Critique my Scottish ale partial mash-first recipe creation

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing
1

I’ve been working to tweak this recipe and this is what I came up with. This is my first recipe creation and would like to get any feedback you have to offer. I also have 1 oz Hallertau hops on hand. I intended to use them in this recipe, but have been reluctant. Thoughts?

Method: Partial Mash
Style: Strong Scotch Ale
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 4 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.078 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)
OG: 1.090
IBU: 25

FERMENTABLES:
2.5 lb - United Kingdom - Golden Promise (18.3%)
0.25 lb - United Kingdom - Pale Chocolate (1.8%)
0.75 lb - American - Victory (5.5%)
0.5 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 40L (3.7%)
6 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light (44%)
3.15 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light - (late addition) (23.1%)
0.5 lb - Brown Sugar - (late addition) (3.7%)

HOPS:
1.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 90 min, IBU: 21.42
0.5 oz - Willamette, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 3.31

MASH GUIDELINES:

  1. Temperature, Temp: 154 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 5 qt
  2. Sparge, Temp: 168 F, Time: 5 min, Amount: 5 qt

YEAST:
Wyeast - Scottish Ale 1728
Starter: Yes
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 71%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 55 - 75 F
Fermentation Temp: 64 F

I plan to boil the brown sugar with a small amount of wort in a separate pot in order to caramelize the sugar before adding to the boil as a late addition

2

Looks pretty good. Some suggestions:

  1. Not sure what water you planned to use, but I would use 100% distilled, or if you prefer you could perhaps use a 50/50 blend of distilled with other water, to soften things up a bit.
  2. Drop the crystal malt, you won’t need it with the huge amount of extract in there which most likely already contains a little bit of it.
  3. Cut the Victory malt down to 0.5 lb, so that it doesn’t overpower everything else.
  4. You say you’re making a starter, and that’s great. But make sure it’s a friggin huge starter, like at least 2 quarts if not 3 quarts.

I think this looks like a pretty good recipe. Should hit the mark. Good luck to you!

3

Unless I’m missing something obvious, you have 5 gallons going into the fermenter, yet only boiling 4 gallons?
A technique I did on the Scottish I currently have conditioning out in the garage, was to take 1 G of the 1st runnings and boil that down separately, trying to condense it down to 1 qt or so. This ups the carmelization factor and is supposed to be beneficial to the Scottish style. Sure smelled real good, and the sample taste when transferring was awesome.
By the way, I’ve used that WY1728 in my 2 ‘British Browns’, the Scottish, and my graf. That yeast really takes off like gangbusters! I’m drinking the Nut Brown and the Porter and they are absolutely great. 1728 may have just made my list of yeasts to always have on hand.