McClouds Kilt... Scottish Export...

So, it's almost the weekend... that means brewing.  Tonight means Royals Playoff Baseball, my daughter's choir concert (can't wait they're damned good), and some bottling (the octoberfest, and old school lager), and some yeast washing and collection. So things are busy on the home brew front.

But that in a nutshell is our hobby. You can fill your downtime with something that you love doing, and that produces yummy beer.


Recently, I have fallen in love again with an old friend.  O'dells 90 Shilling. Now I know some of you pooh pooh the big craft breweries.   Some of you only drink "continuously hopped organic chocolate nib pomegranate Saison aged on french oak" and anything less is not worthy of your time. And that is fine, but I ask you to remember if it wasn't for Anchor, Harpoon, Sierra Nevada, Boulevard, O'Dells, Dogfish Head, and Boston Beer Company, there wouldn't be a craft beer revolution.    You wouldn't have your ridiculous glass of deliciousness to drink.


90 Shilling is an american take on Scottish export.  It is all about the malt with just a hint of cascade to make it American in it's interpretation.   Amber in color the beer assaults your tongue with wave after wave of malt complexity.   Perfect for a fall day or a winter's eve.   My recipe has changed over time.  I dropped the Cara 20 for Biscuit Malt.  They are both about 20 Lovibond, and the biscuit adds more malt complexity.  We may all love hop bombs, but the general public does not.  This is a perfect gateway beer for your beer muggle friends.

The recipe is here.  Let me know what you think. I'm always looking to improve my recipes.   But here it is typed out for your viewing pleasure.  Mash at 154 for 60 Minutes.  Boil for 75 minutes adding the first hop addition at 60.  Ferment at 65 F for a week or 10 days, then yes, actually rack this one to secondary, there will be a lot of trub in this, better to get your beer off the trub, not for fear of acetyls, but rather for clarity.   If you want to really geek out, you could do a partial decotion on this.  I probably will.  Just take out a quart of the mash and boil it for 15 minutes.  It adds that shinny shimmering caramel look that you just don't get with out decoction.