OnTap Magazine

DEFINING A STYLE Considering their proximity, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise to learn that Scottish ales have a lot to do with their English counterparts to the south. Malt forward and sessionable, Scottish ales are reminiscent of English bitters with one key difference - they tend to be a little lighter in the hop usage department. With a brewing history dating back some 5000 years, Scottish beer far predates the use of hops and as in other European countries, Scottish brewers used other means to add flavour and bitterness to their beers, including the wonderfully named bog myrtle, meadowsweet and a plant that is pretty much synonymous with Scotland: heather. The country is way north of the typical hop growing area, but evidence suggests it was through choice rather than lack of access to ingredients that Scottish ales were less hopped than English versions. With busy trade routes passing through Scotland’s ports, there would certainly have been hops available, but the local brewing tradition opted against using them in great quantities. Scottish beers also tend to use higher mashing temperatures, resulting in a less fermentable wort and a fuller bodied final beer. Meanwhile, the fairly low fermentation temperature (around 15°C) keeps those fruity esters often found in English ales to a minimum. SHILLINGS AND PENCE KEEPING THE STYLE ALIVE THE SCOTTISH PROCESS While Scottish ales tend to be on the low end of the ABV spectrum, they do come in a range of strengths, usually, and perhaps rather oddly, expressed in the old British currency of shillings (abbreviated to /-). Once upon a time, these figures referred to the price of a hogshead (a large cask) of any particular beer. With rising costs - and the fact that shillings ceased to be legal currency back in 1971 - the designations don’t mean much these days, other than that higher shilling values signify higher strength beers. Weighing in at between 2.5 and 3.5% ABV are the 60 shilling ales, now also known as a Scottish Light. Not dissimilar to the English dark mild, what the 60/- lacks in kick it makes up for in flavour; a malt- forward beer offering up notes of toffee, toast and caramel. It’s a rare beast even in its homeland and generally found on cask only. Only slightly more potent is the Scottish Heavy, which, like England’s Strong Bitter, is only heavy in relation to its lighter cousin. Topping out at around 4% ABV, the Scottish Heavy - or 70 shilling - has a similar flavour profile to the 60 shilling and while heavier (marginally) in alcohol, it tends to be lighter in colour. Next up is the Scottish Export (80 shilling ale), with richer toffee malt notes and an ABV between 4 and 6%. At the top of the ladder - the strongest and best-known of the Scottish ales - is the Wee Heavy, perhaps the best named of the BJCP’s 133 recognised sub styles of beer. Its seemingly contradictory moniker refers to the recommended size of pour (wee) and the strength of beer (heavy). It is a rich and complex, malt-forward beer filled with flavours of caramelised sugar, toasted bread, toffee and sometimes dark fruits like raisin and plum. With a historically hefty price tag of 90 shillings, the beer ranges from 6.5–10% ABV - a full bodied and fairly sweet brew that’s often released for the winter months. Scottish styles, for whatever reason, have failed to garner much interest in South Africa. None of the four styles has ever been represented in the African Beer Cup and very few breweries have attempted any Scottish ales, even as a special editionbrew. Many moons ago, Mitchell’s produced their 90 Shilling, although at 5% ABV it didn’t quite make it to Wee Heavy strength, and the addition of cinnamon was about as erroneous as the American use of peat. The Wee Heavy is probably the only Scottish style that is represented at all in South Africa, and even then, it is scarce. A notable annual release comes from Cape Town’s Aegir Project, whoseWee Heavy hits the marks of the style and serves as a malty winter warmer. Scottish beers are something of an endangered species, not just in South Africa but the world over. In fact there are probably more breweries making the historically inaccurate peated ale than trying their hand at a Scottish Light. But if that’s what it takes to keep interest in Scottish brewing heritage alive, then who am I to disapprove? In the late 1700s, Scottish brewers adopted thepracticeof sparging - that is, pouring fresh, hot water over the grains after the mashing process to extract more sugars from the malted barley. The practice quickly spread and is now common throughout the brewing world. Multiple sparges are fairly common in Scottish brewing, with the practice of parti-gyling being common. This is where brewers brew multiple beers from a single mash. The first runnings of wort would give a stronger, richer beer while the second, and possibly even third, runnings would give lower-ABV, lighter- flavoured brews. Often, brewers blend these different worts together to create brews of varying strengths. Higher shilling values signify higher strength beers ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2022 | 29