Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

I brewed HBA's Wee Heavy Scotch. It was much easier than the first time.

First a few notes about the brew. According to HBA the wee heavy is: Creamy, very chewy, slightly smoky example of Strong Scotch Ale. A wee tad less hoppy than Scottish Export (while considerably maltier), similar in flavor to Bitter family. Addition of peated malt enhances smoky character of this "session beer."

The two sacks above are eight pounds of malt extract that make up the wort. As I stated above, this brew session was easier. This time I used my immersion chiller; I didn't have to get all stressed out about an ice bath. I also used a plastic fermenting bucket instead of a glass carboy.

Each time I hope to correct some mistakes. Last time I forgot to sanitize the outside of the gallon jugs that I poured into the fermenting vessel to make the 5 gallons of wort. This time I sanitized the gallons but I think I added too much water because I missed the target gravity of 1.077. My SG was 1.070, meaning I dilluted the mixture too much. It should end up with a FG of 1.010. In the future I should add about half or 3/4 of what I think I need then check the hydrometer reading.

Another point to worry about is that I reused my Star San sanitizer from my last brew. I hope that it worked and killed all the possible nasties. I did throw out what I used today, though. My hands feel very dry (like they do after I use Star San) so I am thinking I'll be okay. I'll have to keep an eye on that, but the makers of Star San claim that it is effective until it turns cloudy. At which point you have to make a new batch (1 oz. to five gallons of water).