scottish ales

Scottish Ales and Brewing Recipes

scottish ales

Although Scotland harbours a population only one tenth the size of England, it has nurtured a unique brewing culture for much of its history. Like their neighbours to the south, Scottish brewers were active in exporting beer around the globe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They also produced a broad variety of styles including those usually associated with England and Ireland and they were the first British brewers to make lagers.

Agriculture still occupies three-quarters of the land in Scotland and barley remains a major crop. Barley produced in the north of Scotland most often becomes Scotch whiskey while that grown in the south is better suited to the making of beer. As a result of these patterns, barley has been readily accessible to Scottish brewers throughout their history.

In contrast to barley, hops refuse to flourish in Scotland. Long after the English had conceded to use hops, the Scots continued to prefer other bittering substances. A variety of products were used instead, including "ginger, pepper, spices and aromatic herbs."

A further encouragement of these pressures came when Scotland and England joined in 1707. The Treaty of Union that joined Scotland and England specifically excluded Scotland from a substantial malt excise tax, thus sustaining the malt-oriented view of the Scottish brewers.

As a result of these influences, we today recognize four styles of beer that hail from Scotland. Three are called Scottish ales and range in gravity from 1.030 to 1.050. These three are distinguished by strength, as Light (OG 1.030-1.035), Heavy (OG 1.035-1.040) and Export OG 1.040-1.050). The fourth style, known as a Scotch ale, is much higher in gravity, ranging from 1.072 to 1.085. It is often called "strong Scotch ale," or by its common nick-name of "Wee Heavy."

Scottish ales are often labelled according to an old price-based system of identification. The Light, Heavy and Export are known as 60/-, 70/- and 80/- shilling ales respectively. Wee Heavies are commonly called 90/- or even 120/- shilling ale.

Brewing the Scottish Style

Historical research informs us that classic Scotch and Scottish ales require cool fermentation and low attenuation. Other practices that may be used to achieve the desired malt character in these ales include:

Extensive cellaring at cold temperatures

Low hopping rates to produce a malt balance

Use of roast barley for colour and flavour

Caramelization in the copper through use of a long boil

Little or no hop flavour or aroma additions.

Here are two recipes you can brew in the Scottish style. The first recipe is a very basic one that could be adjusted to make any of the three Scottish ales. It is set up to hit an original gravity of about 1.040. If you are high, it will be an Export, if you are low, it is a nice Heavy.

  • Scottish Export Ale
  • 5 gallons, Target Gravity: 1.040
  • 7 lbs Pale Ale Malt
  • 1.5 lbs Cara-Pils or Dextrine Malt
  • 3.5 oz Roast barley
  • Mash these grains at 156 to 158 deg F for about one hour.
  • Extract Alternative: Substitute 4 pounds of pale liquid malt extract or 3.3 pounds of pale-dry malt extract for 6 pounds of the pale malt and perform a mini-mash or grain-bag soak with the remaining grains.
  • Plan to boil this wort for two to three hours. You may need to add additional water during the boil in order to achieve the proper final volume.
  • For hops, add 3.5 alpha acid units (AAUs) of Fuggle, Goldings or Willamette hops one hour before the end of the boil. (i.e.: 1 oz of 3.5% alpha acid hops, or 0.5 oz of 7% alpha acid hops.) No other hop additions should be made.
  • Ferment this wort with the Wyeast Irish Ale (#1084) or Wyeast European Ale (#1338). If possible, maintain cooler ale fermentation temperatures, in the range of 62 to 65 deg F.
  • If possible, cool condition the beer for two weeks at 40 to 45 deg F (refrigerator temperature) after the fermentation is complete.
  • Bottle, condition and enjoy.

The second recipe is a kitchen sink beer -- throw in a little bit of everything to create a really deep malt complexity. If you can't find one of the malt ingredients, just substitute something similar. If possible, select specialty grains from several different maltsters or countries to maximize the flavour diversity. Also remember that this beer will take some time to come into its prime, so don't expect to drink it two weeks after it is done.

Wee Heavy

  • 5 gallons, Target Gravity: 1.085-1.090
  • Mash Bill
  • 10 lbs Pale Ale malt (Option: Reduce this to a mini-mash)
  • 1.5 lbs Belgian Biscuit malt (alternatives: special roast, aromatic, victory)
  • 1.25 lbs 80 L Crystal malt
  • 1 lb Cara-pils or Dextrine malt
  • 1 lb Cara-Munich or a 50-70 L crystal malt
  • 4 oz Special B
  • 1 oz Roast Barley
  • Mash this at 155 deg F for one hour.
  • In the kettle, add:
  • 3.3 lbs Northwestern Gold Liquid Malt Extract
  • 1.25 lbs Laaglander Light Dry Malt Extract
  • Boil the wort for two to three hours total. Add water as needed to hit your final boil volume.

Hop Schedule:

  • 6.5 to 7 AAUs Fuggle, Goldings or Willamette Boil 45 minutes
  • 0.5 oz Fuggles, Goldings or Willamette Boil 15 minutes
  • Ferment this wort with the Wyeast Irish Ale (#1084) or Wyeast European Ale (#1338). If possible, maintain cooler ale fermentation temperatures, in the range of 62 to 65 deg F.
  • If possible, cool condition the beer for two weeks at 40 to 45 deg F (refrigerator temperature) after the fermentation is complete.
  • Bottle, condition and then be patient for a month, or two, or three. Then enjoy.

This extract is from an article by Ray Daniels and published by Brewers Publications


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