Reading through the style guide, I notice there are four different Scottish Ales. What is the deal with that? How do I make a Scottish Ale?
Back to Ask the Brewmaster.
The Scottish Ales are grouped together in a group, in Category 9, Scottish
and Irish Ales in the new BJCP style guide.
With the recent revision, Strong Scottish Ale joins the others and is no longer
together with Strong English Ale in Category 11.
The three lighter versions represent a continuum of starting gravity, and hence
alcohol levels, starting as low as 1.030 and ranging up to 1.050. As such, they
represent the lower to middle part of the strength spectrum. Like English ales,
the distinction between the three versions is arbitrarily based on starting
gravity.
The designation of 60/-, 70/- and 80/- refer to the cost of the grains (at
least at one time) needed to make the grain. It cost about 60 shillings to buy
the grain for a 60/- ale, and so forth.
All the Scottish ales share some common characteristics. These include a rich
malty flavor, low hop bitterness and no hop aroma. They also share a slightly
smoky flavor, in large part contributed by the yeast. Some versions also include
a bit of peat-smoked malt. However, the smoky essence should never dominate
the flavor.
Scottish ales are brewed in a cool climate. This leads to a clean malty flavor,
which may include a bit of diacetyl. Fruity esters,
characteristic of English bitters, are subdued
60-shilling, or light Scottish is the lowest gravity version of this style.
Like English Bitter, it is a session beer, with a starting gravity of 1.030
to 1.035. With an alcohol content of only about 3½%, you can start early
on this one. The malt profile generally includes pale malt, with a significant
contribution from caramelly crystal malt. English hops are featured, but they
are added primarily in the boil to take the edge off the malt sweetness. The
bitterness level ranges from 9 to 15. The color can be surprisingly dark, ranging
up to 34 SRM. The style is usually served young, since the low alcohol level
doesn't keep well. For this reason, 60-shilling Scottish isn't usually commercially
available.
70-shilling, or Heavy Scottish picks up where 60-shilling leaves off, and ranges
up to a starting gravity of 1.040. The overall impression is quite similar,
though the color can be somewhat lighter, ranging at most up to 19 SRM. Like
the 60-shilling Scottish, this style is seldom available commercially.
The next version is called 80-shilling, also known as Scottish Export. The
higher alcohol levels allow this beer to keep and travel well. Hence, this style
is what is typically found in the Scottish section of your favorite beer store.
Belhaven and McEwans are two typical examples. The starting gravity ranges from
1.040 to 1.054. The final gravity can range up to 1.017, showing off the malty
finish. The bitterness level can be up to 36, though it should always be underbalanced
relative to the malt.
The final member of the Scottish family is considerably stronger; hence its
previous inclusion of it into the Strong ale category. Scottish strong ale,
also called Wee Heavy, is a very robust beer with a starting gravity of 1.072
or higher. With a gravity this high, additional complexity arises, such as alcoholic
warming and sometimes a bit of rasiny flavor. The wort is sometimes kettle caramelized,
adding to the rich flavor of crystal malts. The color can range up to 47 SRM.
Scotch du Silly is a typical commercial example. With beers this strong, this
will typically end your evening.
If you're making a Scottish ale, start out with English 2-row pale malt, or
use Scottish Golden Promise. Add a good dose of English crystal malt, increasing
the amount for the stronger versions. If you want to add some peat-smoked malt,
keep the amount under ¼ lb. Aim for the starting gravity shown in the
table below. The water should be of medium hardness. LA tap water is pretty
close, though you may want to add a bit of gypsum to bring the water pH down
a bit.
If you want to caramelize the wort, take the first gallon or so of runoff,
and heat it to a rolling boil while the rest of the sparge continues. (This
can be duplicated using malt extract.) Boil it down to about half the volume
and then add the rest of the wort or malt extract. Your boiling time can be
on the long side, especially if you need to bring up the starting gravity for
a strong Scottish.
Once you've cooled the wort, pitch with a Scottish ale such #1728 from Wyeast,
or Edinburgh Ale yeast #WLP028 from White
Labs. Ferment the beer fairly cool to keep the ester down and leave a bit
of diacetyl. The lighter versions mature quickly, though a strong Scottich may
take a couple extra months.
Style |
Starting Gravity |
Final Gravity |
Bitterness, IBU |
Color, SRM |
Hop Aroma |
Light 60/- |
1.030-1.035
|
1.010-1.013
|
9-15
|
12-34
|
None-Low
|
Heavy 70 /- |
1.035-1.040
|
1.011-1.015
|
10-25
|
10-19
|
None-Low
|
Export 80/- |
1.040-1.054
|
1.013-1.016
|
15-36
|
10-19
|
None-Low
|
Wee Heavy |
1.072-1.088
|
1.018-1.025
|
20-40
|
10-47
|
None-Low
|