How much peat

All styles of whiskey. This is for all-grain mashes.

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PoppaW
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How much peat

Post by PoppaW »

I had a co-worker stop in a brew store and get me a partial bag of Heavy Peat malt. I have 44 lbs and need to cut it with unpeated. I decided on 15lbs of peat Malt to 7lbs malt. For about 12 gallons of water. I will do three ferments and add regular peat malt on the last batch as I have 2lbs. I know the peat smoke will come over and it’s up the tastes ofthe brewer to decide how much. Years ago I would pass on the peat but now I am sipping on Islay scotch more and more. Has anyone done some single malt with roughly 68% peat like this? Just wondering and thinking. If it’s going to be real strong I could stretch it out to 4 ferments and up the output. And yes I will be trying to get more peated malt.
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Durhommer
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Re: How much peat

Post by Durhommer »

Why not do one large ferment with it
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still_stirrin
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Re: How much peat

Post by still_stirrin »

You could do that Poppa.

But I’d shoot for 2 lb. per gallon, such that you need 24 lb. of malt per 12 gallon batch of water.

For 3 stripping ferments, you’d need 3 x 24 lb = 72 lb. total, of which you have 44 lb. of peat malt already. So, you’ll need 28 lb. of base malt to add to that.

Then, for each mash you’d use 44 / 3 = 14-2/3 lb of peat malt and 28 / 3 = 9-1/3 lb of base malt. That would be 24 lb per ferment and use all of your peat malt uniformly.

I think you’d like the result.
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PoppaW
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Re: How much peat

Post by PoppaW »

Durhommer wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:05 am Why not do one large ferment with it
I would love to. Can’t get enough though. I need three ferments stripped to do a good spirit run. I did that with my bourbon and got way more product. If ths works out and I need more peat I may have to drive to the maltsters and get a couple bags to try. It would be 4hrs each way though. Shipping is a pain unless I know someone ‘going by’. I wish I had some stillin buddies in this town and we could get a big order in. But we all keep quiet don’t we.
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Re: How much peat

Post by PoppaW »

So I had a thought. Can peated barley be mashed with rye and wheat to make a smokey peaty whisky? I have done my alder smoked barley with a bit of wheat and rye. So now my brain is thinking that I can’t make a peated scotch to compare to Lagavulin so why not make a peated rye or a peated bourbon. I know that peated bourbon should go well as most scotch is barreled in bourbon. I figure a peated rye should be as Albertan as I can get so figure I should try. I will try to figure out what % of grain to go with.
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8Ball
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Re: How much peat

Post by 8Ball »

PoppaW wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 6:28 pm So I had a thought. Can peated barley be mashed with rye and wheat to make a smokey peaty whisky? I have done my alder smoked barley with a bit of wheat and rye. So now my brain is thinking that I can’t make a peated scotch to compare to Lagavulin so why not make a peated rye or a peated bourbon. I know that peated bourbon should go well as most scotch is barreled in bourbon. I figure a peated rye should be as Albertan as I can get so figure I should try. I will try to figure out what % of grain to go with.
I don’t see why not. I’ve done some malted whiskey with 30% total peated & home smoked with pecan that was light on the smoke flavor. I upped the percentages to 12% peated from the home brew store and 27% home smoked malted barley from the local feed store (39% of grain bill) and the smoke is coming over like I want it to after 6-8 months of aging. It still has a long way to go (5 years) but the quality control sipping is pretty good.
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Hambone
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Re: How much peat

Post by Hambone »

Another option is distilling a 100% peated batch, and 100 % unpeated. Then blend to your liking...
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PoppaW
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Re: How much peat

Post by PoppaW »

So the blending is how I tried to figure this out in the first place. I took some laphroig 10 and a little makers 46. I will try some scotch and rye next. So I could do the blend after but figured if it fermented together it would marry the flavours.
Stircrazy
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Re: How much peat

Post by Stircrazy »

to what level is "heavily peated", does it have a PPM rating?

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Re: How much peat

Post by PoppaW »

The malt place had a peated version that was about as peated as most in brew shops. They quit making that to make a heavy peat version. I did talk to the guy and he told me it was out for analysis but can’t remember what he said he was hoping for. Maybe 70 ish ppm. My grain storage area is very peated now with that bag in there. I like to go in and just smell the peat.
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Re: How much peat

Post by Stircrazy »

PoppaW wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 6:15 pm The malt place had a peated version that was about as peated as most in brew shops. They quit making that to make a heavy peat version. I did talk to the guy and he told me it was out for analysis but can’t remember what he said he was hoping for. Maybe 70 ish ppm. My grain storage area is very peated now with that bag in there. I like to go in and just smell the peat.
Myself I would just do a normal batch of that. would come accross as a nice medium to heavy peat after all is said and done. if it ends up to heavy for your likes, like others have said just blend it.

Steve
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NorthWoodsAb
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Re: How much peat

Post by NorthWoodsAb »

PoppaW wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:23 pm
Durhommer wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:05 am Why not do one large ferment with it
I wish I had some stillin buddies in this town and we could get a big order in. But we all keep quiet don’t we.
I know what you mean. I've lived and worked in the same small town for 42 years, 40 in town and past 2.5 on an acreage on the lake 20km from town. "Don't sell, don't tell" we all kinda live by that motto as a form of self perservation. Found out quite by chance a few months ago that a neighbour 5 or 6 doors down, 1.5km from me also stills. Since then know of 3 or 4 other neighbours within 2km that still. I've been stumbling through success and failures for almost 3 years wishing there was someone close by to shout out to or invite over to help fine tune the learning curve. My local brew store owner put me in touch with neighbour #1. It takes some time to develope a connection, a feel about people and sense of trust. It's Iike being part of a secret society on main Street. You're local suppliers know damn well what you are doing by the supplies you buy. They also know their other customers that come in for the same supplies. Get to know a trusted supplier, ask them to have similar customers contact you, don't ask for a contact number, prob won't happen. Never know your neighbour might come over with a dram, (my neighbour left an 30L still by my back door on a Sunday morning when I had a batch to run off that was to small for my boiler and I reached out to my Brew Store owner for a smaller boiler to use) next thing you know you are part of a local community you weren't aware of. Then group buy.
Just a thought.
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Dancing4dan
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Re: How much peat

Post by Dancing4dan »

I’m getting ready to mash some Golden Graham malted barley from an Alberta malt house north of Edmonton. Been sitting on this for a while. This malt would go good with a peated malt.

:think: Peated malt, Golden Graham, toasted rolled oats… :think:
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NorthWoodsAb
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Re: How much peat

Post by NorthWoodsAb »

Dancing4dan wrote: Fri Mar 25, 2022 5:14 pm I’m getting ready to mash some Golden Graham malted barley from an Alberta malt house north of Edmonton. Been sitting on this for a while. This malt would go good with a peated malt.

:think: Peated malt, Golden Graham, toasted rolled oats… :think:
D4D, where N of Edmonton? I'm N of Edmonton and get malted out of SK. A source closer to home is always a bonus, especially with the price of fuel lately.
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