- 1. Overview
- 2. Etymology
- 3. Cultural Impact
Right. So, you want to talk about beer. Specifically, Scottish beer. Don’t expect effusive praise or a lengthy dissertation. I’ll give you the facts, precisely as they are, with a few… observations. And try not to waste my time.
Beer in Scotland
This entire discussion is about the beer brewed within the geographical confines of Scotland. If you’re thinking about the style of beer, the one that goes by the name Scotch ale , that’s a separate, though related, conversation. Don’t confuse the two.
This particular article, as it stands, has a rather glaring deficiency. It needs more citations. More proof. It’s practically begging for someone to step in and provide the necessary verification . If you’re inclined to fix it, the editing page is there. Go add some citations to reliable sources . Leaving things unverified is… untidy. And untidy things get challenged. And removed. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s April 2012, and the message is still there. Honestly.
History
The story of brewing in Scotland stretches back an astonishing 5,000 years. Some suggest that the ancient inhabitants of Skara Brae , and other sites from the Neolithic period, were already crafting ale from barley. Imagine that. Brewing at Skara Brae . The ale, it’s said, would have been infused with meadowsweet , much like a kvass or a gruit prepared by various North European tribes, including the Celts and the Picts . Even the ancient Greek explorer Pytheas , way back in 325 BC, noted that the people of Caledonia were quite adept at brewing a strong drink. He wrote about it. [1] [2]
The practice of using bittering herbs – think heather , bog-myrtle [3], and broom [4] – to give beer flavour and a longer shelf life persisted in the more remote corners of Scotland for considerably longer than in the rest of the UK. Even in the 17th century, Samuel Hartlib described the Scottish brewing process as using only malt and water, with birch twigs sometimes standing in for yeast. [5] Thomas Pennant, in his A Tour in Scotland (1769), recounted that on the island of Islay , ale was often made using the young tops of heather, mixed with malt in a two-thirds ratio, and occasionally with hops. [6] While hops eventually took over from herbs across Britain, including Scotland, by the close of the 19th century, this old Celtic tradition of herb-infused beer was revived. It happened in Brittany , France, in 1990, thanks to Brasserie Lancelot , [7] and a couple of years later, in Scotland, by the Williams Brothers. [8]
Despite the longer adherence to ancient brewing methods and ingredients, the overall trajectory of brewing in Scotland mirrored that of the rest of Europe. It was largely the domain of “broustaris,” or alewives, and the monasteries. Developments, however, tended to unfold at a more leisurely pace. The Leges Quatuor Burgorum , a collection of burgh laws, reveals that in 1509, Aberdeen had more than 150 brewers – all women. This is in stark contrast to London, where out of 290 brewers, only about 40% were women. [ citation needed ] Following the Reformation in the 1560s, commercial brewing began to formalize. The Edinburgh Society of Brewers was established in 1598, though London had already formed its Brewers’ Guild over 250 years earlier, in 1342. [9]
However, the Acts of Union 1707 ushered in a new era of commercial opportunities that significantly boosted Scottish brewers. The tax on beer was lower in Scotland than elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and crucially, there was no tax on malt. This provided Scottish brewers with a distinct financial advantage. The 18th century saw the establishment of some of the most enduring names in Scottish brewing: William Younger in Edinburgh, Robert & Hugh Tennent in Glasgow, and George Younger in Alloa. For instance, in Dunbar , the Belhaven Brewery , founded by Dudgeon & Company, began operations in 1719. Scottish brewers, particularly those in Edinburgh, were on the cusp of rivaling the largest breweries globally.
There’s some available information from brewing and trade records suggesting that Edinburgh brewers involved in the India Pale Ale (IPA) export trade utilized hops with the same intensity as their English counterparts. [10] The potent, hoppy ale that Hodgeson was shipping to India, which eventually became known as IPA, was apparently replicated and brewed in Edinburgh as early as 1821. [ citation needed ] This was just a year before Allsopp is thought to have first brewed it in Burton. Robert Disher’s brewery in Edinburgh’s Canongate district found such success with his hoppy Edinburgh Pale Ale that other Edinburgh brewers followed suit. They began exporting robust, hop-forward Scottish beer across the British Empire, and even into Russia and America. Beer historians Charles McMaster and Martyn Cornell both concur that the sales figures from Edinburgh’s breweries were comparable to those of Dublin and Burton upon Trent.
Charles McMaster, whom Roger Protz has called the “leading historian of the Scottish brewing industry,” [11] posits that Edinburgh’s hard water was exceptionally well-suited for brewing pale ale , particularly the water sourced from wells in the “charmed circle” encompassing Holyrood, Canongate, Cowgate, Grassmarket, and Fountainbridge. He argues that due to this water quality, brewer Robert Disher was able to launch a hoppy Edinburgh Pale Ale in 1821. Meanwhile, Martyn Cornell, in his book Beer: The Story of The Pint, points out that while Burton brewers were exporting their malty Burton Ales as India Pale Ale in the late 19th century, the William McEwan and William Younger breweries were doing the same. When the Burton brewers sent out their strong malty Burton Ales, the Edinburgh brewers exported theirs under the name Scotch Ale . The Edinburgh brewers maintained a significant and highly regarded export trade to the British colonies, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Burton brewers. By the mid-19th century, Edinburgh boasted forty breweries, solidifying its reputation as “one of the foremost brewing centres in the world.” [12]
Some writers, like Pete Brown in Man Walks into a Pub, contend that Scottish beer developed distinct characteristics, diverging significantly from English brews. The theory suggests a more sparing use of hops and a unique Scottish system of beer designations based on shillings. However, a direct comparison of records indicates a similar hop usage in a Scottish pale ale to an English one. Dr. John Harrison, in Old British Beers, provides a recipe for Brakspear’s 1865 50/- Pale Ale, which uses 1.8 ounces of hops per imperial gallon (approximately 11 grams per litre). [13] This is identical to the hop usage in W. Younger’s 1896 Ale No 3 (Pale), which also calls for 1.8 ounces of hops per imperial gallon. [14]
Scotch Ales
“Scotch ale” originally served as a designation for the strong ales exported from Edinburgh during the 18th century. [15] The term has gained traction in the United States, where strong ales characterized by low hop levels and a malty sweetness – often sold under different names in Scotland itself – are marketed as “Scotch ales” and “Scottish ales.” [16] Similar to other strong ales, like barley wine , these beers tend to exhibit sweetness from residual sugars, pronounced malty notes, and a full body. [17]
Scotch ales have found acceptance in Belgium. Gordon’s Highland Scotch Ale, readily identifiable by its thistle-shaped glass, is a well-known example, produced by the British-affiliated John Martin Brewery .
Craft Brewing
Since 2003, Innis and Gunn , an Edinburgh-based virtual brewery that operates through contract brewing – their beers are actually made in Glasgow – has been producing a range of beers aged in Bourbon barrels.
Drawing inspiration from their American counterparts, the self-proclaimed punk brewers Brewdog , based in Fraserburgh , craft a diverse array of bottled and keg beers. They’ve generated considerable buzz and controversy for their disdain for the real ale format and the considerable strength of their offerings. After facing criticism for brewing an 18.2% ABV beer, they retaliated with a 0.5% ABV beer named “Nanny State,” followed by a series of beers reaching up to 55% ABV. [18]
Shilling Categories
The shilling categories were established based on the invoice price per hogshead (which is 54 imperial gallons , or approximately 250 litres ) during the late 19th century. Beers of greater strength or higher quality incurred more beer duty and consequently commanded a higher price. Lighter beers might fall within the 42/- to 48/- range (42 to 48 shillings); Younger’s brewery produced heavier beers ranging from 80/- to 160/-. [19] The same shilling designation could be applied to beers of different types. For example, in 1914, Usher’s brewed both a 60/- (60 shilling) Mild and a 60/- Pale Ale. [20] By 1909, Maclay was brewing a 54/- Pale Ale and a 54/- Stout. [21] In 1954, Steel Coulson was still offering both a 60/- Edinburgh Ale and a 60/- Brown Ale on draught, both with a specific gravity of 1030. Their third draught beer was a 70/- P.X.A. at 1034. [22] By the 1950s, customers were more likely to ask for beer by strength using terms like “heavy” and “export,” rather than the shilling designations. These two terms remain in common use across Scotland. Although the practice of classifying beers by shilling price wasn’t exclusive to Scotland, during the cask ale revival in the 1970s, Scottish brewers brought back the shilling names to distinguish between keg and cask versions of the same beers. This distinction, however, has largely faded.
An Edinburgh 90 shilling label.
While the shilling names never had rigidly defined strength ranges, and Scottish brewers today produce beers under these names at various strengths, there was a general understanding: [4]
- Light (60/-): Typically under 3.5% alcohol by volume .
- Heavy (70/-): Ranged between 3.5% and 4.0% abv.
- Export (80/-): Generally between 4.0% and 5.5% abv.
- Wee heavy (90/-): Exceeded 6.0% abv.
The “/-” is pronounced as “shilling,” as in “a pint of eighty-shilling, please.” The “/-” symbol was used in the pre-decimal £sd British currency to denote “shillings exactly,” meaning shillings and zero pence. Therefore, the names are read as “60 (or 70 or 80) shilling ale.” Beer terminology at the time often expressed the quantity solely in shillings, rather than in pounds and shillings.
The “wee heavy” – so named because it was typically sold in small “nips” of 6 fluid ounces [19] – has become the benchmark Scottish-style brew in the United States. Many brewers in the US are now incorporating non-traditional peated malts into their recipes. [4]
Breweries in Scotland
- Main article: List of breweries in Scotland