceptions about brewing but especially in Scottish brewing. For one, Wee Heavy was not a style. It was a brand name of one beer from one brewery. Also, the Scotts did not boil any longer than any other brewer making similar products. When Ron compared the brew times that were recorded in the record books between Scottish and London brewers he found that London brewers actually boiled longer than the Scotts. Scottish drinkers did seem to prefer a sweeter beer but it seems from the records to be the result of very low attenuation. Ron postulates they stopped fermentation intentionally to achieve this consistently. Color and strength were as varied as anything brewed in London at the time. Also keep in mind that there was beer brewed for consumption locally and then there was beer brewed for export to England... London in particular. Those export beers were tailored to meet the tastes of the London market. It was in London where these beers were called "Scottish Ales" or "Scotch Ale". North of Hadrian's Wall they made no such distinction.

If you really want to dive into Scottish brewing find a copy of his book, Scotland! Vol. 2. It delves into the history and includes dozens of authentic recipes. On his blog he publishes two recipes a week. Today's happens to be an Irish Porter from the 1878 log books. http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/

 

[patpawlowski]

Very nice. I love this.

 

[Kevin58]

As you peruse his recipes keep in mind that many assumptions and educated guesses had to be made in translation from the original brew logs. Ron posted an article about his process some time ago but I am unable to find it now. In cases where the brew log does not mention a specific ingredient he will make his best guess. Sometimes the logs say things like "Oregon hops" which he interprets as Cluster or something similar that was in use at the time. (the English brewers did not like the flavor of American hops so they used it in bittering only). Sugars are another grey area with the brew logs often using shorthand to indicate what type of sugar was used. If it is unknown Ron's fall back is Invert which London brewers used very frequently. The cautionary tale here is that when you see a recipe from Ron for an 1800's beer know that it will be a best approximation and not an exact snapshot of the time.