commercial scotch ales

scotch ales seem like theyd be a beer style that i'd really enjoy but i'm not sure if ive had one before. i want to brew one but dont know if i can wait a long time for it to fully condition before i drink it. anyways, does anyone know of a widely available (or at least one i can find in CO or TX) commercial beer thats this style?

McEwan's ("Scotch Ale") and Belhaven ("Wee Heavy") both make a Scotch ale that you might be able to find in a quality brew store.

-walker

i'll have to look for those... i just thought of one actually that i think is a scotch ale that i know i can get from one of my local liquor stores- old chubb from oskar blues, i can't remeber if its a scotch ale or just a heavier (120 shilling) type scottish ale

McEwans also has an IPA that's wonderful. As a big Scottish-style ale fan, this one surprised me. I didn't notice an overwhelming hops presence, but the maltiness was great. I think, from what I remember, that the Newcastle/McEwan's rep told me they were no longer distributing the IPA in TX (a shame) so maybe you'll be able to find some in CO.

McTanahan's Scotch Ale (?), Belhaven Scottish Ale, Belhaven Saint Andrew's Sle, or Belhaven Wee Heavy. a normal 80/- Scotch Ale doesn't really have to condition long. the Wee Heavy would benefit. a cool fermentation around 50-55 degrees for two weeks really helps though. i'm brewing my 1st wee heavy this weekend and have been reading up on 'em. need a nice healthy starter too.

Belhaven Scottish Ale. I prefer this over the rest available here.

even ove Belhaven Wee Heavy? i did a few 12 oz curls w/ the Scottish Ale last night...yummy.....

I had many Hennepins last night. I tapped the keg yesterday, and it is dead on. The corriander, and orange peel are great. Almost a peppery taste. About 5.5% and getting clearer every day.

whats the difference betweeb all those types of belhaven? and what is the line the beer has to cross to become a 'scotch' ale. i assume these are bigger than a 120 shilling but i'm having trouble figuring out the difference. the old chubb weighs in at almost 9% abv--would that be a scotch ale, or a wee heavy, or what...its just listed as a scottish ale.

feoxorus said:

McEwans also has an IPA that's wonderful. As a big Scottish-style ale fan, this one surprised me. I didn't notice an overwhelming hops presence, but the maltiness was great. I think, from what I remember, that the Newcastle/McEwan's rep told me they were no longer distributing the IPA in TX (a shame) so maybe you'll be able to find some in CO.

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I bought some in OK the other day and I agree. It's great!

drengel said:

whats the difference between all those types of belhaven? and what is the line the beer has to cross to become a 'scotch' ale. i assume these are bigger than a 120 shilling but i'm having trouble figuring out the difference. the old chubb weighs in at almost 9% abv--would that be a scotch ale, or a wee heavy, or what...its just listed as a scottish ale.

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drengel, here is the BJCP official listing of the difference between Scottish Ales. 60/-, 70/-, 80/-, and Strong Scotch Ale (AKA Wee Heavy). all have difference ABV, hence he shilling reference. that's how they are taxed or were taxed. http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category9.html

drengel said:

what is the line the beer has to cross to become a 'scotch' ale. i assume these are bigger than a 120 shilling but i'm having trouble figuring out the difference. the old chubb weighs in at almost 9% abv--would that be a scotch ale, or a wee heavy, or what...its just listed as a scottish ale.

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Referencing Designing Great Beers with some condensing of numbers:

Light Scottish (60/-): OG 1.033 / 3.5% ABV
Heavy Scottish (70/-): OG 1.037 / 4% ABV
Export Scottish (80/-): OG 1.045 / 4.5% ABV
Strong Scottish (90/-): OG 1.080 / 7% ABV
Scotch (100-120/-): OG 1.086 / 9% ABV
Scotch (140-160/-): OG 1.239 / 9.3% ABV

At 9%, you're in the Scotch range.

This book describes them (Scottish and Scotch ales) as being very similar in brewing process. The main difference seems to be in the flavor profiles. Specifically:

Scottish: little or no hop profile, low-to-med esters, low-to-med diacetyl
Scotch: low-to-med hop profile, medium esters, med-to-high diacetyl

Also, if I read this correctly, the smokey character is something that belongs in a Scottish ale, but not a Scotch ale (probably because Scotch ale is a Belgian thing and uses a different yeast than the scottish... the smokey taste is spposed to come from the yeast and not the use of smoked malts.)

-walker

No one has mentioned this yet?

This one will kick your ass!



SkullSplitter is a Scottish strong ale with a distinctive flavor and a powerful kick (8.5 ABV).

Skullsplitter is an awesome beer instead. Brewed in the Orkney Islands in the very north of Scotland - it's a fearsome drink !

Belhaven is my local brewery - I notice they have started expanding their range through a few seasonal beers

http://www.belhaven.co.uk/index01.html

The Bramble oat malt stout sounds fantastic - I've got a few pounds of brambles in the freezer that I now know what they are going to be used for.

80/-

Down here in Texas our own version of bramble berry is the dewberry and I'm already planning to do a Dewberry Oatmeal Stout next May. That sounds delicious.

Have you ever had the Maclay Gold? I'm interested in the style. Is it more like an English bitter or more sweet and malty like a Scotch ale? Seems to be brewed with straight Maris Otter malt and maybe some munich. The colour doesn't indicate the use of crystal malt.

We can't get that here. Thanks for the link.

yea, bummer hu scott? i've heard about the skull splitter, but we can't get those in TX (if we can, i damn sure haven't found it!). the Belhaven is limited too. thanks 80/- and orrelse for rubbing it in! ;~)

i saw that skullsplitter in the store the other day and almost bought it, but wound up getting what i came in for, next time im getting it, i just didnt know really what it would be like, and didnt feel like gambling. kinda like with all the unibroue products, none of them list a style or descriiption, so i dont ever buy them cause i dont know what they are. all i really found on the skullspitter botlle was that it as from the orkney islands.

thanks for all the info...the bjcp guidelines are bookmarked now next time i have a style question. and this weekend i'm going to buy a se,lection of scottish ales, whatever i can find...definitely 90 shilling, old chubb, skullsplitter, a belhaven product if i can find one, and whatever else i can find...have a little tasting party.

drengel said:

i'm going to buy a se,lection of scottish ales, whatever i can find...definitely 90 shilling, old chubb, skullsplitter, a belhaven product if i can find one, and whatever else i can find...have a little tasting party.

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Grab some McEwan's Scotch Ale and IPA too.

ScottT said:

Have you ever had the Maclay Gold? I'm interested in the style. Is it more like an English bitter or more sweet and malty like a Scotch ale? Seems to be brewed with straight Maris Otter malt and maybe some munich. The colour doesn't indicate the use of crystal malt.

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Maclays was a brewery in Alloa about 60 miles or so away from Dunbar, where Belhaven is based, which sadly closed down about 4 or 5 years ago. I actually did a little bit of work at Maclays in the past - they used to let us buy their bottled beers at staff rates. One year we bought so much they delivered it to us in one of the brewery trucks !

I haven't tasted this Maclays Gold - I guess Belhaven bought out the rights for the name. I'll try and find one this weekend and post back

80/-

i bought a 4 pack of the Belhaven Scottish Ale in the draught can, and it wasn't as good as the bottle. for some reason all those draught widget cans have the same flavor w/ the exception of Young's Double Chocolate.

*Bows to the mighty Skullsplitter*

I might add the McEwans IPA really isn't very hoppy. Matter of fact, I've read that it's just a midrange Scottish ale that they dubbed an IPA, just to have an IPA on the market. FWIW. Just don't want a hophead buying it and thinking it's crap....as I did. It's actually decent, if you're not expecting an IPA.

thought this was kinda cool http://www.orkneybrewery.co.uk/index.htm

went to the liquor store and all they have of belhaven is the st. andrews ale...anyone had that? only other scotch/scottish ales were 90 shilling, old chubb, skullspliter, and i cant remember what else-maybe nothing.

i dig the Saint Andrew's Ale. more so than the Scottish Ale by Belhaven.

i wanna try the Skull Splitter, but nadda in Tejas!

DeRoux's Broux said:

i wanna try the Skull Splitter, but nadda in Tejas!

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I think there is a recipe in Clone Brews for Skull Splitter - I'd bottle it in small bottles

80/-

i'll have to check it out. i brewed my wee heavy today, and lag time was .5 hr. gonna move it down to 50-55 degrees tonight and let it ferment for about 14 days.....we'll see!
thanks for the tip.