OnTap Magazine

A WEE PINT STYLE GUIDE Largely light, always malty and generally fairly low in hops, Scottish beers perhaps aren’t the sexiest in town, but their rarity is what makes them intriguing to homebrewers and craft brewers looking to add something different to their range. Lucy Corne takes us on a wee tour of Scotland’s traditional ales. S ometimes, beer styles develop through necessity, with brewers utilising ingredients found locally, or developing a recipe based on the profile of the nearest water source. Some styles are born by design, with brewers deliberately creating a beer that’s more bitter or more hazy or higher ABV. And in some cases, styles develop due to brewer error, as is the case with some so-called Scottish ales produced by US craft brewers. When it comes to alcoholic beverages, beer probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Scotland. The country is of course best known for its whiskies, many of which are notable for their peated malt character. So I suppose it seemed only reasonable for global craft brewers to assume that peat-smoked malt might also have been traditionally used in Scottish beers. And that’s why in a number of US craft breweries - and quite possibly elsewhere around the brewing world - you’ll find Scottish ales featuring peated malt. Homebrew author Jamil Zainasheff is particularly vocal on avoiding peated malt, pointing out that it is neither historically accurate nor particularly appetising. The BJCP guidelines are similarly scathing. “The use of peat- smoked malt is not only completely inauthentic,” they read, “it produces a dirty, phenolic flavour inappropriate in any of these styles.” So if Scottish ales don’t feature the malt that makes their distilled cousins so distinctive, what do they taste like? 28 | Spring 2022 | ontapmag.co.za