Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast Scottish
Yeast Starter: smack pack
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: none
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1073
Final Gravity: not done yet
IBU: 5
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Color: Walnut
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7
Tasting Notes: not tasted as it is still in primary

Caledonian Brewing is an Edinburgh brewery that produces two of my favorite beers; Caledonian Porter and Caledonina 80 Shilling. One of my favorite authors also has a hero who always drinks Caledonian 80' so this beer was partially brewed as a tribute to Rebus.

Currently this beer has an OG of 1043 which to my mind is far too low for a beer called 80 Shilling. So I bumped it up closer to what the original would have been. During the research into this beer I was able to get some advise from one of the owners of a now defunct New York brewery that had been dedicated to well done Scottish beers served from barrels. Along with his suggestions I was also able to get some information from the actual brewery.

This is my best attempt and it appears, so far, to be very nice.

13 lbs Hugh Bairds
1.65 lbs Crystal 30
1.1 lbs Brown malt
.5 lbs wheat malt
2 oz chocolate malt
.75 oz Fuggles in the boil - 90 minutes
.5 Fuggles at 5
.25 Fuggles at end of boil

The color is beautiful but not quite what I was shooting for. Next time I will not add the Chocolate malt but will substitute some Crystal 120 for a portion of the Crystal 30, strictly to get a colour match up.

In fermentation this has a great malty nose and a nice tan head. Should be ready for secondary next weekend, a week in secondary and a few days in the keg and I'll hoist one in honour of Rankin's hero, Rebus.



This beer turned out very well indeed. At a recent tasting it was the most popular beer in the English/Scottish category.

After consulting once again with my friend from a defunct Scottish brewery he confirmed that the recipe I had been discussing with him was the same as the Caledonian 80' from Edinburgh. He said that they also bumped up the malt for their in house version. Bringing it in close to an OG of 1070 - 1075.