Scottish Export Ale

SCOTTISH EXPORT ALE

 

The world of Scottish beer has been woefully underrepresented in the American Beerscape. Craft breweries will occasionally unleash a Wee Heavy into the world, but for the most part, Scottish ales have been left in Scotland. 

We've been know to dabble in the Scottish arts, ourselves. Our Wee Heavy is a favorite of ours, and the famed Scotch is a well regarded treat in these parts (and we like to throw telephone poles like large weirdos, too), but we have never made a normal Scottish pub-style ale. That's essentially what the Scottish Export Ale is. A burlier cousin of the English ESP and Irish Red, this beer is a malt forward, moderately strong beer that acts stronger than it really is. 

Scottish beer is generally placed into one of four categories. The lightest is called a Light (TONS of metaphor there), then comes a Heavy, the Export, and the biggest of all the Wee Heavy. Scottish Export Ales, like those from Belhaven and McEwan's, are generally reddish brown in color with a heavy malt profile, low hop bitterness, and a moderate ABV somewhere between 4-6%. The Export was designed for, you guessed it, exporting to other countries. The heartier ales were designed to thrive after trans-Atlantic voyages, where the Light and Heavy were better consumed domestically. 

The reddish brown color comes from a hearty malt bill that includes a small amount of dark malt to shade the final product. Some brewers will add a secondary sugar source such as caramel or treacle or give darker hues. Treacle is an English molasses equivalent that is NOT interchangeable with molasses. It is much milder in flavor and is a golden syrup, rather than a dark syrup like the American version.

One of the more important differences between Scottish beers and Scotch Whisky is the involvement of peat. Where the whisky is noteworthy for its peat flavors and aroma, Scottish beers should have none of that in any traditional brew. Of course, peat smoked malt can be used as an adjunct malt for those who desire those characteristics, however the regular Scottish ales, regardless of their strength, avoid peat at all costs. 

OUR RECIPE

9lb 2-Row Pale Ale Malt
1/2 lb 40L Caramel Malt
1/4 lb Roasted Barley
1/4 lb CaraFoam
1/2 lb Flaked Corn

1 oz Mt Hood hops

WLP-028 Edinburgh Ale Yeast with 1L Starter

1 tsp Irish Moss

Malts We Use

2-Row Pale Ale Malt: A basic base malt, this won’t impart too much color and very little flavor. It is a pretty clean, crisp malt that works well with specialty grains and pretty much any style of beer. American varieties are generally less starchy and lighter than English breeds.

40L Caramel Malt: This specialty malt will contribute not only a fair amount of sweetness, but also a beautiful color that makes this beer stand out from its mellower cousins. 40 is a mid range Caramel malt, with lower numbers (10, 20, etc) being much milder and higher being stronger flavored and darker. 

CaraFoam: Also known as Dextrine Malt or CaraPils, this addition is to increase head retention in your beer. CaraFoam can be used in any beer style as it gives little to no color, flavor, or aroma to a brew.

Roasted Barley: A classic dark malt, roasted barley adds rich dark hues with highlights of magenta and red to stouts and porters. It is heavy on the roast flavor and gives a fresh coffee aromatic characteristic in beer. Roasted barley is among the only widely used specialty grains that are unmalted.

Flaked Corn Corn was used to impart more alcohol to beer without having to use more expensive barley. It doesn't add much color, but it does contribute to the overall sweetness of the beer while also adding some body and mouthfeel to the final product. 

Hops We Use

Mt. Hood: Mt. Hood has been a favorite of American brewers for over 30 years. It's lower than usual Alpha Acid and hearty aroma make it similar to German noble hops, however it is more versatile than any of its Euopean cousins.

Yeast We Use

WLP-028 Edinburgh Ale Yeast: Developed by White Labs, the Edinburgh Ale Yeast works well with malty beers that are supposed to have a milder hop characteristic. Some people find a bit of smokiness in it while others can pic out fruity sweetness.

Adjuncts We Use

Irish Moss: We use Irish Moss as a clarifying agent. These negatively charged seaweed particles attract proteins and other free radicals in your boil kettle and drag them to the bottom once cooled, thereby removing haze from your final product. Whirlfloc tablets are another option for this process. Regardless of your preferred methods of clarity, it is important that beers of this style are clear. Lagering can do this as well, but most home brewers don't have that capability, so adding Irish Moss (or something similar) can work wonders for cleaning up the beer.