When my wife and I visited Ireland, we really enjoyed our share of
Smithwick’s Ale. Smithwick’s is a light-bodied, copper-colored Irish Red ale with
a pleasant hint of roastiness and a dry finish. Here’s a successful
homebrew version of Smithwick’s.
Randy & Amy Germann
San Antonio, Texas
Full Curl is a wee heavy strong scotch ale at about 7% alcohol by volume.
Kuyler Doyle’s “Wee Hottie” took second place behind the ZEALOTS entry. Kuyler’s choice was dictated by the style’s primary ingredient. “I thought the malty sweet character of a Scotch ale would pair well with spicy heat from chiles,” states Kuyler. “Since Scotch ales are allowed to have a smoky flavor, I went with that as the link. I added some rauch malt to the blend and used smoky chipotle peppers for the heat and flavor.” Like the ZEALOTS, Kuyler did a spinoff of a 5- gallon (19-L) batch. The recipe below has the peppers scaled up for full a 5-gallon (19-L) batch.
A robust version of an Irish red ale — you might call it a red ale with a little more guts.
A malty beer to walk 500 miles for . . . and 500 more, if necessary.
Dark caramelized fruit, bready malt, and treacle fill out the flavors of this beer. The finish dries out just enough to highlight the deep malt character. A unique take on the Scottish 80/- style that may even be better with a touch of smoky Scotch whiskey added to it.
I call this brew Bannockburn Amber Ale in honor of the battle in which
King Robert the Bruce secured Scotland’s independence. It’s not a
completely traditional Scotch ale but it’s close enough.
- Michael W. Martin
Canton, Texas
"This Scottish beer is named after the Clermont Sportsmen Club, of
which I am a member. The club is located in the mountains of Clermont,
Pennsylvania."
- Robert R. Heinlein
