Belhaven Scottish Ale

The essential difference between the Scottish Ale and Scotch Ale styles is alcohol strength, with Scottish Ale being the lower of the two in ABV. Historically, Scottish Ale had three variants denoting strength: 60/- (“Light,” 2.5-3.2% ABV), 70/- (“Heavy,” 3.3-3.9% ABV), and 80/- (“Export,” 4-5% ABV). The numbers referred to the wholesale price of the beer in shillings per hogshead (54 U.K. gallons). The stronger the beer was, the higher the price.

Most Scottish Ales brewed in Scotland are draught only, with just a handful bottled and exported to the United States – the 80/- Export version. A 90/- or higher denoted the strongest beer, Scotch Ale.

The name “Scottish Ale” has effectively replaced this numerical nomenclature in the United States. Over time, the ABV threshold distinguishing Scottish Ale from Scotch Ale has crept upward, perhaps due to American craft brewers going big with their interpretations, taking the Scotch Ale style to new ABV heights, and raising the ceiling for interpretations of Scottish Ale.

Scottish Ale is a malt-forward beer. Hop bitterness leans toward subtle in this style. The malts contribute to the deep red to copper hues of the beer and aromas and flavors of burnt sugar and treacle (similar to dark, bitter molasses). Historically, this ale was fermented at Scotland’s cool ambient temperatures, which kept fruity yeast esters to low levels. Some American craft-brewed examples may have an earthy, peaty, smoky character in a nod to Scotland’s peat whisky malts; however, this is neither traditional nor a prescribed aspect of the style.