In search of Scottishness

[kevin58]

If you really want to learn about brewing in Scotland read Ron Pattinson's blog, Shut Up About Barclay Perkins and read one of the books he has written on the subject. A LOT of myths are debunked using actual Scottish brewing logs and brew records. Your list includes some of those myths like kettle caramelization. The Scots did not boil any longer than their English counterparts. "Plenty of conditioning"? Hardly. They brewed a range of beers some served mild (fresh) and some that was aged just like any other brewery. And while y'all are arguing over Scotch, Scottish, Scots keep in mind that beer brewed in Scotland was only called Scottish Ale, Scots Ale, etc. outside of Scotland. In country it was just ale.

Edit: the little to no hop aroma is BS also and for the same reason... Scottish brewers made a full range of beers and some with quite high hopping rates. Much of what is passed off as truths in Scottish brewing are nothing more than romantic speculation. Much of it perpetuated by early beer writers who were/are so revered that todays authors don't even think to question those early assertations and end up repeating and perpetuating the myths.

 

[dmtaylor]

I agreed with everything you said in your first paragraph. But then you dared to say:

Edit: the little to no hop aroma is BS also and for the same reason... Scottish brewers made a full range of beers and some with quite high hopping rates. Much of what is passed off as truths in Scottish brewing are nothing more than romantic speculation. Much of it perpetuated by early beer writers who were/are so revered that todays authors don't even think to question those early assertations and end up repeating and perpetuating the myths.

This has nothing to do with reverence to early beer writers. I have tasted McEwan's IPA, which was discontinued years ago. Back in the day, McEwan's and Belhaven were the only beers we could get in the USA, oh and Fraoch which has zero hops but heather flowers instead (some call it a gruit which is marginally factual maybe). So of course we thought or maybe still think that Scottish beers are supposed to be malty with basically no hops. I remember when tasting McEwan's IPA, I was like... you've got to be kidding, McEwan's "IPA"!?! Malty as all heck, dark reddish brown, chewy, hops way off in the background. And yes I understood the difference between UK IPA and American IPA. Some beers are a little off style, but this really took the cake. So I say, no, not just because of revered early beer writers do I think Scottish beers aren't hoppy. I'm not the only one with the mindset that Scottish beers are traditionally lightly hopped. AI remembers what I'm talking about. Brewdog I guess is one modern example of a Scottish brewery making hoppy beers. Can you name any others off the top of your head? Me neither. If any brewery besides Brewdog is making hoppy beers, they just don't seem to want to send any of them to the USA I guess, keep them all for themselves over there. One day I'll pay them a visit, possibly next year. I look forward to it very much. I'm a few percent Scottish in my veins. My son has red hair out of nowhere, none of our relatives have red hair, he got all the Scottish concentrated into him I guess.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Just stick to Tennet’s Extra and Buckfast. But you could drink some wonderful Scottish Beers.

 

[beerisyummy]

Seems to me that, obviously, brewing practices change over time; and also, like any historical topics, our understanding of past practices can also change. Noonan’s book is from 1998 I think. Much has changed since then, but hell, I’m a lot older than that and I like to believe I still have some insights that might be useful.
Some good resources mentioned above, thank you.
For my own part, I think I will abandon the long boil idea based on this discussion.
The guidelines regarding high mash temp, high SG & FG, malt-forwardness, lack of late hopping, non-estery, low-attenuating yeast and cool ferm temp all seem on target to me and would probably be helpful in producing both a Belhaven Scottish Ale replica and something in the Wee Heavy zone. I bottle everything and I’m always intrigued by how longer conditioning affects big brews in particular. (Requires periodic tasting - wow, what a chore.) Patience is not a problem for me, I really don’t give a shot about grain-to-glass time or any of that.
How about a Schottische Ale? Drink and dance to it at the same time?

Save the treacle for baking, save the dextrose for bottling. Make some dark invert starting with a rich unrefined cane sugar.

Save the treacle for baking, save the dextrose for bottling. Make some dark invert starting with a rich unrefined cane sugar.

Just curious - why?

 

[passedpawn]

The recipe for Traquair House Ale requires removing an amount of wort after mash and boiling until it’s reduced significantly in volume. This I believe has the effect described in Noonan’s book.

Sorry, as always I was impatient and didn't read back in the thread. I have made a Scottish ale in this way and indeed this method creates incredible flavor. It's been years since I did it, but my friend who tasted it said it was my best beer I've ever made. That friend has won gold at the NHC competition, so he knows his beer.