Scotch Whisky talk

[Heffers]

Thanks for typing that up Sheamas, I get so little time to play around these days that I haven't even had time to look into AG Brewing. It's nice to know that there is a simpler way to get good results with the beer for distilling. Did you have any success with getting a smokey flavour into your scotch when using the LM beer making method?

Might have to have a play around next time I'm home. Thanks again.

Cheers, Heffers

[maheel]

I'm a bit of a scotch man myself, I

Welcome Sheamas

you got my attention :shock:

can you give us a bit more info on your mash procedure and equipment, what sort of volumes you are doing and what sort of SG are you getting on the wash PLEASE....?

do you find any boil / puke issues when you run it? I tried a batch and the boiler puked on me so i just focused on my ag beer and neutral stilling.

there would be a few here very interested and keen to know more if you will share

cheers
Maheel

[JustStillin]

Scotch is my staple, so I'm keen to hear more too.

JS

[Bursal]

Hi

Some of you may not have seen this article in Harry's Alcohol Library on Islay Whiskies, it's Mat Taylor's summary from "Peat Smoke and Spirit", a portrait of Islay and it's whiskies, by Andrew Jefford, the link is http://distillers.tastylime.net/library/IslayFacts/Islay_Distilleries_Factfiles.htm. It makes interesting reading for those of us who are interested in created our own islay style malt whisky.

Cheers

[Frank]

Thank you Bursal
I certainly am interested and the article is a 'great read'; much appreciated.

IMHO, I reckon this forum might soon need a thread specifically for 'making Islay-style Whiskys' as... bloody hell, there seems to be a few of us interested in this particular spirit style :clap:

[Nardy]

I'd be interested in that!

[Jimmy1]

As a tester I have added to a DWWG 500g DME and 250g of steeped peated malts... Still in the fermenter at the mo but while it was boiling the peat tasted very level and not too overpowering. I hope it pulls through to the final product.

[Bursal]

Somewhere on AD, I think, I read that the peat flavour is not immediately evident when you distill with peated malt, it takes time to develop. After a month or so you start to get the peatiness coming though and it develops from there. I am sorry I can't find the post.

When my setup is up and running, there is a god working against me at present :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: I intend to do at least one AG with 100% peated malt and mature it for at least 6 months, if it's too peaty I will use it for blending. Mind you my favourites are Lagavulin and Laphroaig and they have very high phenol levels.

Unfornately it appears none of the Aussie home brew shops imports heavily peated malt, is the anyone who has good contacts in the HBS dept maybe they could see if we could get some imported. I am sure that we get some members of this group to commit to purchasing. I don't think setting a buying group is the way to go - storage and freight would be difficult. But if a shop were interested and those of us who wanted to try some could place an order and even pay a deposit. As far as I know Bairds are the only likely source and most HBS sell grain stock Bairds. Ask around folks and see what can be done. I would be prepared to commit to 20kgs or more, depending on the price.

[StillWaters]

Hi, like the subscribers here, I got into this hobby recently to go down the Single Malt Scotch path. I got my peated malt from http://www.esbrewing.com.au and they even crack it for you at no extra charge. I'm about to do my first mash this week and the recipe I've chosen is below. It's not mine but I'm sure the person who developed it won't mind me sharing it with you. I'll let you know how things go in a couple of weeks. Cheers, SW

"Malt Whiskey Pot Still Recipe

Making decent Scotch whisky is very easy to do at home (provided you know something about all grain beer brewing). Even if you don't all-grain brew, peated malt and malt syrup can be made into a very nice Scotch. Mash preparation will be first, then distillation:


The easy way of making Scotch is to go to the homebrew shop and buy 2 kg of peated malt and Steep it for a half an hour in 15 litres of water at 68 C. After steeping (nylon stockings work well as a giant "tea bag" for the grain), remove the grain, pour another 4 litres of hot water over it (no hotter than 75 C) to rinse out any more flavour. (You should never allow the 4 litres of rinsing water to go above 75 C because it will leach tannins out of the grain husk and it'll end up so astringent that it tastes like straw). Bring the 19 litres of water to a boil, take it off the heat source (this is done to prevent scorching the extract), and dissolve 5.5 kg of pale malt extract (UNHOPPED!!) in the water. After the malt syrup is dissolved, cool the mash. After it is cool add your yeast. This is the same technique used to add "specialty grains" to homebrewed beer made with malt extract. I just found it worked well to put the smoky flavour into malt whisky as well.

Once the mash is fermented, load it into a pot still (making a heavier Scotch from the start is best- if it's too strong you can blend in some polished neutral spirit later on). If you have done a 19 litre batch, distil the mash until you collect 6litres of "low wines" (it will be anywhere from 17 to 30%abv). After the batch has been "reduced" it can be stored with no danger (not flammable - can't spoil, etc) but it must not be ingested (it will likely be cloudy - this is the heavy alcohols and we'll get rid of them next). Take the 6 litres of "low wines" and put it back in your pot still, distil until you collect 1.5 litres of Scotch. On this second run discard the first 100 ml of spirit that comes out as "foreshots"- throw them out. The 1.5 litres you collect is to be checked to see what strength it is (typically about 70% abv) - water it down to about 60% and age it on some toasted American oak (heavy toast - if you can find it). Age it in the bottle at about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of oak per 750ml of spirit. Every month, add a little water as it ages. One month at 60%, one at 50%, and the final at 40%, will extract both vanillins and sugars from the wood, and be very smooth for its age.

This is a wasteful, low yield method, but it produces the smoothest spirit (close to Glenmorangie). A splash of port or sherry (1.5ml per bottle) is also a nice touch.

Keeping the heads and tails (those you don't use for blending) should be added to the next run to develop the flavour and get a bit more alcohol out. Apparently this is what the Scots do to make their stuff so wonderful :0)

The pot still should ideally be on a burner - it should definitely not be an open element-run still. (Too much risk of scorching the whisky)"

All the heads and tails should be kept for blending to suit your taste and the remainder added to the next run. This improves the on-going flavour and is apparently what the Scots do to get the last drop of alcohol out and produce the flavours that make their stuff so drinkable :0)

[cdbrown]

I'm currently waiting for a sack of Bairds Medium Peated Malt which I'll pair with Bairds Pale Ale Malt for a single malt scotch. Will try 3:1 peated to pale malt as that's the ratio I've seen for Glenmorangie clones. Will be running it through the brew rig but not decided on the mash temps and durations yet.

For the "and the remainder added to the next run" is this added to the next strip or spirit run?

[Hill]

CD after the batch i did with 3:1 peated to ale id highly recommend 1:3 peated to ale, I can give you a smell of it at the next WCB meeting, its over smoky and would need years to mellow.

[Brendan]

Even then you're talking 25%...for those that don't want a big peaty whisky and just a gentle Scotch, I've heard figures of 5-10% peated malt to ale malt. Depends on the phenol ppm levels of the peated onviously, but just as a rough guide...

[cdbrown]

Hilly did you do a strip and then spirit run? Heard that alot of the peatiness comes out from the two runs. It'll be on the oak dominos for about 6 months.

I quite the smokey scotches with Laphroaig being a standout. But not a lot though. Guess I could go the 1:3 to start and then adjust from there. Won't get the malt till after the next WCB meet.

[Hill]

I did 1 run through my bubbler so maybe you would lose a bit with 2 runs, I could add some plates next time maybe with would help as well.

[Urrazeb]

Anyone done enough scotch yet to have a safe, tried and true recpie? I'd like to pop my AG cherry on a scotch

[MacStill]

Reckon Hilly has got pretty close, the gear he brought round here was definitely scotch.... but I wouldnt know the diff between a good or bad one as I cant stand the stuff :puke-huge:

[Urrazeb]

CD after the batch i did with 3:1 peated to ale id highly recommend 1:3 peated to ale, I can give you a smell of it at the next WCB meeting, its over smoky and would need years to mellow.

Got a recipe there Hill? I'm keen as fuc to get some scotch goin. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Anyone know of a peat bog in WA? 8-}

[MacStill]

CD after the batch i did with 3:1 peated to ale id highly recommend 1:3 peated to ale, I can give you a smell of it at the next WCB meeting, its over smoky and would need years to mellow.

Got a recipe there Hill? I'm keen as fuc to get some scotch goin. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Anyone know of a peat bog in WA? 8-}

Peat no, but the bog I can help you with... bring your own bag, zak has more than enough to share :D

[Urrazeb]

Thanks mac, my mutt makes enough bog for my backyard mate cheers

Zak would do shits the size of my amstaff I reckon :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

[Hill]

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3324

I ran mine through a bubbler and it's really smoky, I would recommend reversing the peat and pilsner malt qtys to start with.