Scotch Ales

Mark West

Originally Published in Vol. 2, Iss. 3 (Feb/Mar 2009)

The Scots haven’t always had all the answers. Kilts and plaid never really caught on in high fashion circles. And Culinary Institutes haven’t set aside much curriculum for boiling animal viscera in a sheep’s stomach. Even the bagpipes are kind of a one-trick-pony. As cool as they can be at a wedding, funeral or parade, they don’t have much range beyond that. It’s the isolation of island life that forces its inhabitants to figure out their own way of doing things. It’s the isolation that makes us raise an eyebrow at a few of their cultural oddities. But it’s also this isolation that gives birth to some unique and treasured activities … say, golf, for example. And it’s also that isolation that, every now and again, proves that doing something your own way can sometimes show the world that the common way is not always the best way.

People distill whiskey all over the world, but the finest whiskeys ever known come from a small area of the tiny country of Scotland. It’s their rich agricultural history, fine barleys and unique methods that blessed the world with Scotch.

Agriculture still accounts for as much as three quarters of the countries land use, and a major crop is, of course, barley. The barley in the north is largely reserved for making Scotch Whiskeys. The crops in the South are very well suited for malting and mashing into beer. This has been done for ages in Scotland. There is as rich a brewing history in Scotland as anywhere in the world, but like many of the aforementioned examples the Scots have their own unique recipes and methods. Whereas the land in Scotland is incredibly well suited for barley, they have very little success growing hops. For this reason Scottish ales have been brewed with many unconventional bittering agents, such as ginger, pepper, spices and aromatic herbs. Four general varieties of Scottish ales have emerged over the years. Three are distinguished by strength (gravity) of the beer. These are the Light (OG 1.030 to 1.035), Heavy (OG 1.035 to 1.040) and Export (OG 1.040 to 1.050) ales. The fourth can be much more potent than the others (OG 1.072 to 1.085), and is commonly referred to as the strong Scotch ale or by the knick-name “wee heavy.” Furthermore, these beers can be classified through an old, price-based method. The Light, Heavy and Export varieties can also be known as 60/-, 70/- and 80/- shilling ales respectively. Scotch ales could be as much as 90/- or 120/- in some cases.

Whatever the gravity of the beer, there should be a few common characteristics. All varieties will have a malt/hop balance leaning toward malty.  Any caramelization or darkness in color comes primarily from kettle caramelization, and not so much from roasted malts. Any smoky flavor would be attributed to the yeast or water, rather than the addition of peat-smoked malts.  This is sometimes done to mirror the peaty earthiness present in some Scottish ales, but too much smoky flavor is not desirable. As it seems to be more stylish to drink the potent varieties when possible, Scotch ales tend to be more commercially available in the U.S. Scotch ales differ from the others in that they are prevailingly sweet in flavor, which is usually balanced by a slight alcoholic warmth, rather than hops. Our sampling of Scottish ales in this issue is intended to give you a decent cross-section of this general variety.

Belhaven Scottish Ale

The Belhaven Brewery Company, Ltd

    Dunbar, Scotland

They Say:

“5.2% ABV. Malty and hoppy, we at Belhaven love the classic

Scottish Ale and we’ve been brewing it longer than any of the other beers we produce. Delivering a sweet, smooth and creamy finish, Scottish Ale has a stunning ruby colour in the glass. Magic.”

I Say:

I sampled the draught pint can with the nitrogen widget so, of course, it had a pristine, nearly bright white, thick creamy head. Even though I think using a nitrogen widget is used a bit as a gimmick to win fans, I do love the creaminess it affords. The body is clear and copper-colored. The first whiff of this beer smelled sweet, sort of like banana. The prevailing flavor is sweet with hints of raspberries. It is smooth, creamy and there is barely a hint of contrasting flavor to the sweet malt. The sweetness is almost too intense. The only thing that offsets it at all is a very mild alcohol note in the finish ... and I do mean mild. Overall, I think this beer is a bit one-dimensional in flavor. It’s a good beer, just not very complex.

                                          Dirty Bastard

Founder’s Brewing Company

Grand Rapids, MI

They Say:

“Dirty Bastard. Founders flagship beer. Dirty Bastard is an absolute beautiful beer to behold. Dark ruby in color and brewed with ten varieties of imported malts this beer continuously lives up to its reputation as a bold and powerful ale. Dirty Bastard is complex in the finish with hints of smoke and peat paired with a malty richness, finalized with a good bit of hop attitude. This beer ain’t fer the wee lads. 8.5% ABV.”

I Say:

Dirty Bastard has a rich and ruby red body with a white head that diminishes with fine lacing in the glass. The aroma is very soft with slight notes of bread and aromatic hops. The beer is sweet, but not as much as the others. It has an oilier mouth feel as well. The caramel flavor is balanced with a smoky tinge. There is also a distinct hop finish to this beer. Overall, I found the balance and taste enjoyable, but it was just a bit hoppier than I expected from a Scotch ale. If you’re looking for a textbook “Scotch ale” I don’t feel like this qualifies, but I wouldn’t hold it against a tasty beer like this one.

Kilt Lifter Scotch Style Ale

Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant

Novato, CA

They Say:

“Robust and Strapping, Our Scotch Ale takes BIG Beers to a whole new level. Rich malt balances perfectly with delicate hops to provide a concentrated and intense flavor; an ideal companion for hearty foods, or as a meal unto itself. Allow this ale to warm slightly in your glass to enhance its truly bold character. Sharing is encouraged, as this is one beer that lives up to its name! Hey! No peeking! Slainté! Alcohol 8.0% by Volume.”

I Say:

Kilt Lifter pours copper in color with a loose, off-white head. The aroma is clean, sweet, mildly chocolaty and bready. Taste was a bit different. While sweet, it had a more prevalent grassy and grainy flavor … not in a bad way. It has a smooth, creamy and an agreeable sweet, bready aftertaste. There are no evident astringent or hops flavors. The aftertaste is smooth and subtle. There is a subdued earthy and grainy characteristic to it. Overall, I loved this beer. The over-sized one-pint-six-ounce bottle is just enough.

Old Chub Scottish Style Ale

Oskar Blues Brewery

Lyons, Colorado

They Say:

“Old Chub is a Scottish strong ale brewed with hearty amounts of seven different malts, including crystal and chocolate malts, and a smidge of US and UK hops. Old Chub also gets a dash of beechwood-smoked grains imported from Bamburg, Germany, home of the world’s greatest smoked beers. Old Chub is 8% alcohol by volume. While Dale’s satisfies our hop addiction, Old Chub takes care of our deep affections for malt. The cola-colored beer (almost black) features a tan head, a creamy, skim-milk mouthfeel, and rich, semi-sweet flavors of caramel and chocolate throughout. The addition of smoked grains gives Old Chub a delicate kiss of smoke on the finish. Old Chub is the beer equivalent of a lightly smoked single malt scotch, or your favorite dark chocolate. We call it Rocky Mountain Mutha’s Milk. People who tell us defiantly, “I don’t drink dark beer,” often fall deeply in love with Old Chub. We can’t blame them.”

I Say:

Quick note: the “Dale’s” they referred to in their description is Oskar Blue’s pale ale…stark contrast
to a Scotch ale. Old Chub came in a classy aluminum can. Not one I would pick up off the shelf on looks alone. No, this one would have to sell based on reputation, and this beer has a good one. It pours out rich and dark. It appeared flat, and I figured the beer might taste that way too, but the aroma told me different. Rich, creamy, sweet and chocolaty ... like a chocolate cupcake. My wife, the baker, loved the smell. The flavor was equally sweet, but it’s balanced by a smoky tang. There wasn’t much in the way of an alcohol flavor, but you can tell from the body that this is a serious beer. I find it easy to believe that the non-dark-beer-drinker would find this one very palatable.

Wisconsin Scottish Ale

Sand Creek Brewing Company

Black River Falls, WI

They Say:

“Our Special Reserve 4 pack is a twisted up Scotch Ale - heavy on the twist, easy on the Scotch - way crazy on the twist. It is called: Wisconsin Scottish Ale. We named it in honor of our clansmen and fellow drinkers of the Wisconsin Scottish Society based out of Milwaukee!”

I Say:

The first thing I noticed about Wisconsin Scottish Ale was the warm aroma of cloves and bread. It poured out a loose off-white to caramel head and had a rich copper to ruby, clear body. It had a deceivingly sweet aroma. I thought it had a rather tart, sour apple bite contrasted against a bready fullness. This wasn’t nearly as malty as I expected from a Scottish ale, and I found the roasted aftertaste a bit more intense than usual for this variety of beer.