Beer of the Moment Article - Riggers' Strong Scottish Ale

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	Paul Rigby

Strong Scottish Ale

History
Any distinct beer style from anywhere in the world has developed as a result of local conditions, particularly climatic and geographic and the beers of Scotland fit this criterion perfectly, in fact better than most.

Climate is the key factor controlling the success or otherwise of any agriculture anywhere in the world and agriculture is responsible for the generation of the two main ingredients of beer namely barley and hops. Agriculture has always been a significant aspect of the Scottish culture and at present agriculture occupies three quarters of all land in Scotland, and barley is one of the primary crops. Barley from the north is generally used in whisky production and that in the south is more suitable for malting and beer production. As a result high quality malted barley has always been readily available to the brewing industry unlike hops which, despite all best efforts, simply will not grow in Scotland.

Climate also plays another important role in evolution of the Scottish styles. Average ambient temperatures in Scotland are generally on the low side for ale production so to keep control of costs the fermentation of these styles is usually on the lower end of the temperature range for ale yeasts so that extra heat (and therefore expense) is not required. Lower fermentation temperatures mean that esters (usually fruity type aromas) from the fermentation process will be minimal, and attenuation will also be low due to a “sluggish” fermentation. Storage temperature of the beer products post fermentation will also be on the low side, not exactly lagering but certainly very cool to cold. Climate also controls, or at least influences, water - the other 93% of beer volume. Scotland boasts excellent water quality (watch any whisky advertisement) but strangely enough most Scottish breweries use bore water! So water used by commercial breweries in Scotland is extremely variable from very soft with low mineral content to the opposite i.e. hard with high mineral content depending on the bore. Having stated that it is worth bearing in mind that all commercial breweries treat their water no matter where it comes from or what its mineral content is.
Where does all this information leave us? We can readily deduce what Scottish ales have developed into.

Scottish and Scotch ales are generally very malty, lowly hopped with just enough bitterness to counter the cloying sweetness of the malt, very full bodied with alcohol ranging from very low to very high

Basically there are four ales which hail from Scotland, three are called “Scottish Ales” and range in gravity from 1.030 to 1.050. These three are distinguished by strength as Light (OG 1.030 to 1.035), Heavy (OG 1.035 to 1.040), and Export (OG 1.040 to 1.050). The fourth style is known as “Strong Scotch Ale” it is much higher in gravity (OG 1.072 to 1.085) and is also known by its nickname “Wee Heavy”. Scottish ales are often labelled according to an old price based system of identification. The Light, Heavy and Export are known as 60/-, 70/- and 80/- shilling respectively, while the “Wee Heavy” is 90/- or possibly 120/- shilling.

Enhanced Kit Version
I suggest starting out by purchasing a good pale or British ale kit. There are numerous choices of brands and the quality of the kits in this style are generally excellent and the final decision is yours. Ordinarily there really isn't much that can be done to enhance a kit beer but when making this malty full bodied style it is vital that you use malt extract and not dextrose or cane sugar. Using dextrose or cane sugar will result in a thin watery beer with high alcohol, some may think this is a great idea, but it will not produce a true to style “Wee Heavy”
Strong Scotch ale is a very lowly hopped style so there is no need for hop flavour and/or aroma, in fact any discernable hop character is a fault!

Malt Extract & Partial Mash Version
Base Malt – 3kg Light Dry Malt Extract
                    1.5kg Amber Liquid Malt Extract
Mini mash grains – 300gms Chocolate Malt
     300gms Light Crystal Malt
     200gms Peat Smoked Malt
     200gms Amber Malt
     20gms Roast Barley

Put 2 and a half litres of cold water in a saucepan and add grains and heat up VERY SLOWLY (over a 25 to 30 minute period) until it reaches 75oC. Strain the liquid into a saucepan for the boil. Discard the grain residue.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 20 to 25 IBU's using any general purpose hop you like, I generally use Pride of Ringwood or Northern Brewer but it really doesn’t matter. Quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the hops selected. Grain & Grape staff will be happy to do the calculations for you. Strong Scotch ale is a very lowly hopped style so there is no need for hop flavour and/or aroma, in fact any discernable hop character is a fault!
Total boil time should be at least 120 minutes (this extended boil is aimed at promoting some low level caramalization of the malt to enhance the perception of sweet malt) with the hops boiled for only 60 minutes.

Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast try Fermentis - Safale.

Full Grain Version
Grains -  4000gms Munich Malt
              2500gms Ale Malt
    500gms Oat Malt
    450gms Caramunich I Malt
    300gms Peat Smoked Malt
    300gms Crystal Malt
      20gms Roast Barley
Mashing regimes are many and varied. Most modern malts are very well modified and only need a simple single step infusion mash to obtain very good results, with this in mind a simple mash regime is quite adequate. For such a malty full bodied style such as this a saccrification temperature of 68 to 70oC is necessary to achieve the full body which exemplifies this style.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 20 to 25 IBU's using any general purpose hop you like, I generally use Pride of Ringwood or Northern Brewer but it really doesn’t matter. I usually advise the use of lower alpha hops for all brewing purposes but particularly bittering (especially for lower to moderate bitterness beers up to about 35 IBU’s) because if your scales are a little inaccurate two or three grams over in a total of twenty or thirty grams of a lower alpha hop will not be noticeable but three grams over in ten or twelve grams using a 12 or 14% AA hop will mean an almost undrinkably bitter beer! Strong Scotch ale is a very lowly hopped style so there is no need for hop flavour and/or aroma, in fact any discernable hop character is a fault!
Total boil time should be at least 120 minutes (this extended boil is aimed at promoting some low level caramalization of the malt to enhance the perception of sweet malt) with the hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast try Fermentis - Safale.

Paul C. Rigby - Grain & Grape