Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 8 poured into small mason jars with an oak spiral.

After brewing the Big Fat Phony, which is a modified clone of +Oskar Blues‘ Old Chub Scotch Ale, we decided to give it a kick with some really peaty scotch.  My friend +Brian Freeman offered up his excellent Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 8 for inclusion in the experiment which was no surprise given his devotion to Old Chub.  I took a medium toast oak spiral I got from Farmhouse Brewing Supply a while back and snapped it into two small lengths that fit inside my pint mason jars.  I poured enough scotch to cover the spirals…. and a sample for myself.

Medium Toast Oak spiral soaking in PC8 Scotch

These samples sat in the pantry for about 2 weeks while the beer was fermenting and then I pitched both oak spirals and one jar of scotch into the beer to age another two weeks.

Oak spiral and PC8 Scotch soaking in the closet.

Yesterday I racked the Big Fat Phony into a keg that had the remaining jar of oak-infused peaty scotch.  The beer is still quite young, but it has a unique peaty aroma from the scotch, a bit of vanilla sweetness from the oak, some husky tannins from the wood, and a sweet, boozy flavor from the 9% ABV and the malt-heavy recipe.  In a word: amazing!

It needs another month or two lagering to really bring out the malts, but as-is, I’m extremely pleased with the result.