Scottish Ale
Scottish ale: the malty, low-bitterness light, heavy and export ales of Scotland, once sold as 60, 70 and 80 shilling. Strength, flavour, glass and classic examples.
- Family
- Ale
- Origin
- United Kingdom
- Strength
- 2.5–6% ABV (light 2.5–3.3%, heavy 3.3–3.9%, export 3.9–6%)
- Bitterness
- 10–30 IBU
- Colour scale
- 12–25 SRM (24–49 EBC)
- Glass
- Thistle
- Serve at
- 10–13 °C
Scottish ales pour pale copper to brown, clear, under a creamy off-white head. They taste of malt: toasted bread, caramel and toffee, a little fruit, and a slight roasty dryness in the finish that offsets the sweetness. The bitterness is there only to keep the beer from cloying, and many seem less bitter than their numbers suggest. They come in three strengths, light, heavy and export.
Where it comes from
The old shilling names, 60, 70 and 80 shilling, were used for mild, unaged beers before the First World War; the styles took their modern form only after the Second. Belhaven at Dunbar, which claims to have brewed since 1719, makes the BJCP’s example of a Scottish light, Belhaven Best, and of an export, Belhaven Scottish Ale. Traquair House, where the family revived the old house brewery in 1965, brews Bear Ale, another export.
At their simplest Scottish ales are pale ale malt and coloured malt, often with sugar, maize, wheat or crystal malts, a clean yeast and soft water. They contain no peat-smoked malt, and the light roast dryness should not be mistaken for smoke.
How to serve it
Pour it at 10–13 °C into a thistle glass. It goes with meats and game, pungent cheeses or creamy desserts with fruit.
Next to its neighbours
A Scottish heavy is about as strong as an ordinary bitter, but maltier, with a different balance. The strong Scottish ale is the wee heavy.
Scottish ale in numbers
- Classic examples
- Belhaven, Traquair House Brewery
- Light (BJCP 14A)
- 2.5–3.3% ABV, 10–20 IBU, OG 1.030–1.035
- Heavy (BJCP 14B)
- 3.3–3.9% ABV, 10–20 IBU, OG 1.035–1.040
- Export (BJCP 14C)
- 3.9–6% ABV, 15–30 IBU, OG 1.040–1.060
- Old names
- 60, 70 and 80 shilling (60/-, 70/-, 80/-)
- Food
- Meats and game; pungent cheeses; creamy desserts with fruit
- Classic examples
- Belhaven Best (light); McEwan's 70 (heavy); Belhaven Scottish Ale, Traquair Bear Ale, Orkney Dark Island, McEwan's Export (export)
Sources
Checked .
- 14A. Scottish Light, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
- 14B. Scottish Heavy, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
- 14C. Scottish Export, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
- Scottish-Style Ale — CraftBeer.com, Brewers Association
