Recipe: Vail Ale Batch #1 Wee Heavy

Well, as it seems I am staying out in Vail for a somewhat long term basis, I’ve invested in a new setup. A post will soon follow about the contruction of said setup as well as my first brew day with it: The pitfalls, the triumphs, the shenanigans, etc. First off, though, I’ll let you in on the beer brewed.

As I now have a 10 gallon mash tun, instead of the 5 gal, we had in Ann Arbor, I decided to go Xtreme with the grain bill, brewing a beer we wouldn’t have been able to put together back in Michigan. Having been unable to brew for so long, I felt the first beer on the new kit should be one of my favorite styles, a wee heavy scotch ale.

As you may know, malt character is the driving force in these brews, which great because I now can put a bunch in a 5 gallon batch. The recipe follows:

Grains:

9 lbs Maris Otter
2 lbs Aromatic Malt
5 lbs Amber Malt
2 lbs Flaked Oats

Hops:

1.5 oz East Kent Goldings (4.7% AA) 60 minutes
1 oz East Kent Goldings (4.7% AA) 10 minutes
.5 oz East Kent Goldings (4.7% AA) dry

Secondary:

4 oz American Oak Chips - 1 week