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Scotch Ales

With a brewing history dating  to 43 AD, Scottish beer has had plenty of time to mature into a world-class beverage. With the craft-brewing movement channeling most of its energy into German and English beers, it is easy to overlook the contributions of the Scots.

Scotland is no stranger to the traditions of brewing. The country is home to Heriot-Watt University, a famed brewing school. And Scottish brewing traditions were popular in other countries as well. Prior to the success of India pale ale, Scotch ale was the favorite drink of the British colonies. The high alcohol content and robust flavor made it an excellent choice as an 18th century export beer. Furthermore, Scotch ale is a favorite of the beer-loving Belgians. A Belgian couple sipping copper-colored Scotch ale out of the traditional thistle glasses is not an unusual sight along the cafes of Brussels’ Grande Place.

Scottish beer has a flavorful past. The first hops to flavor Scottish wort came from Belgium via England. In a land of heather-flavored beer, hops were unpopular at first. Brewers sought to minimize hop flavor to appease customers. More traditional herbs and flavorings included ginger, bog myrtle, orange peel, dandelion roots, juniper, licorice, pepper, spruce, serviceberries, and gooseberries. Early beers were probably made with a mixture of grains such as oats and bere, a precursor and relative to barley. Honey and other sugar sources may have also been used.

Using heather in the boil and hopback, the Scottish brewery Maclay of Alloa makes Froach Heather Ale under contract. The brewery also produces Grozet, a wheat beer flavored with gooseberry and bog myrtle. Most modern Scottish beers, however, have a more conventional ingredients list. Hops balance the sweetness of the beer without contributing much in the nose. Scotch barley is considered to be among the finest in the world. Although unique in character, Scottish pale malt resembles English pale ale malt the closest.

Traditional Scottish breweries drew water from underground sources. Although some no longer have private wells, soft water remains the ideal base for a malty Scotch ale.

The names Scotch ale, wee heavy, and 90 and 120 shilling ale designate beers with original gravities of 1.070 to 1.130. The alcohol content of this beer may range from 6 percent to 9 percent by volume. The shilling designation historically refers to the price per barrel of beer. The term Scottish ale describes beers of lower gravity between 1.038 and 1.060 that may also be referred to as heavy (80 shilling) or light (60 shilling). An example of Scottish ale is Grant’s Scottish Ale with an original gravity of 1.052. The most widely available of the two designations is Scotch ale, which has higher gravities, 1.085 and above, than Scottish ales. Imported versions  include McEwan’s Scotch Ale, Traquair House Ale, and the Orkney Brewery’s Skullsplitter.

Brewing a Scotch ale can be challenging to the homebrewer. First, the gravity is unusually high. For high-gravity brewing Greg Noonan, one of the authors of Seven Barrel Brewery Brewers’ Handbook (G.W. Kent), proposes two mashes. The first first runnings from the two separate mashes are used for the Scotch ale. The remaining run-off is collected for a low-gravity beer called two penny.

Alternatively, brewers who have a 10-gallon capacity can simply draw only the first five gallons of wort from the mash. Extract brewers have the advantage that they can keep adding malt extract until they reach the proper gravity. Adjunct sugars may also be helpful in this respect. However, they add little to the style and should be kept below 10 percent of the total extract. All-grain brewers should use British pale ale malt along with light crystal or cara-pils and a small amount of roasted barley. Many American pub brewers of the style like to add peat-smoked malt. Scottish brewers do not partake of this practice. If you’ve ever had a peat-smoked beer, you can probably guess why. A single infusion mash at 154° F to 158° F will produce the desired fermentability. The beer has an SRM color rating of 10 to 25. It is a deep amber at its darkest. Hops add 25 to 35 IBU and very little aroma. Since they contribute very little aroma, most hop varieties will work.

The flavor should be fairly clean, leaning more toward a lager than a fruity English ale. To accomplish this, use a higher pitch rate than normal. This will reduce yeast growth and therefore yeast byproducts such as esters and fusel alcohols. Like lager brewers, Scottish brewers traditionally ferment their beers cool, 50° to 62° F, and then give them an extended aging period. The yeast strain must be alcohol tolerant and have a low attenuation to leave some residual sweetness. Wyeast 1728 (Scottish ale) and Wyeast 1084 (Irish ale) make nice Scotch ales.

Hop Scotch Ale
(5 gallons, all-grain)

Ingredients:

• 14 lbs. pale ale malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 10° Lovibond
• 1.3 lbs. cara-pils malt
• 2 oz. roasted barley
• 1.3 oz. Bullion hops (10% alpha acid) for 60 min.
• Wyeast 1728 or other Scottish-style ale yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming.

Step by Step:

Mash grains in 6 gal. of soft mash water. Heat to 156° F and hold for 60 min. Run off and sparge with 168° F water to collect 6 gal.

Total boil time is 90 min. Boil 30 min. and add hops. Boil 60 min. more. Cool and aerate. Pitch yeast at 55° F.

Ferment at 50° to 60° F until finished. Rack and age at 40° F for three weeks prior to bottling.

OG = 1.088    FG = 1.020

 

Mel MacGregor’s Scotch Ale
(5 gallons, extract and grains)

Ingredients:

• 13 lbs. malt extract syrup
• 2.5 lbs. crystal malt, 20° Lovibond
• 1.5 oz. roasted barley
• 0.7 oz. Chinook hops (11% alpha acid) for 60 min.
• Wyeast 1728 or other Scottish-style ale yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Steep muslin grain bag loosely filled with crushed grains in 5 gal. of water at 160° F for 15 min. Stir to extract flavor from the grains. Remove bag and squeeze to remove any liquid. Bring water to boil and add malt extract. Stir to dissolve. When boil starts add hops and boil for 60 min. Cool and aerate. Pitch yeast at 55° F.

Ferment at 50° to 60° F until finished. Rack and age at 40° F for three weeks prior to bottling.

OG = 1.088     FG = 1.020

 

Wee Heavy Weight
(5 gallons, grains and extract)

This brew guarantees to be a wee bit more robust than its contemporaries. Such a brew is difficult to purchase but easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. dry malt extract
• 7 lbs. English pale malt
• 0.75 lb. Special B malt
• 1 lb. Munich malt
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 60° Lovibond
• 1 lb. crystal malt, 20° Lovibond
• 0.8 oz. Galena hops (11% alpha acid) for 60 min.
• Wyeast 1728 or other Scottish-style ale yeast
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash grains in 5.5 gal. of soft mash water. Heat to 156° F and hold for 60 min. Run off and sparge with 168° F water to collect 6 gal.

Dissolve dry malt extract and bring to a boil. Total boil is 90 min. Boil for 30 min. Add hops and boil 60 min. more. Cool and aerate. Pitch yeast at 55° F and ferment at 50° to 60° F until finished. Rack and age at 40° F for three weeks prior to bottling. Prime with corn sugar.

OG = 1.089     FG = 1.030

Issue: April 1998