Scotch Ale BIAB (Traquair House Ale Clone)

Here's my attempt at brewing something similar to the excellent Traquair House Ale. It's a very highly regarded Scottish Ale. Modern versions of the style are things like Brewdog's Dogma and Founders Dirty *******.

One of the tricks of this recipe is to take 5L of the first runnings and caramelise this down to around 1L. The way I measured the point if caramelisation was to stop when the wort hit 120c. It was a very thick syrup at this point. This syrup is then added to the remaining wort and boiled as normal. It gives a great flavour using this method.

Quite glad that I can hit 70% efficiency for such a high gravity.

Photos to follow...

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Traquair House Ale

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Strong Scotch Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 18 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 25 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.061
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.085
Final Gravity: 1.025
ABV (standard): 7.84%
IBU (tinseth): 25.12
SRM (morey): 14.52

FERMENTABLES:
7 kg - United Kingdom - Golden Promise (99%)
0.07 kg - United Kingdom - Roasted Barley (1%)

HOPS:
30 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 4.13, Use: Boil for 45 min, IBU: 13.21
30 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 4.13, Use: Boil for 35 min, IBU: 11.92

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Temp: 68 C, Time: 90 min

YEAST:
Wyeast - Scottish Ale 1728
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 71%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 12.78 - 23.89 C

Guys, I hate to say it, but I think this Wyeast pack I bought was duff....

It didn't swell up at all after three hours post-smack, at 20c. Still, I persevered and pitched anyway, making sure it was well aerated. Almost 48hrs have passed at 18c, and the gravity is the same, and the wort not showing the slightest change.

The pack was dated June. They should be good for six months if kept refrigerated.

I'm going to pitch the only spare yeast I have here, some Safale S-04.

Update: I kept a sample of the beer with just the Wyeast 1728 in it, and it has now started to ferment as of this afternoon. So, it took over 60 hours to kick off....

I've moved the fermenter to a room at around 15.5c, so the 1728 should be quite happy, and the S-04 will possibly slow down. Currently gurgling every three seconds or so.

In the future, I think it would be wise to smack these Wyeast packs well in advance (say 24hrs) of the actual brewday, as a 60hr lag is pushing it a bit. Bear in mind that the yeast pack was four months old though.

I've overshot my target gravity by three points already (1022). That's 73% attenuation, but I can still see signs of activity in the hydrometer sample. I often over-shoot on attenuation. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Mash temp was bang-on as usual. I suspect that sometimes the attenuation ratings are a little conservative.

How long did the caramelisation boil take?

I guess your yeast experience confirms the wisdom of making a starter with liquid yeasts.

clibit said:

How long did the categorisation boil take?

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It's in my notes, but it was something like 90 mins for the reduction. I also thought this would impact the final gravity by making it less fermentable, here we are. It has slowed right down, so I only expect it to drop up to maybe another point. The Wyeast 1056 I used went far past my expected FG too.

I'm going to be more careful with my liquid yeast next time. I have a pack of Wyeast 1968 ESB to use soon for a Fullers Porter clone. I'll at least make sure that the yeast is active before pitching.

I went to the actual brewery today at Traquair House. It was amazing. Anyway, here's where the recipe wasn't quite right:

Yeast is actually Nottingham.
Hop additions are one at the start of a 2hr boil, and 10mins before flame-out.
Fermenters are 300 years old (!) and made of oak which imparts flavour.

Do you reckon a 2 hour boil would give equivalent flavours to caramelisation of 5ltrs wort?

Nottingham yeast, fancy that!

Why pay more?!

TartanSpecial said:

Do you reckon a 2 hour boil would give equivalent flavours to caramelisation of 5ltrs wort?

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This is a tricky question. I think it partly depends on how intense the heat is during the boil, and if it can can cause caramelisation at the edge of the pan. It also increases the amount of melonoidin formed. I'm not sure if that's technically classed as caramelisation, but it is at least the transformation of sugars.

Barley wines when put on extended boil for 2hrs or so definitely gain flavour, and change colour. Whether or not it's as good as boiling off a separate bit of wort is a different question.

Opened a bottle of Skull Cracker earlier, and this home brew is definitely tasting preferable. Should rack and bottle tomorrow, before ageing a little. Could need a few months...

Photo of oak fermenters. Note krausen:

Kinell. :???:

Yep. It's operated by only two brewers. Seriously, you need to taste this stuff.

Where would one procure a bottle of this?

YeastFace said:

Where would one procure a bottle of this?

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This only shows two shops: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/distribution/2012/

But it may be worth having a search on Google. I'd pick up a bottle of Jacobite at the same time, which is see is now rated at 99%.

impressive piece of living brewing history. ...no need for stainless steel. I must visit next time I'm in Scotland.

I've drunk a few bottles of this now with friends, and it has turned out very well. Extremely similar in taste to the original, except mine is a little stronger at 8.8%. There's a great vanilla-like aroma to it and a toffee-like taste.

This is the first time that I've literally had hardly any yeast sediment in the bottle which is nice.

Have you compared the 1728 bottles with the S04 bottles? It's a very simple recipe so I'm wondering where the vanilla and toffee are coming from. Just the caramelisation?

clibit said:

Have you compared the 1728 bottles with the S04 bottles? It's a very simple recipe so I'm wondering where the vanilla and toffee are coming from. Just the caramelisation?

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Pretty sure it's just the caramelisation. You could taste it in the wort during brew day. I'm actually going to try this with Nottingham next time as that's what the brewery said they use, though the cool fermentation doesn't bring huge amounts of ester to the flavour.

I've also been considering adding a very small amount of oak chips to enhance the vanilla-like aroma.

I'm tempted to give this one a go..