We all know that yeast management is key to excellent beer. It is particularly true when brewing high gravity beers like an Imperial Stout. With Mike’s pick from the Jar of Destiny Round 7, it was imperative to make a plan for a healthy pitch of yeast. See the output of step one of his plan, which was to brew a small beer. His hopes are that the yeast cake from this beer will provide a excellent fermentation of his big beer.

Nothing Like a 6.5 Gallon Starter

The Scottish Golden Ale Recipe

Mike named this beer for its color and ingredients. The malt bill will share many of the same grains as his Imperial Stout. Even though this beer is simply as yeast starter for the next one, he brewed something tasty for us to enjoy now.

Batch Size: 6.5 US gallons 24 Liters post boil

Grain Bill:

  • 77% Golden Promise
  • 7% Type 1 Munich
  • 13% Carastan Malt
  • 10% English Medium Crystal Malt

Hops:

  • 1 ounce (28 g) of Challenger hops boiled for 60 minutes (25 IBUs)

Yeast:

  • 1 packet of Cellar Science CALI dry yeast
  • 1 packet of Cellar Science ENGLISH dry yeast

Water:

Spring water with minerals added to match this profile

  • Calcium: 75 PPM
  • Magnesium: 5 PPM
  • Sodium: 41 PPM
  • Sulfate: 109 PPM
  • Chloride: 131 PPM

Instructions:

  • Mash at 152°F for 45 minutes.
  • Mash out at 168°F for 15 minutes.
  • Ferment two weeks at room temperature

Results:

  • Starting Gravity: 1.051
  • Finishing Gravity: 1.013
  • ABV: 5%

Let’s Taste This Small Beer

The beer is malt forward with some English hop bitterness to balance it out. It will be a great Autumn drinker, pairing well with cooler nights.

Again, the point is to brew a small beer to produce a large mass of yeast. This large mass will be up to the task to fermenting a high gravity Imperial Stout. In a few weeks, we should have the final results of this plan.

BREW ON!