I’ve been brewing this style for a few years and have never been able to get that creamy silky mouth feel. I’ve tried a thin mash at higher temperatures, adding carapils, flaked oats or barley and still never got to the point where I was satisfied. Any secrets out there that I am missing? I should also mention that I bottle and don’t keg.
Thanks
I’ve never felt that a scottish ale should be creamy. IMO it should be malty in flavor yet dry, medium body. Maybe try a lower level of carbonation.
What beers are you trying to emulate?
This.
Style naziism aside, if you want a full creamy body, nothing works better than some rye. Rye malt or flaked rye at a rate of about 15-20% will help a lot with this. It might be “cheating” but I’ll be damned if it won’t fix your issue.
The OP was asking about a specific style. Maybe he is trying for a Scott-ish ale. Yuck yuck yuck
Maybe a bit of lactose would help.
Perhaps the OP was referring to a nitro or cask version? Oscar Blue’s “Old Chub” on nitro is certainly “creamy”. I’d imagine a cask version would also be “creamy”.
Interesting. I’m familiar with the flavor contribution of rye malt, what does flaked rye contribute in terms of flavor? In a 5 gallon batch, does the amount of flaked rye it would take to add creaminess also cross the flavor contribution threshold (can one taste it)?
Actually in this case, 1450 would work better than rye.
Try using Wy1450.
I’ve used rye malt numerous times at average rates of about 40% of the grist. It honestly doesn’t have a huge flavor impact, certainly not “spicy” like everyone says. At 15-20% I don’t think anyone will really even notice the flavor. However, Denny will be sure to remind me that he thinks it’s spicy, and I’m coming to believe that the flavor contribution or lack thereof is largely dependent on which brand is selected.
I have not used flaked rye so I can’t really comment on that. I believe it will have a very similar and perhaps even more significant effect, but haven’t tested it yet myself.
If you’re concerned about “spiciness” (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) then stay down low at 10-15% where I’m really quite confident that it won’t be overpowering at all. Same advice would apply to the malt or the flaked, either way, I would think, with flaked having possibly even more significant impact to body and fullness, not sure about flavors.
Denny’s Favorite 50? Who the hell is this Denny guy, anyway, and what makes his yeast so awesome over mine or anyone else’s?
I kid, I kid. However I must admit I still never used that yeast. Need to try it sometime for sure.
It would get him the mouthfeel he’s looking for without the flavor of the rye.
When “everyone” but you says something, it may be time to re-examine your point of view. ;) FWIW, I use Briess rye malt.
Yep
Yeah, but, it’s NOT “everyone but me”. I have received a lot of support over the years from others saying “you’re right! it’s really NOT spicy!”.
We all perceive things differently, and some of us are supertasters, some are “non”-tasters, etc. Lots of variables at play. I will fully admit that I could be wrong. I will also point out that there is most likely no universal “right” answer, either. So our arguments are most likely as moot as they are tiresome.
Kind regards, my friend. 
I haven’t used rye malt in years, but my recollection was it was… spicy. In the same way most rye whiskey’s are spicy (but not all, so perhaps there is something to your argument).
Regardless, I’ve had Toby’s wee heavy and that dude can make a Scottish ale. I’d follow his advice all day long. My recollection is he uses a long boil to get the awesome malty caramel flavors.
I don’t want to get sound too crazy here but what if he keeps the rye under 15% (a general guideline I got from you Denny regarding the flavor threshold of rye in a beer) and then uses 1450?
Thanks! Yeah, it’s a combination of grist and the long boil. I do a 2 hour vigorous boil to get some maillard complexity. The longer traditional boil was more compensation for a ‘simmering’ boil (it’s expensive and hard to boil that vigorously at a commercial scale). The cook down/pseudo-decoction that a lot of homebrewers use does something similar as well. I just prefer the long boil because less futzing about.
I’ve had Toby’s Scottish Wee Heavy and WEEEEEE is it heavy! And by that I mean gooooood. I would say anyone would like that beer if they like Scottish Ales.