I’ve been wanting to do the Celtic Cross. I’ve got some Maris but would need to make a trip to the brew store to really duplicate that recipe. Instead, I’ll use what I’ve got and make a dark ale similar to the Celtic Cross.
I’m short on Maris to brew a full 20g, so I supplement with more Munich malt. I’ll also add 10% wheat malt. I’ve got enough peated and roasted malt to make it work. I’ve got some Willamette hops from the AB hop give-away; it’s a good excuse to use that up but that’s the biggest change and concern on the flavor. Charles has some Scottish Ale yeast he saved from his Barley Wine.
Brewing 20g
Grain Bill- 40# total
- 25# Maris Otter
- 8# Munich malt
- 4# Wheat malt
- 1# Rye malt
- 1# Vienna malt
- 10 oz Roasted barley
- 6 oz peated malt
Hop Bill- 6 oz Willamette, alpha unknown but 5% seems typical, 60′. It’s shrink sealed from 2016. One pack is about 4 oz of bale cut, while the other pack appears to be about 2oz leaf.
Yeast- Wyeast 1728 – Scottish Ale (a large starter from Charles’ Barley Wine)
Water- 30g St. Louis Co. tap
- 12g mash
- 4g bump
- 4g mash out
- 10g sparge
Mash schedule–
- Strike 12g liquor at 163F
- Mash in = 153F hold 60’
- Bump w/ 4g to 160F hold 30’
- Mash out w 4g
- Sparge w 10g
Calculated Stats-
- OG = 1.052
- FG = 1.015
- ABV = 5%
- IBU = 27
- SRM = 12
Fermentation-
The Scottish Ale didn’t take. No bubble in the airlock after two days. I went to the brew store and picked up three packs of Irish Ale yeast to complete the Celtic Cross transformation. In less the 24 hours it started bubbling strong.
Packaging-
Kegged (2) 5g kegs and bottled 5g. Gravity = 1.008, but my hydrometer reads low. sample was good, hoppy with American hop, but it seems to work. Not brilliant but a decent beer.
