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YEAST: House London

MISC: Here's the explanation from March 28, 2003.

 

"Diligent readers will recall the brew crew’s recent attempt to brew two batches of beer, one big and one small, from the same mash in the style formerly practiced in the British Isles and elsewhere. Their ambitious effort derailed owing to a “stuck” mash, which is what happens when grain milled too finely turns into a substance resembling mud and clogs the mash, making it very difficult to sparge (rinse) the grain.

"Michael (Borchers) and Joey (Burns) thought on their feet, abandoned the double batch idea, fought through the mashing difficulties and salvaged sufficient wort to make a single batch of ale, albeit at a reduced gravity from that originally foreseen. Hopping rates were radically increased on the spot, and the beer was fermented with NABC’s London ale yeast with fingers crossed. Happily, it tasted quite presentable when sampled from the fermenter, so the beer was transferred to a conditioning tank and dry-hopped.

"Repeated quality control sampling led us to realize that we had a good beer, even if it wasn’t the one intended.

"The result is Hopscotch, and we’re calling it a Scottish Bitter. That there is really no such style as a Scottish Bitter does not faze us in the least, but that’s what it tastes like. Hopscotch is a one-off batch, although Michael may attempt to recreate it in the future in revised form (read: without the stuck mash), and we’re selling pints of it as a brewmaster’s special for .50 cents less than the other house beers."