Scotch Ale

By Gregory J. Noonan
Classic Beer Style Series
Edited by Phil Rice
Copyright 1993 by Gregory J. Noonan
ISBN-13: 978-0-937381359
ISBN-10: 0937381357
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5
Published by Brewers Publications,
a division of the Brewers Association
PO Box 1679, Boulder, Colorado 803061679 USA
Tel. (303) 447-0816 FAX (303) 447-2825 BrewersAssociation.org
Direct all inquiries/orders to the above address.
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no
portion of this book may be reproduced in any form
without the express written permission of the publisher.
Neither the author, editor nor the publisher
assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of
the information contained in this book.
Cover design by Robert L. Schram
Cover photography by Michael Lichter, Michael Lichter Photography
Cover art direction by Susie Marcus

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... v
Dedication........................................................................................................... vii
About the Author............................................................................................ ix
Scotch and Scottish Ales ............................................................................. xi
Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: History of Brewing in Scotland ........................................ 7
6500 B.C. 1820

1820 1991

17

The Breweries of Edinburgh

28

Alloa, The Burton of Scotland

37

Chapter 2: Scotch Ale .................................................................................... 41

Chapter 3: Water ..............................................................................................47
Chapter 4: Malt ................................................................................................. 55
Chapter 5: Hops and Bittering ................................................................ 69

Chapter 6: Yeast ................................................................................................ 79

Chapter 7: Scottish Brewing ..................................................................... 85
The Maskin Loom

87

The Copper

91

The Gyle

94

The Cellars

98

Casks and Tall Fonts

100

Chapter 8: Notes to Recipes .................................................................... 103

Water

103

Malt and Mashing

104

Extract Mashing

107

Hops

108

Yeast

109

Recipes

112

Appendix A: Breweries .............................................................................. 129

Appendix B: Edinburgh Pubs ................................................................. 151
Appendix C: Weights and Measures ................................................. 155
Glossary .............................................................................................................. 159
Index ..................................................................................................................... 167
Bibliography .................................................................................................... 179
Listed by Number

179

Listed by Author

182

Acknowledgements
The author would like to give his thanks to the
following people who made significant contributions to this
book:
Mary Bertram, Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh, Scotland Dr.
David Brown, Scottish & Newcastle Brewery, Edinburgh,
Scotland
Ronald Borzuscki, Rose Street Brewery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Ian Cameron, Traquair House Brewery, Innerleithen,
Scotland
Charles Finkel, Merchant du Vin, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Dr. David Johnstone, Tennent Brewery, Glasgow, Scotland
Alan Hogg, Currie, Scotland
Hope and Nora Hogg, Currie, Scotland
Ronald Hogg, Edinburgh, Scotland
Jack Horne, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
George Insill, Edinburgh, Scotland
Duncan Kellock, Maclay's Thistle Brewery, Alloa, Scotland
Roger Martin, Hugh Baird & Sons, Essex, England
Charles McMaster, Leigh, Scotland
Mary Nevins, Burlington, Vermont, U.S.A.
Adrian Newman, Belhaven Brewery, Dunbar, Scotland
Nancy Noonan, Burlington, Vermont, U.S.A.

Lady Catherine Maxwell Stewart, Traquair House

Innerleithen, Scotland
Russell Sharp, Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Elizabeth Horne Wilcox, Charlemont, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
James Younger, Broughton Brewery, Broughton, Scotland

vi

Dedication
To George Insill, maltster for McEwan's for more than 40
years, whose recollections of the Edinburgh breweries were
invaluable to this effort, and whose preservation of records
from these same breweries forms the core of the Scottish
Brewing Archives, to Charles McMaster, archivist and pub
guide, and to the brewers of Scotland.

OH, GUDE ALE COMES

Oh, gude ale comes and gude ale goes,

Gude ale gars me sell my hose,
Sell my hose, and pawn my shoon,
Gude ale keeps my heart aboon.
I had sax Owsen in a pleugh,
They drew a' weel eneugh;
I sell'd them a' just ane by ane,
Gude ale keeps my heart aboon.
Gude ale hauds me bare and busy,
Gars me moop wi' the servant hizzie

vii

Stand i' the stool when I hae done,

Gude ale keeps my heart aboon.
Oh, gude ale comes and gude ale goes,
Gude ale gars me sell my hose,
Sell my hose, and pawn my shoon,
Gude ale keeps my heart aboon.
Rabbie Burns2

viii

About the Author

Greg Noonan is the brewmaster at the Vermont Pub

& Brewery and author of Brewing Lager Beer (Brewers
Publications, 1986). He has written numerous articles in
brewing periodicals, including a series on beer styles for The

New Brewer.
Greg dates his interest in world beer styles back to
savoring the limited imported beers available in the early
1970s. While hitchhiking across the United States in 1973, he
sought out regional brews, but lamented their lack of
character. The first homebrews he tasted Were unearthed
from a dirt root cellar where the corked and wax-sealed
bottles had probably laid since prohibition. The sherrylike
flavor of the sedimented beer was beyond anything that he
had previously encountered.
The products of a homebrewing acquaintance
piqued his interest even further, but his first attempt to brew
his own did not follow until 1977. Greg dove in head-first,
mashing his own grains on the very first brew. All-grain
brewing was a subject that homebrewing literature of the
time addressed only tentatively. Faced with an information
void, Greg turned to professional literature for guidance.

ix

That research and his concurrent experimentation and

experiences led him to document what he learned in what
has come to be a Standard reference manual for home and
Craft brewers.
Greg and his wife, Nancy, opened their 14-barrel
brewery and pub in Burlington, Vt., in 1988, after three years
of lobbying the Vermont legislature to allow on-premises
brewing. They chose to open a brewpub because it offered
the best opportunity to brew not just a few brands, but a
broad range of traditional beer styles. They eschew generic
Amber and Gold appellations in favor of brewing to historic
styles: Scotch and Irish ale, Best Bitter, Bavarian Weizen,
Bohemian Pilsener and Vienna lager, to name a few of the 30odd beer styles they have recreated in the past four years. The
annual March tapping of their January 1st batch of Wee
Heavy has become a cause celibre for the pub's patrons.
Although the demands of the brewery and the
constant need for a busboy in the pub leave him little free
time, Greg spends what leisure he can carve out with his
family, reading (Kotzwinkle, Steinbeck, Burgess, Gardner)
and drawing, as well as making the Occasional pub crawl.

Scotch and Scottish Ales

ALLOA ALES
Awa'wiblack brandy, red rum and blue whiskey
An' bring me the liquor brown as a nut;
O! Alloa Aleye can make a chiel frisky,
Brisk, faewming a' fresh frae the bottle or butt.
An awa wi' your wines - they are dull as moss water,
Wi blude colour'd blushes, or purple, or pale;
Guid folks gif ye wish to get fairer and fatter,
They aye weet your seasans wi' Alloa Ale!
Gif yewish healthie habits an' wad be lang livers,
Then spiritous drinks yes'ould never fash wi';
But Alloa Aleye may drink it in rivers,
An' the deeper ye drink, aye the better ye'll be,
Sae potent as physic its virtues are valued,
They daily wha drink look hearty an' hale;
O ye a' hae heard tell o' a Balm got in Gilead,
Tak my word for't t'was neathing but Alloa Ale!

xi

Then countrymen croud roun the bizzing ale bicker,

An waur no on whisky your siller an' sense;
Nae gate ye'll fa wi' the like o' this liquor,
That thro' body and saul can sic vigour dispense.
Let nae Brandy-bibber scare you wi' his scoffin,
At prudence in drink - till he tire lat him rail;
Ilk a dram that he drinks is a nail in his coffin,
But you'll lenthen your life-lease wi' Alloa Ale.

John Imlah, 18271

xii

Introduction
When I began to work on this book, I was doubtful
about the value of any book being entirely devoted to a
single beer style, and especially so for a style which is neither
especially well known or documented in America. I thought
the series was frivolous. I guess I was just dumber then. From
the vantage point of having now seen four of the books of
this series, and having been exposed to the wealth of
information that I've been privilege to encounter in
researching this book, today I have nothing but enthusiasm
for the Classic Beer Style Series.
The previous books in the series cannot have been
easy tasks for their authors. One great difficulty in looking at
old beer styles is that no examples exist to do a sensory
evaluation. Another is that records, if they survive at all, are
generally so sketchy that little usable information can be
extracted from them. As antiquarian beer researcher Dr. John
Harrison notes, most pre-1850 brewery ledgers are
undecipherable.3 Moreover, since the Middle Ages brewing
has either been a very haphazard cottage industry, or was
controlled by guilds that jealously guarded their craft. These
have been succeeded by equally secretive commercial

breweries, protecting their trade secrets.

Where old records do exist, they are more often
curiosities than they are valid reference sources. Until the late
18th century brewers had no scientific means of monitoring
and recording temperature. The fact that eight quarters of
malt were mashed with fifteen barrels of liquor doesn't
really tell us much of anything. Even after the thermometer
and hydrometer came into use, brewery records still weren't
very specific about such things as the volumes of beer that
they were producing, or the color and nature of the malt
used. Useful information about the type of hops, their
condition and alpha acidity just do not exist at all.
Another set of problems arises with the weights and
measures that are used in Old records. The Scots used a
measure called the boll for wheat and meal, and sometimes
for malt. Although a boll (that's four firlots or eight auchlets)
was nominally about the size of a U.K. bushel, it was
variously two to six bushels in size as well. The standard for a
U.K. bushel of malt is 42 pounds, but as late as 1847 an account
describes a bushel of the best Scottish malt weighing forty
pounds.4 A Scots pint was equal to three Imperial pints.
While the size of a hogshead was standardized at 63 Wine
Gallons (Wine Gallons are identical to U.S. gallons) in 1423, it
was just as often 51 Imperial gallons. In London, a hogshead
was 54 gallons for beer and 48 gallons for ale. Recorded
weights and measures then, especially before 1850, are not of
much use.
The Scots further complicated all this by valuing beer
by Shillings-per-barrel and Guineas-per-hogshead, including
excise tax (a guinea is 21 shillings20 shillings make a pound
Sterling). As taxation changed (not only the tax rate, but
whether it was malt, volume or density that was being taxed)
and currency standards fluctuated, so the original gravity of

ales sold at a given price changed. The strength of a 90 shilling

ale was never fixed, and it is almost impossible to correlate all
the periodic fluctuations to give meaning to the older
records, especially since the containers themselves were not
standardized. A 19th-century account laments the practice of
quoting prices per hogshead, in that a hogshead, which
ought to contain fifty-four gallons, and run between twentyseven to twenty-eight dozen, contains upwards of sixty
gallons.4
More confusion is caused by nomenclature; while
Scotch Ale means a Wee Heavy in Belgium, in the North of
England it means a 70 shilling heavy, and a Wee Heavy is
called a Wee Dump. Modern brews employing nontraditional ingredients and technology make use of the old
names arbitrarily.
It is with the Scotch ales of the 18th century that one
would most like to begin. Even as early as 1837 the brewing
methods and character of Scotch ale had changed, leading
one writer to lament the passing of the system which
obtained in former times, when Scotch ale deservedly held,
and still holds, the first rank amongst fermented liquors of
British manufacture.4 Fortunately that author recorded
much about the old Scottish system; unfortunately, the
character of the ales can only be estimated. No defining
Scientific records exist.
Even so, 19th-century brew records give none of the
specific information that modern brewers are used to working with. There are records of hopping rates, but none
defining the alpha acidity of the hops used. Bitterness levels,
mineral analysis of the brewing water, degrees of malt color,
pH and yeast character are not a matter of record.
Having made much of the inadequacy of old records,
I must emphasize that it is the preserved ledgers of Scottish
breweries and brewings, and journals of the brewers, that

have made the compilation of this book possible. An

appreciable number of these have been collected in the
Scottish Brewing Archive, thanks to the diligence of maltster
George Insill and other farsighted members of the Scottish
brewing community. Mr. Insill's career spanned the years of
the greatest upheaval that the breweries of Scotland, and
indeed of most of the world, had ever experienced. Closings,
buyouts, consolidations, contaminated wells and taxes
caused the number of Scottish breweries to contract until
only a handful remained. Mr. Insill saved the records from
one brewery, then another and another. He lugged unwieldy
ledgers from brewery to brewery, only to have many
discarded by unthinking people in spite of his stewardship.
The records that he saved eventually became the core of the
Scottish Brewing Archive. Brewing ledgers, purchasing and
Sales records, photographs, notebooks and monographs have
been preserved for future generations.
Scotch and Scottish ales provide good examples of
beer styles that, outside of Scotia's shores, are widely
misunderstood. Most of us have been only vaguely aware of
what defines and delineates these beers. Like German alts,
Irish ales, English milds and lagers of the Vienna style, there
has been a vague awareness of the flavor and color
parameters of the beers, but a lack of verifiable information
that precisely defines those descriptors, and an almost total
lack of information regarding the particular ingredients and
nuances of processes that create those parameters. It is my hope that this investigation of the Scotch an
Scottish ale styles, as uninformed and lacking as it is, will
adequately serve to better define them both, and allow
brewers present and future to not only recreate these beers,
but to learn from the processes and particulars of the styles
to use ingredients in ways that will improve their brewing
skills and repertoire.

This hope is the key to the enthusiasm that I have

developed for the Classic Beer Style Series. Not only does it
enable us, in our own time, to enjoy the research efforts of
our fellows, and use the information to keep historical beer
styles alive, but future generations will be privy to a broad
spectrum of styles and historical practices in something
more than bits and pieces of information. This series should
provide firm footing for the research efforts of brewing fools
not yet born.
As a final word, let me emphasize that this is NOT the
definitive work on Scotch and Scottish ales. I trust that any
information that my efforts left undiscovered will be
compiled by other researchers to more fully define,
categorize and document the historical evolution of Scotch
and Scottish ales.

1
History of Brewing
in Scotland
6500 B.C. TO 1820
Yes, this book is about Scotch. Scotch and Scottish
ales, that is. Scotch Whiskey? It is nothing more than distilled
Scottish ale. A historical beverage? Scotch whiskey did not
even become popular until the early 19th century.5 Beer, on
the other hand, has been the Scots' choice among fermented
beverages since Alban's earliest recorded history, and is still
the beverage of choice in Scotland, accounting for 250
percent more of the alcohol consumed than all spirits
combined.6 This book will explain more fully the difference
between Scotch ale and Scottish ales, but for a preliminary
definition the term Scotch ale is reserved for the stronger
brews (SG 1.070 to 1.130).
How old is brewing in Scotland? Archaeological
evidence from circa 6500 B.C. indicates that the Picts were
producing some sort of fermented beverage on the Isle of
Rhum way back then.7 Researchers believe that Picts and
Scots were brewing barley beer before the Roman Empire
invaded Britain in 43 A.D.8 In the late fourth century, the

Irish High King and adventurer, Niall of the Nine Hostages,

undertook a genocidal campaign against the native Scottish
Picts, at least partly to gain the secret of brewing heather ale.
He was successful at killing off the Pictish population of
Galloway, but he failed to extract the secrets of heather ale
from even the last survivor. Heather ale survived, and was
still brewed in the Orkneys until the early part of the 20th
century.5
We are luckier than the marauding Niall. C. H. Cook,
writing under the pseudonym J. Bickerdyke, recorded the
manner of heather's use in his 1886 Curiosities of Ale and Beer:
The blossoms of the heather are carefully gathered and
cleansed, then placed in the bottom of vessels. Wort of the
ordinary kind is allowed to drain through the blossoms, and
gains in its passage a peculiar and agreeable flavor known to
all familiar with heather honey. He states that heather ale in
the 15th century was probably two-thirds heather and onethird hops for bittering.9
As elsewhere in medieval Europe, monasteries were
responsible for the first commercial breweries of scale. Alfred
Barnard, in his three-volume Noted Breweries of England and
Ireland, states that the old monks of the Abbey of Holyrood
were famed for their nut brown ale.10 When St. Mungo
established his monastic community in present-day Glasgow
in 543 A.D., the monks brewed with the water of the
Molendinar Burn, on the site where Glasgow Cathedral
would be built in 1136. By the middle of the 13th century,
Dominican Blackfriars and Franciscan Greyfriars were also
brewing in Glasgow.
The Belhaven brewery, on the east coast at Dunbar, is
built on the site of a monastery. It encloses a 13th century
garden and two wells which date from the 15th century;
these were used to supply water for brewing until 1972 (the

house of retired brewer Sandy Hunter, adjacent to the garden,

is known as Monkscroft).
Browster wives made domestic brewing a home
industry during the Middle Ages. Bickerdyke records that
their ale was frequently made from barley and oat malt . . .
the lack of piquant flavor, afterward supplied by the hop, was
in those days compensated for by the addition of ginger,
pepper, spices and aromatic herbs.9 With the beginning of
the colonial trade in the 16th century, howss brewsters
substituted molasses (treacle) for malt to brew treacle ale, also
called brown robin and skeachen.5
Publick breweries existed in Scotland at least by
1488. In that year, it is chronicled that James the First of
Scotland purchased Blackford ale in Perthshire, on the North
slope of the Ochil hills. The three breweries there had
abundant water good for brewing and malting barley
available locally from the Vale of Strathallan. Blackford ales,

in fact, were later to be famed throughout Scotland. 11 Secular

breweries had sprung up in Glasgow as well. Drygate,
Ladyvale, Gallowgate (Molendinar Burn) and Wellpark were
sites of medieval breweries. The trade there was formally
established by the Incorporation of Maltmen in the 16th
century; most maltsters of the time were brewers as well.5
Well-aged and strong Scotch ales had gained an
international reputation at least as early as 1578. They were
familiar to the French since at least the 12th century, by
virtue of the "Auld Alliance that bound Scotland and France
together against the expansionist aims of the English kings.
Trade was a two-way street, however, and in 1625 the
Scots parliament forbade the hamebringing of Foreyn Beir,5
that is, the importation of English ales and their Baltic
counterparts (sowens).11 Imports were a threat to the
domestic brewers. Although their strong ales were the envy
of England and the continent, their everyday ales were much
maligned. Elsewhere in Europe the hop had become essential
to the taste of beer, but hops were still little used in
Scotland. Hops could not be grown during the limited
growing season therefore had to be imported at great
expense. Common and table beers were insipid. When the
ban on importation was universally ignored, Parliament
reacted quickly, and in 1627 fixed the retail price-per-tun for
imported ales at 6 to discourage their importation.11
Although Glasgow had its guild for maltmen, the burgess (female) brewer was more common during the late
medieval period and into the 17th century.11 Although the
guilds had, for the most part, replaced the browster wives in
the Southern towns, Aberdeen in the north still had 144
burgesses practicing their craft as late as 1693. Glasgow had 14
established breweries in 1700,5 but brewing as a domestic

10

industry of women survived at least until the end of the 18th

century.11
The early part of the 18th century saw a renewal of
the Auld Alliance, and with it a marked preference by the
bourgeois for French wine over domestic ales. Wine was chic.
Hopped English and continental ales also began impinging
upon the brewers' market, as did the infant distilled-beverage
industry.11 At virtually the same time, the pastoral and
agrarian base of the Scottish economy was being remolded
by colonial trade and the start of industrialization in the
South. The beginning of a wage-based economy, combined
with urbanization and population growth brought about by
a stabler economy fueled a cash-paying demand for alcoholic
beverages.8 These challenges are what in all likelihood
spurred the Scottish brewers not only to improve their
products, but to do so to such an extent that Scotch ale would
reign at the apex of internationally acclaimed beers for more
than a century.
Ian Donnachie, in A History of the Brewing Industry
in Scotland, states, the transformation of brewing from a
domestic craft into a mass-production consumer industry
was essentially a response to the rising living standards of a
growing population. The growth was at first regional in
nature; most towns of any size had at least one brewery
serving accounts that could be reached by the brewery carthorse and waggon in an hour's haul. By the 1790s there were
150 public breweries in Scotland, where there had been less
than 50 in 1750.11
The years of the Scottish industrial revolution (1780
to 1820) were also the years in which public breweries
experienced their greatest growth. By 1820 there were 240
public breweries. Within 20 years, however, the same
population growth and improved transportation that had
fueled great brewery growth during the late 18th century

11

would lead to the demise of rural breweries. Combined

urbanization, industrialization and the opening of export
markets, created market forces favoring urban breweries. By
1825 Edinburgh had 29 breweries, Glasgow 27 and Alloa six.
Brewing soon became the domain of these three Southern
cites.11
Several factors determined this shift. The first was the
proximity of those cities to the Carse of Forth, the East Neuk
of Fife and East Lothian, the granary of Scotland, which had
been growing barley for malting and brewing since the
Middle Ages.13 Summer farm laborers provided the
manpower for wintertime malting and brewing.
Proximity to ports was the second factor in the
ascendency of these cities. Although the breweries of Falkirk,
Stirling, Limekilns, Dumfermline, Cambus and Bathgate also
profited by their nearness to the source of Scotland's best
barley, they lacked deep water ports. The western port of
Glasgow and the Eastern ports of Edinburgh and Alloa are
ideally situated on tidal rivers, the Clyde and the Forth,
respectively, Ports gave Alloa, Edinburgh and Glasgow the
edge on their competitors in the export trade, which
mushroomed after 1830. To supply the demand from
expatriate merchants and tobacco planters in the West Indies
and North America, ale helped fill the holds of outbound
trading ships. Scotsmen made up the bulk of the garrisons
that Great Britain sent to the far corners of the world as the
empire was built.11 Scotch ale was their drink of choice.
The third factor was that these cities were among the
earliest to be industrialized, and had the benefit of having
been the 17th-century centers of glassmaking, iron founding
and coal mining. They also experienced the greatest
population growth as Scotland's population doubled
between 1780 and 1850.11 Finally, these three cities were

12

blessed with naturally cool cellar temperatures and

abundant clean water of a constant temperature.
The industrial revolution made more of that water
accessible. Breweries that lacked artesian wells had used
pumps driven by horses at a turnstile. Steam powered pumps
that produced greater volume at less cost, and drills that
bored down to deeper and more abundant aquifers were
made possible by Edinburgh inventor/entrepreneur James
Watt.
Although the Canongate brewery still used a horse
mill for grinding malt as late as 1819,11 most of the urban
breweries quickly harnessed the energy of combustion.
Mechanization reduced heavy labor and improved quality.
Mashing was no longer a Herculean task. Roberts records in
1847 that in late years the mashing-machine has been
adopted instead of oars, in almost every brewhouse in
Edinburgh. Foundries abounded in southern Scotland, and
contributed to the breweries' modernization: modern
coolers, instead of being of wood as formerly, are of cast iron
. . . being better conductors of heat. . . . Some brewers, who
have the command of water . . . cool by means of a spiral pipe
which traverses a large body of cold water.4
The industrial revolution also brought with it a new
age of science. The information explosion offered brewers
the tools to eliminate much of the chance and circumstance
that had dictated the course of their brewings: About the
year 1760 brewers began to use the thermometer as a guide to
direct them in regulating their heats, both for mashing and
for fermentation; but so skeptical were they as to its utility,
or practical value, that it was several years before it was
brought into general use.4 Hydrometers were more readily
accepted, perhaps because thermometers had earlier proved

13

so useful. A hydrometer developed in 1768 by Mr. B. Marin of

Fleet Street for distillers was further modified by Alexander
Allen of Edinburgh for use by brewers.4 Scots brewers

14

quickly took to the use of the saccharometer after its

pioneering in 1784 by J. Richardson. Measuring instruments
also led to better record keeping in the breweries.3 Record
keeping fostered an analytical approach that continues to
accompany brewing to this day. Still, however, brewers of
the day lacked information that we consider commonplace.
At this time brewers still believed that they were merely
dissolving Saccharum, Fecula and Gluten (sugars, protein
and starch) in the mash. There was no conception that these
were actually being enzymatically reduced. They recognized
that protein was required to help fermentation, but
erroneously believed that starch caused over attenuation
and spoilage.
The ale that was brewed in Edinburgh, Glasgow and
Alloa was, by today's standards, almost unbelievably high in
both original and terminal gravities. Whereas today's 90
shilling ale starts at an original gravity (OG) of 1.075 and is
packaged at SG 1.016-20, a 90 shilling ale in the early 19th
century had an OG as high as 1.125, and a final gravity (FG) of
1.055. It consisted of approximately nine percent alcohol by
volume. It wasn't called strong beer for nothing! A small
beer of the time would have been more familiar to our
tastes, but for Victorian Britain and its colonies, Small beer
was common enough stuff, and twopenny, the weakest ale,
was drunk as we consume soft drinks. Until the 1800s,
brewers did not commonly bottle for domestic markets, but
sent their ale out from the brewery in barrels to the trade.
Small beer was generally bottled and corked by public houses
and sold for between nine pence and one shilling per dozen.4
Presumably, strong ale would have cost up to twice as much
as Small beer cost, while twopenny was named for its late
18th-century price per Scots pint, a measure which is almost
equalled a U.S. gallon.

15

Strong beer became relatively more popular even as

overall production increased between 1780 and 1840. In 1787,
a total of 24,000 U.K. barrels of strong beer was taxed, along
with 108,000 barrels of small beer and 114,000barrels of
twopenny ale. In 1830, 111,000 barrels of strong beer were
recorded by the excise office, while production of table
beer, the successor to small beer and twopenny, stayed
nearly level at 229,000 barrels.
Whereas less than 5 percent was exported in 1780, by
the early 19th century, about 10 percent of the strong beer

16

was exported. The volumes and destinations of the exported

beer were dictated by colonial expansion. In 1815 notable
Scotch ale export markets were Jamaica and the West Indies,
Canada, South America, Germany, the United States,
Denmark and Russia; by 1850 the market had become the
West Indies, East Indies, India, Australia, South America,
Africa and Germany. By 1815 Scottish exports were 13,700
barrels, over 60 percent being consigned to England, and a
further 30 percent to customers in North America and the
West Indies. . . . In 1850 exports were 21,000 barrels. . . . Asia,
Australia and Africa . . . together accounted for nearly half the
total.11

1820 TO 1991
The popularity of the old Scotch Ales diminished at
various times due to import restrictions, taxes (especially
those that taxed beer by strength) and market shifts. The first
market shift affecting Scottish brewers was the early 19th
century rage for porter. Scots brewers, however, were canny;
practical mercantilism has always been part of survival for
the hardy Scots.
Breweries hired London brewers familiar with the
brewing of porter and with its ingredients. The maltsters had
to learn the techniques for producing brown porter malt,
made by sprinkling the malt with water just before and
during kilning to give it a slightly crystalline character. The
malt was blown in the kiln; as the heat increased, the damp
malt would swell and then pop, making the endosperm more
readily soluble.4 London porter was brewed with Soft
Thames river water, so circumstance favored the Edinburgh
brewers, who were well blessed with abundant soft water.
Porter enjoyed great popularity throughout the British Isles
from 1780 until about 1820.

17

Scottish brewers' range of beers quickly expanded to

include new beer styles as they emerged. While one
Edinburgh brewer lists five Scottish ales for sale in 1819,
Stein's Canongate brewery had a 2 and 5 ale, 30, 40, 80, 90,
115 shilling ales and porter as well.11 The brewers learned new
techniques with the introduction of new beers.
About 1820 there was a resurgence in the popularity
of Scotch ales, starting, ironically enough, in London. Soon,
Scotch ale was again traveling to Liverpool, Bristol and
Dublin through the Forth and Clyde Canal (completed in
1792).8 The 1820 prices in Bristol demonstrate the value
attached to Scotch ale; it sold at a premium over other
popular beers. Scotch ale sold at 11 shillings, Burton ale at 10
shillings, Bristol ale nine shillings and London porter for
seven shillings. Ten years later in London, Edinburgh ale sold
for the same amount as did Burton ale, at eight pence, while
ordinary ale sold for six pence and London porter for four
pence.11
Burton's Pale Ale would be the source of the next
challenge to the export market of the Scottish brewers. A
lighter beer that was more sparkling than the older styles and
was heavily hopped with Kent Goldings had been brewed by
Hodgson's brewery in London since the 1750s. It came to be
called India ale, and later, pale ale.
Export to tropical colonies had proven its ability to
stand up to the rigors of hot and humid climes. Previously,
only very strong beers had successfully survived the long,
rough voyage and adverse atmospheric conditions of the
tropics. Their high alcohol content acted as a preservative,
and their rich flavor masked the effects of oxidation.
Hodgson discovered that hops would accomplish the same
things. He brewed a lighter beer that was more satiating in
the oppressive heat and could withstand the rigors of both
voyage and climate. The Caribbean and Far Eastern colonies

18

clamored for Hodgson's ale, at the expense of the export

brewers of Scotland and of Burton-on-Trent in England.
The Indian and Asian colonies were England's newest
and richest. "Up to about 1820, this trade was almost
exclusively in the hands of . . . Mr. Hodgson . . . [His] beer was
as well known in India, and as highly appreciated, as is
London porter all over the world.4
Burton brewers began to imitate the Hodgson style
about 1820, and their exports to India soon eclipsed
Hodgson's. Burton ales arrived in the torrid zone in even
better condition than Hodgson's, and had a flavor that was
even more avidly sought. The extremely hard water of
Burton was a natural match for a big hop character, and gave
a fuller flavor to this lighter style. The success of India ale was
also partly in consequence of the Government now
allowing the unlimited use of sugar in brewing;4 hard water
allowed adjuncts to be liberally employed without
producing a watery, insipid flavor. Cheap sugar from the
equatorial colonies filled the holds of returning ships,
payment for the hogsheads of ale that had lain there on the
outbound voyage. It then became part of more ale for export
and lowered its cost. By the 1840s, Allsop and Bass of Burton
were exporting 10 times the amount of India ale as Hodgson.
Hard water and hops replaced alcohol content and strength
as the means of producing a keeping beer, and in
consequence India pale ale became the world's first massmarket beer.10
As Hodgson's ale garnered fame abroad, returning
merchants and soldiers who had developed a taste for bitter"
created a domestic demand for it as well. By 1837 Roberts
would proclaim that what is called India beer is now very
generally used in Great Britain. . . . It is of the greatest
importance to those who wish to compete with others, that
they should acquire every information regarding the

19

method of making those beers. He goes on to caution,

however, that many who have brewed for this particular
market have had good cause to repent doing so.4 Brewers
needed to learn the secrets of India ale.
The first was the use of paler malts. Emerging
technology of the late 18th century made pale malts possible
through improved kiln design, and the use of the nearly
smokeless fuel, coke. The second secret was the use of
adjuncts to reduce the final gravity. The third was the use of
Kent hops, which had a finer aromatic character than
varieties that previously had been used. The fourth was
higher fermentation temperatures, which contributed to
India ale's piquant bouquet. Fifth, hard water was required for
its preserving and flavoring effects.
Several Scottish breweries enticed experienced India
ale brewers from London and Burton to their employ.
Especially in Edinburgh and Alloa, breweries had found that
some wells they drilled produced ideal water for Scotch ales,
while others gave too hard an edge to the malty strong beers.
The former tapped soft water, and the latter, hard. These
brewers already had the fifth necessity at their command;
their hard water wells, previously cursed, became a blessing.
These lucky brewers, and they were many, started
brewing the paler, weaker and more highly hopped India
ales. Pale gradually eroded the overwhelming popularity of
Scotch ale, first in the warmer climes of the empire, and then
even in England and America. Moreover, increased hopping
rates improved the keeping qualities of their lower gravity
beers. Given their long experience with brewing keeping
beers, the Scottish brewers were able to produce a more stable
beer than most of their English competitors, even in the
brewing of pale ales. Scottish brewers began to set their tuns
at a higher temperature, thereby hastening the process. . . .

20

This increased temperature, however, is still lower than that

used by the English brewer.4 The Scottish method of
fermentation gave less harshness than the higher
temperatures risked by the English.
India ale from Scottish breweries rivalled the fame of
Burton ales, even to the far corners of the empire. Indeed, as
retired maltster George Insill of Edinburgh points out, their
hard-water, highly-hopped exports have confused the
perception of traditional Scotch ales, because their pale ale
became equally regarded and well-known. By the late 1880s,
Scottish brewers were exporting more India pale ale and
export stout than Scotch ale.11
Weaker, lighter, filtered and sparkling highly carbonated beers continued to displace the strong, dark,
unfiltered, naturally conditioned traditional beers. Scottish
brewers reacted by imitation, and so remained competitive
in both domestic and export markets. They increased their
historically low hop rates and used less malt, of a lighter
color. By the 1880s sparkling lagers and ales were being
brewed throughout Scotland, using brewing sugars to
achieve the light color and body.
Bottles and bottling were very important to the
competitiveness of the Scottish brewers. Beer kept better in
bottles than in casks. An early bottle manufacturing center
developed in the Forth valley until 1745, when a prohibitive
excise tax was levied on glass. Still, however, bottling was
more common in Southern Scotland than elsewhere in
Britain and on the Continent. Glassworks and bottling
houses were more often than not separate enterprises, but
Jacob Dixon combined both in the early 1800s at his
Dumbarton Glass Work & Brewing Company. Although
bottling continued to provide access to important markets
for the Scottish brewers, it was not until mechanization
replaced hand-blowing after 1875, coincidental with the

21

demand for more highly carbonated, lighter and filtered

beers, that bottling in Scotland began in earnest.11
The late 19th century was another period of technical
and scientific advances. Although brewers still believed that
nitrogenous matter is principally the cause of Beer turning
sour,10 yeast had come to be recognized as a living organism,
and bacteria were starting to be identified. By the 1870s,
many breweries were equipping laboratories and using them
for quality control. In the 1880s Heriot-Watt University
began to educate brewers, at about the Same time that
electrical power was introduced in breweries.11
Refrigeration was probably the most significant
technological development in the history of brewing. It
allowed brewers to chill their worts more rapidly, and with
less exposure to the atmosphere. It made brewing and
fermenting possible year round. Brewers could mature their
beers in less than half the time it had previously taken.
Refrigeration made artificial carbonation and filtering
possible.
Brewers turned to carbon-dioxide injection to
produce more sparkling beers. Pitch-lined casks, introduced
with lager brewing, could contain more pressure than the
traditional beeswax-lined tuns and puncheons, but could not
compete with the faster turnover that artificial carbonation
and refrigeration made possible. Moreover, the lighter pale
ales and lagers did not require the long flavor maturation of
the old Scotch ales, and did not suffer as appreciably from
lack of conditioning. Scottish brewers embraced the new
technology because it maintained their competitive position
in the export trade. By 1900 they exported 123,000 barrels of
beer annually.11 Between 1870 and 1950, Scots brewers would
account for roughly one third of all the beer exported from
Britain.13
The employment of science and technology helped

22

the larger Scottish brewers survive in the world markets, and

protect their domestic trade from foreign intrusions, but at
the expense of the smaller brewers. Furthermore, the wide
spread introduction of standardized mass produced beers in
Scotland during the latter half of the 19th and the early part
of the present century had a decimating effect upon the
diversity of beer styles and interpretations previously
exhibited.11
The larger breweries went public in the late 1880s and
the 1890s to finance modernization. Their increased output
upset the domestic market balance, and doomed many of the
smaller brewers. Local variations in brewing technique and
numerous distinctive local brews" soon became relics of the
past.
Charles McMaster has catalogued the wide variety of
beers that were being produced in the late 19th century:
strong Scotch ales, table beers, dinner ales, three guinea ales,
90 shilling ales, special export ales, harvest ales, imperial
stouts, double brown stouts, sparkling ales, India pale ales,
nut brown ales, amber ales, invalid stouts, oatmeal stouts,
Pilseners, golden lagers, Scotch porters and Munich lagers.14
Today's range is anemic by comparison.
Other market forces would set the stage for
diminished production of Scotch ales, and diminished
diversity overall. A strong fundamentalist temperance
movement that had been building in Scotland for more than
30 years became a political force to be reckoned with in the
late 1880s. Brewers feared prohibition so strongly that more
than one began to brew non-alcoholic beer, and others
scrambled to diversify. Another tack was employed by many
brewers; they legitimatized drinking beer by associating beer
with temperance (as preferable to whiskey or gin drinking),
and marketed their brews with good for you slogans. As
Maclays' head brewer Duncan Kellock says, with a wry grin,
Doctors are people too. A doctor could be found that was
willing to say anything for five pounds slipped into

23

the back pocket. Very healthy, indeed, good for longevity,'

and everybody was happy.15
Legislation in both England and Scotland earlier in
the century had placed limits on the number of retail
licenses. This not only made licenses themselves more
valuable, but created a scenario in which tied houses
guaranteed a brewer outlets for his production. Although
tied houses had been common in England since mid-century,
Scottish breweries did not follow suit until English brewers
engaged in a frenzy of license purchases in the 1880s that
threatened to shut out the Scottish brewers from Sales South
of the border. Scots brewers reacted by buying pubs in
England, especially in their traditional stronghold in the
northeast. Domestically, they initiated partial ties by making
loans to publicans. After 1900, tied houses became more of a
rule than an exception throughout Scotland.11
Traditional Scotch ale was also undergoing a transformation during this period. Not only was it no longer the
brand leader beer of most breweries, but it was being
watered down as well. Barnard records that William
Younger & Company's Edinburgh Ale was a potent fluid
which almost glued the lips of the drinker together, and of
which few therefore could dispatch more than a bottle.
[They] still brew the celebrated Edinburgh ale, of a less potent
quality, but their principal manufacture, India pale ale, is
well known and appreciated in all parts of Great Britain as
well as in foreign countries.10
The Nungate Brewery's 140 shilling ale at the turn of
the century had an OG of only 1.084. Such a specific gravity
would have been hard pressed to qualify as a 70 shilling ale a
century earlier. This devaluation of the shilling system
would continue. Restrictions limiting raw materials, output,
and gravities during World War I diminished the character
of the strong ales even further.11 Dr. John Harrison

24

BREWERY MAP OF SCOTLAND

1) Alloa

8) Maclay's

2) Belhaven

9) Orkney Brewery

3) The Bobbin Inn

10) Rose Street

4) Borve Brewhouse, Ruthven

11) Scottish & Newcastle

5) Broughton

12) Tennent

6) Caledonian

13) Traduair House

7) Harviestown Brewery

14) West Highland Brewery

25

observes that the essential difference between the 1871 and

the early 1920s versions (of Youngers No. 1 Ale) was that the
SG in 1871 was 1.102 [24 B], whereas in 1923-24 it was 1.084
[20.4 B].3
India pale ale displaced Scotch ale throughout Scotland, as it did old ale in England. Furthermore, at Tennent's
Brewery in Glasgow and also at Heriot's in Edinburgh, and at
Allsops in Alloa conversion of the plant to lager brewing
satisfied a ready market such as would not be seen in England
for decades.
On the whole, Scottish lager tended to be lighter and
less flavorful than the sparkling ales of England. Lager, or
more particularly, the Scottish version of Pilsener, would
earn Scottish drinkers the scorn of England, which continues to the present day. It may very well be that the
Englishman's pride has less to do with good taste than it does
with geography. Markedly warmer English weather made
lager brewing more difficult and expensive than it was for
the Scots.6 Moreover, as will be seen in chapter two, Scottish
traditional techniques were so akin to lager practice that
brewing Pilsener was not as foreign a concept to the Scots
as it might at first seem. Whatever the case may be, the lager
market grew by 500 percent between 1880 and 1885, held a
steady five percent of the market share from 1900 until the
1960s,9 and grew to account for 40 percent of the beer Sold in
Scotland in 1977.11
The 20th century saw the trend toward fewer
breweries proceed by rationalization (i.e., takeovers and
closures, in that peculiarly British propensity for
euphemisms). Breweries disappeared first as beer sales
slumped in the early 1900s,11 then in the lean years between
the world wars, and again in the takeover frenzy of the late
fifties and sixties.
George Insill catalogued for me the changes that he
saw during his life-long career malting barley for Edinburgh

26

Breweries.15 Cask beers were the first casualty, losing popularity after World War I. To some extent returning service
people had become used to bottled beers, and bottles were
perceived as being more sophisticated. After World War II,
artificially carbonated kegs, marketed as brewery conditioned draft, made their first impact on the pub trade. One
of the motivating factors was the loss of skilled barmen and
cellarmen during the war.
The quality of barley, both during the war and for
some time after, was substandard. This encouraged the use of
adjuncts, and contributed to lighter beers dominating the
market.
The demand for fizzier beer by Americans stationed
in Britain was also a factor; it is popularly believed that
General Curtis Lemay introduced kegs to Britain, using the
requisitioning might of the United States Air Force actually
to provide the kegs to breweries so that they could be filled
with highly carbonated beer for his airmen. By the 1960s, the
keg and canned beer markets were growing, and bottling
diminished accordingly. This led many brewers to abandon
their bottling lines. The small breweries began contracting
out their packaging. With the notable exception of Maclays
and Belhaven, the beer went into cans.
After the war the British Empire began to crumble;
former colonies levied increased duties on Scottish export
beer. The taxes, combined with contraction in ocean-going
shipping, led Scots brewers to turn again, albeit belatedly, to
the acquisition of tied houses. In the 1950s free trade still
comprised 65 percent of on-premises' Sales in Scotland, but
the trend to tied houses continued. In 1991, tied houses
accounted for 75 percent of the on-premises' market. George
Insill emphasizes that this fact o has had a great effect upon
the nature of beers being brewed, because the brewers and

27

the large independent tied house chains can dictate to the

customers what they are going to be served. Ale drinkers
have lost the power that was inherent in free trade.
Although drinkers in the northeast of England and in
Scotland retained a taste for the heavier traditional beers, the
takeovers and closings of breweries after 1950 eliminated the
diverse Selection of Scottish brands. There had been more
than 50 brands of Scottish ales from almost 20 brewers on the
market in 1960,11 but by 1991 there remained only six brewers,
and less than twenty brands.
On the other hand, lager, which accounted for 54
percent of Scottish beer sales by the mid 1980s,6 has
experienced a falling market share since 1989. It has lost the
sophisticated image that once made it popular.13 Ironically,
hoodlums are now termed lager lugs in the British press.
One beneficiary of the changing tastes of younger Scottish
drinkers has been cask-conditioned beer, which is showing
an increase in sales. Although the larger breweries do not
seem to be committed to its revival, all of the Scottish
brewers offer at least one cask-conditioned Scottish ale, and
the smaller breweries several. In the past decade, Scots have
gotten a grip on their pints of real ale; cask-conditioned 60
shilling light, 70 shilling heavy and 80 shilling export flows
again from the traditional tall fonts.

THE BREWERIES OF EDINBURGH

A serious look at Scottish brewing must certainly
focus on Edinburgh. Edinburgh ale is almost synonymous
with Wee Heavy (Scotch ale). Edinburgh is home to one of
the three surviving small and independent 19th-century
breweries; the Old Town looks today much as if nothing has
changed since the last century.

28

Brewing is an ancient art in Edinburgh. Publick

brewers were common thereby the 15th century; in the late
16th century they formed a guild. The Fellowship and
Society of Ale and Beer Brewers of the Burgh of Edinburgh
(The Society of Brewers) was formed in 1575 to negotiate with
the city fathers, to protect itself from foreign competition, to
erect a common brew house, to set prices and to insure
adequate supplies of barley and water.11,14 The establishments
of the Society of Brewers were all in the Old Town, bounded
by Cowgate to the north, Candlemakers Row to the west,

29

and Lothian Street to the South.

In 1598 the magistrates of Edinburgh ordered the
Society to erect a windmill at the Boroughloch one-half mile
to the South (drained in 1722, and called the Meadows ever
since), in order to pump water from the loch to a reservoir in
the Cowgate to supply their breweries.14 This windmill
alleviated the problem of the brewers running the town
wells dry, but the solution was short lived. In 1618, alarmed
by the falling level of the Boroughloch, the magistrates
forbade the Old Town breweries the further privilege of
using it as a water supply.11
Breweries had to bore their own wells to supply the
copious amounts of water that they required. By good
fortune, the wells of Cowgate, Holyrood and Canongate
tapped a bountiful aquifer.11 Dr. David Brown, Brewing
Director for Scottish & Newcastle, sitting in his office at the
old Morison's brewery on Horse Wynd, is a stone's throw
from Holyrood Palace. From this vantage he points out that
the fault line from Holyrood palace up to the city gave clean
pure water. Breweries literally ran up and down along the
fault. Because the 51 degrees F [10.5 degrees C] temperature
was an extreme constant, this also allowed for consistent
mashing-in before the thermometers were used. After
constant temperature, the purity and the softness of the
water were its important attributes. Soft water lends itself to
malty styles of beer, such as Edinburgh is famous for.15
Breweries would follow this geographic fault out of the Old
Town to Holyrood and Canongate to the east, thence to the
North Back of Calton Hill (since renamed Calton Road) and
later out along Fountainbridge and Slateford Road to the
southwest, to continue to profit by its bountiful supply.
In 1710, a broadsheet entitled The Brewers Farewell, to

the Magistrates, Heritors, Merchants and Crafts of Edinburgh

complained that taxation and restrictions made the Old

30

31

32

33

Town brewers unable to compete with the newer breweries

that had sprung up around Holyrood Palace, outside the city
walls. By the 1880s nearly 20 breweries and their maltings
clustered about the palace.
Holyrood, built by James the Fifth in the mid 16th
century, was the royal seat of the Stuarts. After the union of
the crowns in 1603 it was the summer palace of the English
kings. The St. Ann's brewery of Robert Younger Ltd. was
most immediately adjacent to Holyrood Palace, and which
in fact shared a common wall with the latter on its north
side. The area was "originally outwith . . . Edinburgh's taxes
and multures. So too with Canongate and Calton . . . separate
burghs. . . . In addition, an abundance of good wells.16 The
Abbey Brewery, which Barnard calls one of the most ancient
in Britain, with portions dating to 1600, was owned by John
Blair, a brewer to the palace.10 Other breweries within the
precincts of the palace were Croft-an-Righ (Gaelic for 'farm of
the King'), the Palace, Holyrood, St. Margaret's, Morison's, St.
Mary's, the Canongate.
The palace and the breweries were not always happy
neighbors. Queen Victoria, a periodic inhabitant of
Edinburgh as a result of her sojourns at Holyrood Palace, was
distinctly not amused by the smell and smoke emanating
from the surrounding breweries, and was not slow to make
her views known.17 Edinburgh's civic planning report, The
Abercrombie Plan of 1949, made plain that the city fathers
did not consider brewing part of the future of Edinburgh.
Regarding the cluster of breweries surrounding Holyrood, it
stated that there never was a case where greater conflict
between property use existed. . . . Royal Palaces and breweries
cannot be said by any stretch of the imagination to make
good neighbors. . . . A Royal Palace shrouded in a pall of
smoke, and the air permeated with factory processing,

34

is no fit place for a sovereign to dwell.17

Water was the key factor in the clusters of breweries
that developed in Edinburgh. The water determined the type
of beer that Edinburgh brewers produced; strong, malt
predominant beer, given a deep amber-to-brown color by the
malt used, by carmelization in the kettle and by the sheer
amount of malt employed. At the Playhouse Close Brewery,
Robert Disher brewed ten guinea ale in the early 19th
century, a very potent brew of about OG 1.100 (26 B),
famous as the Burgundy of Scotland.10 Bell's Brewery at the
foot of Pleasance, on the east Side of St. Leonard's Wynd,
brewed Black Cork, a strong Scotch ale that was one of
Edinburgh's most popular until Robert Kier died in 1837, and
took to his grave the secret method of brewing it.18
Edinburgh water was ideal for porter brewing as well,
and so the brewers there not only weathered the heyday of
porter, but made Scotch porter nearly as famous as that from
London. Furthermore, wells that gave hard water and were of
no use in the 18th and early 19th centuries would be put to
good use from the 1820s on, for the brewing of India ale. The
Croft-an-Righ Brewery had two interconnected wells, 200
feet deep, that gave 5,000 gallons per hour of hard water of
excellent quality, and produced excellent pale ales. The same
was true for breweries from Cowgate to Holyrood, and of the
breweries built after 1850 to the west and Southeast of the
Old Town.
By the early 1800s a line of breweries followed the
fault south, from John Miller's Potterrow Brewery below
Canongate and Bell's at the foot of Pleasance, to James
Anderson's (later Melvin's) 1575 Boroughloch, thence
southeast to the Summerhall Brewery and James Kerr's
Newington Brewery at Sciennes.14 A quarter mile to the north
of Holyrood Palace, Blair's Craighwell Brewery in Low
Calton, and Dryborough's, Bernards, Muir's and Carmichael's

35

breweries lined the North Back of Canongate at the base of

Calton Hill.18
William McEwan was the first of the Edinburgh
brewers to follow the fault past Grassmarket, building his
Fountain brewery and maltings a mile west of Cowgate at
Fountainbridge in 1856. It was a canny move, allowing him
to take advantage of the transportation opportunities
opened up by the new East-West rail line. A rail siding
allowed the brewery's products to be loaded directly onto
cars, cutting out the costs of intermediate shipment by
draywagon. Eleven more breweries would follow the fault
outward in the latter half of the 19th century; Lorimer &
Clark's Caledonian, John Jeffrey's Roseburn (Heriot), T. & J.
Bernard's Edinburgh, D. Bernard's Gorgie Breweries, Mackay's
St. Leonard's, Usher's Park, Murray's Craigmillar, Deuchar's
Duddingston, Paterson's Pentland, Maclachlan's Castle and

36

Raeburn's Craigmillar. New breweries stretched southeast

past the Salisbury Crags to Duddingston Loch.
There were 30 breweries already operating in
Edinburgh when Robert Clark, formerly the brewer at
Boroughloch, and George Lorimer established their
Caledonian Brewery on Slateford Road in 1869, extending the
charmed circle of breweries tapping the fault. The quality
of the well water at that point along the rail line determined
the brewery's siting. The fault gave good water, variously
hard or soft depending on the strata that the bore tapped, so
that brewers enjoyed the versatility of being able to brew the
soft Scotch and Scottish ales, or the sharper-edged India and
pale ales.
With three breweries still operating, and numerous
18th and 19th century brewery buildings still standing,
Edinburgh remains the brewing capital of Scotland.

ALLOA, THE BURTON OF SCOTLAND

Alloa's fame was built on the old dark strong Scotch
ale, and sweet and mild ales. By the 1890s Alloa breweries
were also brewing pale ale with hard water from the nearby
Ochils; like the Edinburgh brewers, those of Alloa prospered
in the late 19th century because access to hard water allowed
them to remain competitive with Allsop and Bass of Burton.
George Younger's was the first Alloa Publick Brewery,
in 1762. In 1764 he erected the Meadow Brewery. By 1890 their
Candleriggs Brewery, purchased from Robert Meiklejohn in
1871, was the biggest brewery outside of Edinburgh, with two
150-barrel coppers, one 90and one 45.8 Although George
Younger of Alloa and William Younger of Edinburgh were
not related, in the 19th century the two families' brewing
legacies would eventually be united when William
Younger's Brewery and William McEwan's Brewery were

37

united as Scottish & Newcastle in 1960. This merging has its

roots in the marriage of George Younger's son James
marrying Janet McEwan; their son George Viscount Younger,
took over the Meadow Brewery at the age of 17 upon his
father's death in 1868. His brother William Younger went
into the employ of their uncle William McEwan in 1874, and
succeeded McEwan upon his death in 1886.19
Alloa was ideally sited as a transportation hub. Eight
breweries existed in 1845, brewing 80,000 barrels of ale.8
What was not consumed locally was carted north and west,
to Stirling and beyond, or was exported from the Alloa docks.
George Younger was already exporting in the 1850s,
principally Demerara, a very strong ale that was matured in
barrels before being bottled in stone bottles and shipped to
the West Indies.11 The bottled trade would be a major
component of the Candlerigg's business in the late 1800s;19 in
fact, the export market was always a major outlet for the
Alloa breweries. Other Alloa breweries of the 19th century in
addition to Younger's were Blair & Company's Townhead,
Calder's Shore, Maclay's Thistle, Henderson's Mills, Syme's
Hutton Park, Knox's Forth Brewery at Cambus, Meikeljohn's
Bass Crest Breweries (originally known as the Grange), and
Arrol's Alloa Brewery.
Syme's brewery closed in the 19th century. The Shore
Brewery stopped brewing in 1921, when all but o one of its
wells were contaminated by the collapse of the Forthbank
Pit. Allsop's of Burton took over Arrol's Alloa brewery in 1920
and began lager brewing there in 1921. Bass of Burton took
over Meikeljohn's in 1918 and stopped brewing there in the
following year. The Mills Brewery discontinued brewing in
1941. The Forth Brewery was bought out in 1954 by Blair's for
its tied houses, and the brewery was closed shortly thereafter.

38

Blair & Company's Townhead Brewery was closed up in 1959

as part of a buyout by George Younger's. Only the Alloa
Brewery and the classic Thistle Brewery still survive. 8

39

40

2
Scotch Ale
Scotch Ale is a strong 6 to 10 percent alcohol by
volume (4.8 to 8 percent alcohol by weight), sweet and very
full bodied ale of 1.070 to 1.130 OG (17 to 34 B), with malt and
roast malt flavors predominating, of deep burnished-copper
to brown color. Scottish Ale refers to ordinary Scottish ales,
60 shilling ale, 70 shilling ale and 80 shilling ale, ranging from
1.030 to 1.050 OG (5.7 to 12.8 B), softly malty to slightly
roasty, of burnished-copper to brown color.
Scots brewers did not share much of English practice.
An examination of Scotch Ale is necessarily as much a
dissection of process as it is an analysis of the product. Thanks
to W. H. Roberts' timely preservation of early 19th-century
Scottish methods and his numerous references to previous
practices, we know a great deal about how Scottish brewers
brewed. Quoting liberally from The Scottish Ale Brewer and
Practical Maltster, we can reconstruct typical Scottish
practice.
Scottish practice was not only dissimilar from
English methods in many respects, but strikingly similar to
continental lager technique. David Johnstone, head brewer
for Tennent's of Glasgow, credits Roberts for his observations

41

that the methods of continental lager production and

Scotch ale production were virtually identical.6 He summarizes Roberts' exposition of the techniques used by the
Scots. (These methods were unique in the British Isles,
deriving from the need to produce a keeping beer for the
booming export trade). Johnstone's summary:
1.
The use of Sparging as opposed to the English
technique of double mashing.
2.
Boiling for one to 1 1/2 hours instead of three, to avoid
spoiling the delicate aroma.
3.
Low temperature fermentations (50 degrees F [10
degrees C]) lasting up to three weeks as compared to the
English high temperatures (70 degrees F (21 degrees C])
fermentation of less than a week.
4.
Storage in cold cellars for up to six months (lagering)
5.
The practice of skimming was rarely carried out
which would almost certainly result in a yeast strain with a
tendency to bottom fermentation.
6.
Brewing and fermenting in the winter months to
facilitate cooling.
7.
The use of pure, soft water.6
Roberts recorded that it is not uncommon in
Scotland for brewers to have their gyles in the tun for
twenty-one days, whilst in England, so long a period even as
six days is considered of rare occurrence.4 Regarding India
beers, he wrote that the difference between the
management of these beers at this stage, and that of ales made
on the Scottish system [is that the Scottish ales are]
conducted by a slow fermentation, whereas the India beers
are carried through by a remarkably vigorous one, so much
so, that the time the worts are in the fermenting tun, seldom
exceeds 24 to 30 hours, and at an increase of temperature of
about seven degrees. . . . The pitching heat varies in different
establishments from 58 degrees to 60 degrees . . . with two

42

pounds of yeast per barrel . . . from November to March.4

Scots pitched their worts in the vicinity of 50 degrees F (10
degrees C), with fermentation temperatures seldom rising
above 65 degrees F (18 degrees C) or so.
Other factors also contributed to the distinctive
character of Scotch ales, as Scottish & Newcastle's technical
director Dr. David Brown points out. Keep in mind that this
is oversimplified, but the use of roast barley, and residual
sweetness, determines more what makes a Scotch ale than
does the yeast. The maltiness is from use of malt, not
adjuncts. Traditional Scots malts were darker than English
malts as well. We use a lot of malt, and up to two or three
percent highly roasted barley, of 1200 EBC (500 SRM). The
maltiness is not from crystal. Roast barley accounts for flavor,
rather than caramel malt as the English do. This is by a
tradition that has stood for hundreds of years, rich and sweet
beers.
Another difference is that we don't prime our beers.
Scottish ales are sweet not from primings, but from residual
sweetness left in the beer by stopping fermentation, by using
very sedimentary yeast that respond to temperature change.
The yeasts are highly flocculant and only low attenuating.
Low temperature fermentations produced low ester levels,
another common attribute of Scottish ales. In modern
practice, oxygen levels in the wort are controlled to provide
the yeast just what they need for growth, to reduce the
production of esters. Scottish yeasts produce very little amyl
acetate [the banana ester], it's usually just above threshold.
The lower growth also maximizes alcohol production. These
are some of the things that are key to brewing Scottish ales.15
Modern Scottish brewers temper fermentation temperatures and drop the yeast out early to replicate past
practices, which were undoubtedly predicated by the low
prevailing temperatures. It is an unusually warm day in

43

Scotland when the average temperature rises above 50

degrees F (10 degrees C) between October and May. Modern
brewers continue to ferment only to about one third gravity.
Russell Sharp of the Caledonia Brewery points out that
although the hop flavor is not generally evident in Scottish
ales, hop bitterness plays an important supporting role, by
masking this residual sweetness in Scotch and Scottish ales.
A taste of a Wee Heavy bears all this out. It is much
like the flavor of a fine Scotch whiskey, moderately watered:
malty. Scots whiskey is heady and fragrant, unlike corn and
grain whiskeys. Single malts are sometimes slightly buttery
and their alcohols are very aromatic, generally of an ethanol
nature, with propanol forming part of their character. So
with Scotch ale. The alcohol counterbalances and softens the
sweet maltiness. The faint contribution of aldehydes formed
from alcohols during aging contributes to a rich blend of
flavors, so subtle that it is difficult to dissect them. Scotch and
Scottish ales require extensive cellaring at cold temperatures,
as was traditionally universal practice among Scottish
brewers, for their flavor to develop. Scotch ales are invariably
rich (even to the point of being syrupy) and mouth-filling.
They are soft as well. Scotch ales show less acidity than is
usual for beer; a sampling of Scotch ales gave a pH range of 4
to 4.75, whereas Scottish ales measured between 3.75 and 3.9,
which is within the more usual range for beer.
There is a standard of color for the ales of Scotland. Dr.
David Brown cites a color of 25 to 28 EBC (approximately 12
SRM) as usual for modern Scottish ales. George Insill
considers 25 EBC to be traditional as well, but notes that
many ales were even darker. Before the 1950s, Scots miners
wouldn't drink a beer that wasn't of a full brown color.
Customers demanded a color of 30 to 40 EBC
(approximately 15 to 20 SRM), and they got it. Roast barley

44

was used for color control; it also gave the characteristic bite
to the flavor. It was good for heading, and didn't cause the
infection and other problems that late addition of color
additives did. Darker beers have always been the norm for
primitive breweries, because lack of control alone, or what
would be considered sloppy brewing by modern standards,
will give a color of 18 to 20 EBC. In Scotland, however, darker
color is the tradition.15
With a look at ingredients and a further examination
of process, we have enough information about Scottish and
Scotch ales to not only brew in the style of this century, but
to brew ales very similar to those that were famous worldover in the last century.

45

46

3
Water
In the vicinity of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh,
some eminent brewers are to be found, who assert, that the
excellence of their ale depends upon the water found within
their premises; and further, that the water at a higher
elevation is not capable of producing ale of equal quality.4
From high atop the basalt cliffs of the Edinburgh
castle mound, one looks down into a city seemingly
preserved in 19th-century garb. Princes Street and the New
Town to the north has its 20th century facades, but even
more of the architecture is of the 1800s. In the ravine to the
South, Westport, Grassmarket and Cowgate wind toward
Holyrood Palace amidst a medieval-looking jumble of
buildings abutting narrow lanes (Candlemakers Row, Old
Fishmarket Close, Horse Wynd). Below Calton Hill, rows of
old brewery and malting buildings march toward Holyrood.
Just beyond, the Salisbury Crags jut upward to Arthur's Seat,
with Duddingston Loch just beyond. From any of the hills, it
is obvious that Edinburgh is built along a geological fault, the
lines of which run outward from Holyrood Palace through
the city. One fault runs southwest through Cowgate, past
Westport, and on to Fountainbridge and Gorgie, another

47

west and north around Calton Hill, and a third south beneath
Salisbury Crags to St. Leonard's, before broadening out at
Duddingston and Craigmillar. The faults give access to a huge
subterranean aquifer.
John Jeffrey's well book records the strata of an 1875
hole bored to deepen an existing well: From hard and soft
white sandstone at 391 feet (119 meters), through thin strata
of hard red sandstone, layered with red fireclay at 415 feet
(127 meters), to the bottom of the bore at 500 feet (152
meters). Whereas clay and dense rock cap many an aquifer,
white sandstone is nature's water filter; it produces clean and
generally soft water. Another well was bored through
fireclay and fakes with limestone ribs as part of a
cementstone group to 245 feet (75 meters), then Upper Old
Red Sandstone from 985 feet to 1104 feet (300 to 337 meters).
Lime and cementstone give water of varying degrees of
carbonate character.20
Dr. Stephen Cribb observes in his article Beer and
Rocks that Edinburgh lies in the center of a heavily faulted,
generally north-dipping pile of Lower Carboniferous and
Upper Old Red Sandstone strata. The juxtaposition of
different rock types has meant that individual breweries
have always had access to differing sources of water. Even
boreholes in close proximity could produce waters of vastly
different analyses. Thus the Edinburgh brewers have always
blended waters to produce their characteristically wide range
of beers, from milds to bitters and beyond.21
The soft and malty style of Scotch and Scottish ales
was in large part predicated by the softness of the water. The
right water is a prerequisite of the style; the water should not
give a bitter edge. Not even all the Edinburgh brewers had the
right water.8 Up until the mid 19th century, a well that gave
hard water would have been considered poor by a Scottish
brewer. It would not make a passable Scots ale.

48

When the market shifted to India ales later in the

19th century, hard water was absolutely required for its
flavor and contribution to the beer's stability. The same hardwater bores that may have been written off as a loss in 1815
became prized assets by 1850, for the brewing of India ale.
Edinburgh's brewers were thus blessed with the versatility
that the city's geological underpinnings provided. Many
breweries found hard and soft water side by side, at differing
depths. Alloa had access to hard water as well. These two
brewing centers were able to capitalize upon changing
markets by using one or another well, or a blend of water
from both. The success of the Alloa and Edinburgh
breweries was apparently due to the availability of varying
water types which allowed brewing of different beers,
depending upon which strata water was drawn fromas for
Alloa, which brewed lagers from a well 700 feet (213 meters)
deep, and ales from a shallow well.8
Before the mineral character of water was recognized
as being an important commercial consideration, brewers
valued water sources for two reasons: for freedom from
organic contamination and for constant temperature. The
first is not hard for us to understand, but the second is a bit
more obscure, until one reflects upon the challenges faced by
brewers before the invention of the thermometer. A constant
temperature water supply meant that the number of
variables affecting mash temperature was reduced. By
keeping volumes and times the same, the constanttemperature water gave brewers repeatability. Edinburgh's
well water gave forth at a very constant 51 degrees F (10.6
degrees C]. Over time, one hundred breweries would tap this
source for its purity and consistent temperature.
Water from the aquifer beneath Edinburgh is consistent enough that its mineral nature is relatively the same
from year to year, and is much as it was in past centuries. A

49

representative sampling of water records from notebooks,

analyses and well records preserved by the Scottish Brewing
Archives gives a very detailed picture of the nature of the
waters. Aitchinson's Brewery well (at St. John and Holyrood)
was 233 feet 10 inches (71 meters) deep, gave 1,980 gallons per
hour (75 hectoliters per hour) of water, at a hardness of 399
milligrams per liter as calcium carbonate (CaCO3). John
Jeffrey's Heriot Brewery in Grassmarket had wells 118 feet (36
meters) and 986 feet (300 meters) deep, that gave 3,600
gallons per hour (136 hectoliters per hour) of water with a
total hardness of 266 milligrams per liter, and permanent
hardness of 112 milligrams per liter. It is interesting to note
that this source was so valuable that they continued to
pump from this bore to their newer Heriot Brewery in
Roseburn into this century.6 The Holyrood Brewery used
wells of 20 feet (6 meters) and 110 feet (34 meters) until 1868,
and wells of 145 feet (44 meters) and 119 feet (36 meters) until
1986. During this time, the wells were never contaminated.
Andrew Smith, who with his father became a partner
of William Younger & Company in 1834, thereafter kept a
notebook about brewing, and about other breweries. He
observed that Jeffrey's Heriot Brewery in Grassmarket bored
deep 1856 and 1858made a capital export ale . . . one day in
our brewery he attributed the keeping of their export aleto
the hard quality of their waterand no surface water being
in their spring . . . he said he bottled his strong ale two to three
months oldand never had breakage.16 Another brewery in
Grassmarket had a well that gave 1,400 gallons per hour (53
hectoliters per hour) of 271 milligrams per liter total hardness,
and 183 milligrams per liter of permanent hardness. W. J.
Mitchell's 1951 notes on Morningside Bore Water" give 309
milligrams per liter total dissolved solids, 220 milligrams per
liter temporary hardness. The breakdown is 135 mg/L CaCO3,

50

79 mg/L MgCO3, 24 mg/L MgSO4, 24 mg/L MgCl2, and 8

mg/LNaCl.16
Russell Sharp states that Scottish hard water wells
produced good hop-accented ales; the water was hard, but
not hard as in the sense of Burton water. Still, it makes good
pale ales.15 (Burton water measured 1,370 parts per million of
calcium sulfate at one brewery, with less magnesium
sulfate.)4
Hard water has been pigeonholed as being of 9001200 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids, high in
calcium and sulfate, with some sodium and chloride. 3 Hard
Edinburgh water fits these limits nicely. A 1908 analysis of
the water from a well at Bell's Brewery shows 92.1 mg/L TDS,
composed of 269 mg/L CaCO3, 116 mg/L MgCO3, 190 mg/ L
MgSO4, and 104 mg/L NaCl (hardness as CaCO3, 500 mg/ L).16
Such water will yield excellent pale ales, but not quite of the
Burton India Ale character. The chemist recommended
addition of 500 to 570 mg/L CaSO4 for pale bitter ales
(increasing the hardness by 290-330 mg/L), and for increased
stability . . . to add a further two ounces of gypsum to every
barrel of wort in the copper (345 mg/L, 200 mg/L hardness as
CaCO3, for a sum total of about 1,000 mg/ L hardness]. This is
a procedure which ew [sic] have proved after long experience
to give very clean worts, and it also increases the
precipitation of those objectionable proteins which are one
of the principle causes of instability.16
It was recommended that 40 percent of the gypsum
be added after the mash, because hard water will not have
such free access to the malt as soft. The farina, therefore, will
not be so effectually dissolved, and much of the saccharum
[sugar], as well as of the flavor, will be left in the grains . . .
although it has been asserted by some brewers, that by using
hard water the ale is prevented from fretting, and it is, at the
same time, preserved.4

51

Robert Wallace of the Bass Crest Brewery in Alloa in

1873 listed Substances of value for different classes of Beer
as being Black Beers: Carbonates of Potash and Soda not less
than five and not exceeding 40 grains per gallon [70-570
milligrams per liter], Pale Ales: Sulphates of lime, magnesia,
potash and Soda. Carbonates of lime, magnesia, potash and
Soda. Chlorides of Calcium, magnesium, potassium and
Sodium. (The total mineral matter in the water should not be
less than 30 grains per gallon [425 milligrams per liter]).16 He
also gave an analysis of five waters, three of which he
considered appropriate for brewing particular styles of ale.
He considered the second very good for mild ales, the third
exceptional for pale ales, and both as promoting good
keeping qualities. He states that the fourth provides great
character and weight to black beers:16

CaSO4
CaCl
CaCO3
MgSO4
MgCl2
MgCO3
NaSO4
NaCl
NaCO3
KSO4
KCl
KCO3
(Hardness

2
288 mg/L
151
65
51
4
439

3
365 mg/L
144
644
18
52
36
4
727

4
21 mg/L
40
9
5
21
123
207
36
62 as CaCO3)

The 1870 well water analysis of an unidentified brewery (number 1 below) compared it to (2) town liquor and (3)
the brewery's well water after treatment with 24 pounds

52

(10.9 kilograms) of sodium bisulphate and seven pounds (3.2

kilograms) of calcium chloride (presumably as dihydrate) per
200 barrels (235 hectoliters) of liquor (330mg/L NaHSO4, 97
mg/L CaCl):
1. Well
Total Hardness
Alkalinity
Calcium
Sodium
Magnesium
Sulphates
Chlorides
pH

300 mg/L
240
106
22
12
90
42
7.3

2. Town
40 mg/
30
12
7
10
15
7.1

3. Treated
Well Water
[363 mg/L]
40
131
356
87
7.2

If town water were to be used for brewing, additions

of 27 pounds of gypsum and 13 pounds of calcium chloride
per 200 barrels of liquor were recommended.
Pollution of a well spelled disaster for a brewery.
Ground-water contamination meant algae growth, off flavors and probable contamination in the brewery. Andrew
Smith noted that Melvins [Boroughloch] . . . Aitchinson
[South Back of Canongate] . . . [were] not good, foxed.16 Fox"
was the term for as-yet-unidentified algae and mold.
The urban Edinburgh breweries also faced
geological pollution. Problems had arisen with the water
supply to the Craighwell Brewery in the early 20th century.
Increased domestic and industrial usage resulted in the water
table sinking, and pollution creeping in.16 Dr. Brown of
Scottish & Newcastle explains that when water touches
shale, it foulsas happened in town. The water was very soft
and pure; brewers had to add gypsum in the tuns. The water
is now all contaminated. Breweries followed the fault out to

53

Slateford Road to get away from the polluted wells, as well as

to avail themselves of rail sidings for shipment, and still have
a steady supply of 51 degrees F [10.6 degrees C] water, without
the shale contamination.15 The shale contamination
followed anyway. Water flowing through slate or shale
leaches out iron and manganese and therefore is unfit for
brewing. As the city extended, the aquifer was further
depleted, so that by the mid 20th century, the 223 feet (68
meters) deep well at the Caledonian Brewery on Slateford
Road was retired when the shale bank shifted there.
Andrew Smith, in an assessment of his competitor's
water supplies, also records a disaster that struck several
breweries in the late 1850s: We always thought that the
Abbey Brewery [at this time their main brewery] water most
suitable for ales, as also Craigend . . . Croft-an-Righ [that had
been Robert Younger's St. Ann's, before Steel Coulson & Co.]
we thought was much in the same strata . . . we had put a well
down . . . but the gas came in and spoiled it. Furthermore,
Bernards . . . water still continued to bubble in boiling. . . .
The Gas Works situated on the North Back of Canongate was
held responsible for polluting the water supply in the
vicinity.16
We have, then, a good record of the types of water
used by Scottish brewers for their own ales, as well as the
wellwater and treatments used for brewing India ales for
comparison. There is more to brewing beer than using the
best-suited water, however. To quote Andrew Smith again,
Taylor, Anderson & Co. . . . Mr. Thompson our brewer
always spoke highly of their fine water and abundant supply,
and he thought that if they only put in the malt they would
be dangerous opponents.16

54

4
Malt
JOHN BARLEYCORN, A BALLAD
There were three kings into the East,
Three kings both great and high;
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn should die.
They took a plough and plough'd
Put clods upon his head;
And they haesworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn was dead.
But the cheerful spring came kindly on,
And showers began to fall;
John Barleycorn got up again,
And sore surprised them all.
The sultry suns of summer came,
And he grew thick and strong,
His head weel arm'd wi' pointed spears,
That no one should him wrong.

55

The sober autumn enter'd mild,

When he grew wan and pale;
His bending joints and drooping head
Show'd he begun to fail.
His color sicken'd more and more,
He faded into age;
And his enemies began
To show their deadly rage.
They've taen a weapon, long and sharp,
And cut him by the knee;
Then tied him fast upon a cart,
Like a rogue for forgerie.
They laid him down upon his back,
And cudgell'd him full sore;
They hung him up before the storm,
And turned him O'er and o'er.
They filled up a darksome pit
With water to the brim;
They heaved in John Barleycorn
There let him sink or swim.
They laid him out upon the floor,
To work him farther woe;
And still, as signs of life appear'd,
They toss'd him to and fro.
They wasted, o'er a scorching flame
The marrow of his bones;
But a miller used him worst of all,
For he crushed him between two stones.

56

And they hae ta'en his very heart's blood,

And drank it round and round;
And still the more and more they drank,
Their joy did more abound.
John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
Of noble enterprise;
For if you do but taste his blood,
T'will make your courage rise.
T'will make a man forget his woe;
T'will heighten all his joy:
T'will make the widow's heart to sing,
Though the tear were in her eye.
Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
Each man a glass in hand;
And may his great posterity
Ne'er failin old Scotland!
Rabbie Burns, 17872
These well-known lines by Scotland's most renowned
poet (and ale drinker) are obviously an account of the
making of malt, from sowing the barley seed, to crushing it
for the mash. As a farmer and then an excise officer at a time
when ale taxes were levied upon the malt, Burns was
undoubtedly well versed in the process of converting barley
to the ale he consumed so prodigiously.11
In Burns' time, Scotland-grown barley was just emerging from obscurity on its way to becoming the most highly
valued of barley for malt. At the start of the century Scottish
malt sold for one-third the price of English malt, and was
considered inferior to it until at least mid-century. Two

57

main types of barley were used. . . . The first and most

significant was common barley, generally grown in most of
southern Scotland. . . . The second was generally known in
the southern Lowlands as 'bear,' and . . . in the north as 'bigg'
or 'big' . . . the far hardier of the two . . . Scottish grains were
generally inferior to English. . . . On these supplies the
Scottish brewing industry primarily relied.11 Bear and bigg
were smaller than even common barley, were lighter in
weight and had a heavier husk.4
The agricultural revolution of the early 18th century
led to the sowing of better seed, on ground that was better
cultivated. By the 1840s, Roberts would comment that
during the last half-century, Scotland has so ably cultivated
barley, that she now supplies some of the finest in the
market,4 Ian Donnachie States that East Lothian . . . and the
East Neuk of Fife grew the finest malting barley anywhere in
Scotland. . . . William Berwick . . . Said it was five percent
better than any in Scotland and in good years a lot more. By
1805 it was preferred by most brewers and distillers to
English kinds.11
After 1820, Chevalier malt, developed by genetic
breeding for uniform plumpness and a greater yield, would
make up most of the lowland harvest.3 Like most breweries,
Andrew Smith's was using it in 1838, valuing it more highly
than the English common barley that had commanded such
a greater price a century before.16 The Chevalier barley has
become a great favorite for malting, and justly so . . . it is the
best calculated for the maltster, as well as for the brewer.11
Chevalier had a thinner husk, needed 20 percent less steeping
time, and gave at least 2 percent more goods than did the
older Scots barley. From the 1850s onward, Scots barley was
unrivalled by imports. It was of low nitrogen, had a plump
pickle (kernel), and gave excellent extracts. From a bushel
of the best malt weighing forty pounds, twenty-six

58

nay even thirtypounds of ferment-able matter, or

saccharum, may be extracted [65 to 75 percent extract; while
from the same quantity of a different kind, twenty pounds
are the most [50 percent].4 Robert B. Wallace's (Bass Crest,
Alloa) notebook gives yields of 223 to 241 pounds per quarter
of malt (336 pounds), roughly averaging 70 percent extract.
As a rule Well Malted Barley yields in available Extract 75
percent of its Weight in Malt . . . 240 pounds per quarter.16
Such yields may seem exaggerated to present-day
brewers, but the facts are that improved malting varieties
have not so much increased yield to the brewer as they have
to the farmer and the maltster. From a brewer's point of view,
barley and malt quality have not gotten better, just cheaper.
Roberts' accounts do reveal that not all malt gave such good
extract; one brew yielded 61.4 percent extract, and he found
extracts of 71 percent to be rare.4
Brewers preferred Scottish barley. My wife's uncle,
Jack Horne, who worked for George Insill in Younger's
maltings, expresses nothing but disdain for imported barley,
conceding only that East Anglian was at least better than
North African. Russell Sharp concurs, and believes that Scots
malt is part of the flavor profile of Scots ales: Scottish malts
tend to be Scottish barley, which does taste different than
English barley. It's there in the taste of the beer.15
Although Scottish brewers may have preferred
Scottish malt, in fact they have used barley from around the
world for over 150 years. The ships that sailed with Scotch ale
on board returned to port with holds full of barley. Maclays
bought barley from Oregon, California, Tripoli, Hungary,
Moldavia, Smyrna and Cyprus as well as Scottish and English
barley.8 George Insill remembers that prior to 1900,
imported malting barley came mainly from New Zealand,
Algeria, Smyrna, Morocco and the . . . 'barley basket' of the

59

Danube region. Between the world wars roughly 40 percent

of the malting barley was from the British Isles, the balance
was largely European. In the 1950s, California came to
dominate the barley market, and Chile and Australia became
significant exporters. Barley was purchased if it met malting
standards, without regard to origin. The imported barley was
usually higher in nitrogen, averaging two percent. Before
World War II, imported barley commonly gave 2.2 percent
nitrogen. Scottish barley averaged 1.3 to 1.4 percent, so that a
median nitrogen for the mix of malts going into the mash
tun came to about 1.7 percent.15
Dr. Brown points out that the high-nitrogen barley
had a great influence upon the acceptance of adjuncts, their
heavy-handed use over the first half of the 20th century, and
their continued acceptance today. George Insill concurs that
this was also the period of greatest adjunct use, 35 to 40
percent not being uncommon. Younger's switched from the
sugars they had relied on previously to roughly 40 percent
white maize, while McEwan's kept about 10 percent sugar in
their formulations, with up to 30 percent white maize.15
Sugar and saccharine syrups had been used in commercial
Scottish brewing since at least the time of browsters peddling
treacle ale, and were more heavily relied upon when
economics and barley shortages dictated.
At least until the late 19th century, each of the
Edinburgh breweries had their own maltings. Many
breweries, and all of the larger ones, had several. 11 Control of
malting gave them versatility. Brewers in Scotland malt
their own barley, which gives them the advantage [of
malting it into such malt as they judge suitable for their
purposes.4 Slack barley, or that which floated in the steep,
could be roasted and made use of, so that operating their own
maltings gave the brewers better economy as well as control
of quality. The maltster who manufactures for sale, is

60

interested in allowing the acrospire to grow to a greater

extent, than the maltster who makes for his own
consumption . . . because, by such means, he can obtain a
greater increase [in size], and consequently, a greater profit ...4
The malting season went from October to June,
generally for 38 weeks a year. Many of the laborers at the
maltings worked the fields in the summer, returning in late
fall to begin drying barley for another season's maltings.
Malting was hot, hard work; the laborers recourse was the
mawkie, a break for beer when work got too hot or too
hard.22 Each malting took from 20 to 22 days [in England] . .
. and in Scotland 24 to 26 days.4
Barley had to be prepared for malting before it could
be used. This process varied with its origin and condition.
Barley that had been sun-dried to below 10 percent moisture
content was the least troublesome, and gave the best
percentage of germination. Younger's often bought barley
fresh from the field at 20 to 25 percent moisture content and
the kilns of the maltings under George Insill's direction spent
up to seven weeks each season drying barley. It had to be
dried gently, without exceeding 110 degrees F (43 degrees C),
so that the germ wouldn't be killed. Barley from abroad was
usually adequately dried already (to 12 percent), but came
out of the ships' holds choked with CO2 and had to be more
vigorously aerated in the steeps.
Steeping was the next step in malting barley after
drying. The barley and water in the steeps needed to be at a
temperature of roughly 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) for the
barley to absorb water evenly during the 60 to 75 hours that
the kernels were soaked; well water was the ideal
temperature. The water needed to be free from organic
contamination as well, so that the malt wouldn't be spoiled.
From the steeps the malt was laid into a couch for a 24 to
36 hours, to shed excess water, before it was floored. The

61

breweries all had traditional floor maltings; several of them

continued in production into the 1960s. The pieces were
floored at 10 to 16 inches (25 to 40 centimeters) deep, or less if
temperatures were high. They were turned after 24 hours,
when the malt began to sweat. Temperatures were held at
50 degrees F (10 degrees C) by repeated turning. Malt would
lie on the floor for eight to 14 days, depending on the barley
type and the temperature, before it went to the kiln to be
dried.4 The Scottish malts were sprouted more slowly because
they sprouted in a lower ambient temperature.
English malts today are germinated much as were
Scottish malts in the last century. Some allow the roots to
get to seven-eighths of an inch (2.2 centimeters) long; others
never wish to see them above half that length. . . . The latter
method seems preferable . . . the process of malting is brought
to a conclusion sometime before the stem has...burst the
husk.4 After germination, the malt was repeatedly turned to
aerate it. This mellowed the malt before kilning.
A malt kiln was a room, the floor of which is in
general now laid with iron plates, perforated with small
holes. . . . Under the floor of this room is a moveable fireplace,
in which a fire is made, when required, of coke, charcoal,
culm, or wood.4 Soon after 1840, double-floored kilns
became common.
First the sprouting kernels went to the upper floor to
be dried. The kernels were spread perfectly level to a depth of
up to eight inches (20 centimeters) (the thinner, the better for
quality, if not economy) and dried with a gentle heat, being
turned four to five times a day. Next the temperature would
be raised to not exceeding 158 degrees F (70 degrees C) to
complete the drying. This took two and a half to three days.
The malt was then was dropped to the lower floor. The
greater heat at this level would cure the malt in about two
days; the palest malts took only one to one and a half

62

days to cure.11 For high-protein malts, especially from

barley, temperatures of 195 to 205 grees F (91 to 96 degrees C)
were necessary, George Insill reports, to break down
proteins. This was the rule from h mid-19th century until
World War II. The extensive kilning caused sugars to
amalgamate and gave a higher color. In the latter days of
floor malting, higher temperatures and shorter times
prevailed. For paler beers, the malt was very thoroughly dried
at lower temperatures to prevent color formation, then it was
finished off at 193 to 195 degrees F (89 to 91 degrees C) to
below two percent moisture content.15
Pale malt only came within the technological
abilities of the maltsters when coke became widely available
in the late 17th century. Coke is reckoned, by most, to
exceed all others [Welch coal, straw, wood, peat, fern] for
making malt of the finest flavor, and of a pale color, because
it sends forth no smoke to affect it . . .11, 23

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Most kilns did not employ indirect heating, which

gave the palest and cleanest-flavored malts, until at least the
18th century. Very dark-roasted malts were also beyond the
capabilities of the wooden kilns because of the intense heat
required, and could not be turned by hand on iron floors
quickly enough to prevent them fusing into a burned mass.
The palest malts possible were no lighter than amber until
the late 18th century, and the darkest no darker than brown
until the cylindrical drum roaster appeared in 1817. 3 Even
after that, amber and brown malts remained common,
although it was the universal practice of the brewers in
Scotland to use only the palest malts for their finer ales.4 Pale
Scots malt then was darker than English pale is now; Roger
Martin of Baird's Station Maltings in Essex gives 6 to 8 EBC (3
to 4 SRM) for Scottish pale, as opposed to 4 to 6 EBC (2 to 3
SRM) for today's English pale.
Roberts recorded that there are several kinds of malt
used by brewers; viz, the pale, the coloured, crystallized
brown and blackthe last three named are chiefly used by
brewers of porter and stout.4 By the late 1830s, brewers and
maltsters were aware that paler malts gave better extract
than high-dried malts and theorized that more of the starch
was reduced to saccharum. Pale malt does not require the
finishing-off heat to exceed 140 degrees F [60 degrees C],
whereas that of the amber would require it to be 10 or 15
degrees higher, if the heat be judiciously applied; brown
again still higher by 15 to 20 degrees F [8 to 11 degrees C], while
to that of the black malt, the heat must be raised to such a
degree as will bring it to the colour required. . . . The best
method of preparing them [brown and black] is with a very
slow fire, until they are about two-thirds dry; the kiln is then
shifted, and the malt allowed to remain for several hours in a
heap to mellow . . . and on the following morning should be
returned to it. The depth should not exceed two

64

65

inches. The fire at this time should be very brisk, and

made of wood. The desired object is to snap and char the
grain, and this the brisk fire will effect.4 Brown malt was
often called snap malt, because the kernels were exploded,
it gave up its starch very readily.
Until the 1850s, slack and questionable barley were
roasted without being malted. I surmise that the part that
roast barley plays in the flavor of Scottish ales may have as
much to do with legendary Scottish frugality as it does with
any other design. However that may be, roast barley flavor is
one of the important qualities of Scottish ales. It seems to
gives them the same elusive, malty character that decoction
mashing of undermodified malt brings out in continental
lagers.
Although peat undoubtedly was used at times as a
fuel, only one brewery in memory brewed a beer with a peat
reek (the smoky flavor, valued in whiskeys). Russell Sharp
and Charles McMaster fondly remember Edinburgh's
Maclachlan's pale brew that was available into the 1960s. Mr.
Sharp recalls its high final gravity and low hop rate, and that
its light color belied its rich flavor. Like peated distilling malt,
the malt for this beer was kilned slowly over a low heat, to a
light color. Paradoxically, it was the largest-selling beer in
Glasgow, where mild lagers outsell fuller-flavored ales!
George Insill pointed out the changes in malting over
recent years. The floor maltings are gone; Scottish &
Newcastle's Slateford Maltings, closed in 1986, was the last of
the large-scale traditional floor maltings in Scotland. Its six
malting floors, yielding 60 quarters per floor per week, with
a maximum yield of 4,060 metric tons per year, sit idle and
decaying. Since the energy crisis of the early 1970s, malting
and brewing practices have been changed in the name of fuel
conservation. Malts are presently dried to only 3 to 5 percent
moisture content, and worts are boiled for a shorter time,
which consequently gives wort of a paler color.

66

Nevertheless, Scottish ales remain among the world's most

definitively malty beers.
Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
Each man a glass in hand;
And may his great posterity
Ne'er failin old Scotland!

67

68

5
Hops and Bittering
Malt, water and yeast have always been basic and
necessary components of beer. Bittering substances, to
counterbalance the sweetness of malt, have a briefer history.
Hops, which we tend to think of as the fourth necessity in
beer, are actually only one of the most recent bittering
substances to be used in brewing.
Hops were unknown in Britain until 1584, when
Flemish immigrants settled in the southern English county
of Kent. They used hops to flavor their beer in the low
country, and brought the vine with them. Hops were not
quickly accepted by Britons; numerous contemporary
accounts vilify the foreign weed. For a time after their
introduction, beer brewed with hops was called beer, to
distinguish it from unhopped ale. Hops were even later
gaining acceptance in Scotland than in England. They could
not be cultivated within the short, cool growing season so far
north. Consequently, hops were expensive, and moreover
were English, an attribute not likely to endear them to the
Scots during this period of animosity between the nominally
united kingdoms. Hops did not become widely accepted in
Scotland until the early 18th century.

69

Scottish ales have never been remarkable for their

bitterness. Nevertheless bittering substances were used to
flavor Scots ales long before the hop came to England's
shores. Sweetness was balanced by herbs and spices often
mixed in secret recipes called groot, or grout. Most of the
flavorings, especially before the period of colonial trade, were
from native flora. The following is a list of bittering
Substances that Scottish brewers are known to have used:
Bog myrtle (Myrica gale) was accounted to cause rapid
drunkeness.17
Broom, also known as gorse or whim, an intensely bitter
common shrub, was boiled with the wort. Broom was
the most important of the medieval Scottish
bittering agents.
Dandelion roots and orange peel, in a warmed spiced ale that
was popular in Glasgow up to the early 19th century.5
Darnel, a weed that grows amidst wheat, was commonly used
in medieval Scottish brewing, and was reputed to
increase intoxication.17
Ginger was used after the mid 18th century, in combination
with a certain culture of a yeast and a lactobacillus
which was called a fungus. Ginger is a mild
stimulant.
Juniper, also called gorse, or furze, is a spiny evergreen, the
berries of which give the warm and pungent flavor
usually associated with gin and schnapps. Juniper
berries were added late in the boil, or hung in the
ferment.5
Licorice, or its extract Spanish licorice has a sweet, astringent
taste which increases thirst the more one drinks.17 In
the Highlands, the roots of wild licorice, called
carmeal, were used to flavor cairm, a popular ale.5

70

Serviceberries, the fruit of a common tree ( Sorbus sp.) were

used.
Spruce shoots were very commonly used, and reputedly
prevented scurvy.5
Watercress, like spruce, was used to prevent scurvy.
Wormwood (Artemisia absithium), a bitter and slightly aromatic narcotic intoxicant, was hung in the fermenter
for up to a year. Broombush (wild wormwood) was
also used in the Highlands.17
Many other herbs and spices were also employed in
brewing before hops were begrudgingly accepted in the
1700s. The bittering agent that survived the longest in
commercial brewing was quassia. It was the most important
hops substitute of the 19th and 20th centuries. Quassia is the
intensely bitter chips of dried bark from the South American
Quassia and Simaruba trees (esp. Quassia amora). One pound
of quassia could be substituted for 12 pounds of hops.
Scots never took to hops the way that the English did.
Even in 1834, Andrew Smith reported a 140 shilling ale being
returned to the brewery because, presumably, the hops in it
were too aromatic and too fresh. Use boiled hops for the
present use and keepingthey injure the flavor a little but it
will not pass with green hops. The first brewing we made
October 30th was nearly all returned having been hopped
with Green.16 John Carter's 140 shilling keeping ale of 1838
used spent hops for bittering. It was common practice for
Scottish brewers to boil their second worts with the hops left
from the first.16
Six varieties of hops were commonly used before
Goldings, the first commercially selected variety, was
introduced in 1785. The most important of these six was
Farnham Pale, a hop that probably had very little bitterness.3

71

Another variety, the North Clay hop, was distinguished for

its pre-eminence in rankness. North Clay was grown on
the stiff clays of Nottinghamshire . . . best adapted for strong,
keeping beers.4 Kent Goldings, first associated with porters,
were considered by Roberts to be of preeminent distinction
. . . considered as uniting flavor with strength, so much so
that by 1840, in Edinburgh . . . nine-tenths of the hops which
were used in brewing are grown in the county of Kent.4
Bavarian and Belgian hops were used almost interchangeably
with Farnham and Goldings by Scots brewers.3 Fuggles
became almost as popular as Goldings with Scots brewers
after they became commercially available in 1875.3
The principal reason for Scotch ale's historic success
in export markets was its superior keeping quality. Lower
gravity beers had poor keeping qualities, whereas the alcohol
in strong beers preserved them. Presumably, English barley
wines and strong ales were not as marketable, perhaps
because oxidation of the fusel alcohols produced during high
temperature fermentations gave negative flavor changes as
these ales aged. Not until the keeping quality of India ale
indicated that hops had a preservative nature, did hops come
to be appreciated. Though far lower in alcohol content than
strong Scotch ale, India ale proved to travel and store even
better. Even keeping beers for the home consumption, were
they made from such low gravities as some [India ales], would
certainly not stand over the summer. . . . India pale beer being
so highly impregnated with the finest hops, has not only
been appreciated in India as a refreshing beverage [but also
elsewhere].4
We have a fair amount of evidence about the amount
of hops used in 19th century beers. Unfortunately, without
knowing the alpha acidity of the hops, their percentage of
utilization, or the bitterness of the ale against a standard

72

scale (like the International Bittering Units, or IBU), knowing

only the amount of hops used in a particular brew is of little
practical use.
Modern homebrewers use Homebrew Bittering Units
(Dave Line's Alpha Acid Units, renamed HBUs) to define the
hop bitterness in recipes. HBUs are the measure of the alpha
acidity of a particular quantity of a hop. One HBU equals one
avoirdupois ounce of hops of one percent alpha acid. Using
HBUs to define hop additions gives reasonable accuracy and
repeatability; the method does not account for oxidation
loss of alpha acids since the hops were last analyzed for alpha
acid content, or for actual utilization of the hops in the
kettle, which can range from 10 to 30 percent.
Commercial brewers measure the bitterness in the
finished beer to avoid inaccuracy introduced by these
variables. Two standards are commonly used. International
Bittering Units (IBUs) measure isomerized alpha acids;
Bitterness Units (BUs) measure the total bittering substances,
which includes oxidized beta acids. The latter method is used
by the American Society of Brewing Chemists. It is more
accurate because it measures the broader spectrum of
bittering substances, and thus permits more exact repetition
from brew to brew.
These tools weren't available to brewers until well
into the 20th century. Previously, the most common
method of recording bitterness in a recipe was to state the
quantity of a particular hop variety used in a given volume
of wort. This method took no account of the amount of malt
used, which greatly affects the perception of bitterness.
Scottish brewers, on the other hand, expressed hops not in
relation to the volume of wort, but rather in proportion to
the amount of malt used. Hop rates were expressed as pounds
of hops per quarter of malt. A quarter is 336 pounds.3 As
sweetness increased with a larger malt charge, bitterness was
increased proportionally. This method gave as good

73

a measure as was possible at the time, but it could not

account for variances in the alpha acidity of the hops. To
adjust for bitterness lost during hop storage, 19th-century
brewers increased their hop charges progressively for brews
later in the year. However, the method is so inaccurate that it
is no longer used, and even homebrewers using HBUs have
far greater control over their bitterness levels than 19thcentury brewers had. Therefore, recipes, records and ledgers
of the period are only useful as indicators of the bitterness of
the beer that was brewed if we estimate the alpha acidity of
the hops of the day and hop utilization in the kettle.
It is nearly universally assumed that British hops of
the 19th century ranged between two and five percent alpha
acid. Utilization in the 19th century cannot have differed
much from the present day range of 15 to 30 percent. The rate
of utilization depends on the boil time and wort density.
With these assumptions, we can read Roberts' formulas. He writes, For ales of high gravity, say 105 to 115, the
quantity of hops ranges from four to ten pounds per quarter;
in the winter brewings the average being about six pounds,
and in the spring brewings, for the ales intended for summer
consumption, about eight pounds.4 These proportions
translate as:
For winter brewing use 0.29 ounces of hops per pound of
malt (18 grams per kilogram), or 0.92 ounces of hops
per U.S. gallon of wort (6.75 grams per liter).
For spring brewing use 0.38 ounces of hops per pound of malt
(24 grams per kilogram), or 1.22 ounces of hops per
U.S. gallon of wort (nine grams per liter).
Robert continues, The brewers of Scotland use for each
quarter of malt . . . from four to eight pounds, according to

74

the quality of the ale, and the season of the year. In winter
brewings, six pounds of hops for the best ale, and four for the
inferior kinds, may be considered a fair estimate. Our practice
of brewing, from January to March, was to allow ten pounds
of hops per quarter of malt, when the wort was 95 to 100 of
specific gravity. . . . The hops we preferred were the East Kent,
and Worcestershire.4
At roughly the same time as Roberts was writing,
Andrew Smith observed that John Carter used 220 pounds of
Farnham hops for 60 barrels of 140 shilling keeping ale.16 In
1873, Robert Wallace of the Bass Crest Brewery recorded in his
notebook that 336 pounds of hops were used for 105 3/4 U.K.
barrels of 72 shilling and 84 shilling pale ale (2.28 pounds per
U.S. barrel (0.88 kilograms per hectoliter]), and 322 pounds for
103 3/4 barrels of 72 shilling pale ale (2.23 pounds per U.S.
barrel (0.86 kilograms per hectoliter]).16
These and other records of hop rates give us some
indication of bitterness. For Wallace's brews of about 1.068 SG
(16.4 B), if we assume that kettle utilization was 25 percent,
then the hops used would have been three percent alpha
acid, and his ale rated about 66 BU. This figure is not
unreasonable in that Scottish pale ale was reported to be less
bitter than that of Burton or London. Assuming that Roberts
better ales were 1.070 SG (17 B), then six pounds of hops per
quarter of malt (1.75 pounds per U.S. barrel (0.93 kilograms per
hectoliter) at 25 percent utilization would have required
hops of three percent alpha acid as well, and produced a
bitterness of about 66 BU. A strong ale of 1.095 to 1.100 SG (23
to 26 B) would have poorer hop utilization, perhaps 20
percent. Ten pounds per quarter (2.91 pounds per U.S. barrel
[1.6 kilograms per hectoliter] of 3 percent alpha acid hops may
have produced even less than 60 BU to those strong brews.
Ultimately this formulation remains conjecture, but with a
good guess at the alpha acidity of 19th century hops,

75

and the rate of utilization, we can read from these records an

approximation of the bitterness of the old ales.
We do know that fresh hop aromatics were
considered a liability rather than an asset. For instance,
Andrew Smith notes about Jeffrey's of Edinburgh that they
made a capital export ale . . . no green hop. Furthermore, we
know that hops were not well stored: Hops . . . deteriorate by
age to such an extent, that at the expiry of one year they
become less valuable by twenty-five to thirty percent.16
Although tightly compressed modern Goldings stored cold
will not lose more than 15 percent of their bittering value
over 12 months, packaging, transport and storage conditions
of the early 19th century caused quicker oxidation and loss
of the soft resins and essential oils. One modern study
indicates that the noble aroma associated with continental
lagers is a product of oxidation after a moderate period of
hop aging. Goldings-type hops share this characteristic with
classic Bavarian varieties.24 This Observation allows us to
infer that hop oxidation products may have been part of the
character of 19th century Scottish ales.
Comparing hop rates of the period for Scotch and
India ales shows that the latter used twice as much hops as
the former; India ale at OG 1.063 (16 B) used 1.7 ounces per
U.S. gallon (12 grams per liter) in the kettle, and was dryhopped with one-fourth ounce per gallon (2 grams per liter).
The Burton brewers average from about 20 to 22 pounds per
quarter, and they generally prefer the East Kents; but the
average for others, for this beer [India ale], is about 16 to 18
pounds. . . . Six pounds per quarter are first put into the
copper, and boiled for twenty minutes, after which eight
pounds per quarter are added, and with the first quantity
boiled for fifty minutes longer . . . and leaving the remaining
eight pounds per quarter for the second wort.4 By weight,

76

Burton brewers used 0.66 ounces of Kent hops per pound of

malt (41 grams per kilogram, 1.3 ounces per U.S. gallon of wort
at 1.063 OG), and elsewhere brewers used 0.44 ounces per
pound of malt (128 grams per kilogram, 0.9 ounces per U.S.
gallon for wort at 1.063 OG).
Bitterness and hoppiness were not dominant factors
in Scotch and Scottish ales of the last century, nor are they
today. Hops are primarily used to provide a balance to the
malt sweetness. Scottish & Newcastle's Dr. Brown summarizes the current Scottish attitude regarding hops, saying that
hops are used for bitterness in Scots' brewing, and not for
flavor. Whether they be Fuggles, Goldings or an English
bittering hop, at 25 to 26 IBU, hop bitterness is subdued and
there is no real hop flavor.15

77

78

6
Yeast
Scotch ale and Scottish ales share a host of common
characteristics, a clean maltiness being the most obvious. Part
of this is due to the character of Scottish brewing yeast. These
yeast don't exhibit overt fruitiness or other estery
characteristics and therefore allow the malt flavor to come
through cleanly. One reason, of course, is that these
saccharomyces strains are able to ferment at lower
temperatures than many other ale yeast strains. This low
temperature viability is one of the primary characteristics of
Scottish ale yeast. Although Scottish brewing yeast produce
low levels of esters and fusel alcohols, the ales of several
contemporary breweries which ferment at higher
temperatures than was the rule in previous centuries have a
distinctive diacetyl aroma.
Another major trait of these yeast were that they
were relatively under-attenuative. The ales historically
brewed with them did not ferment down to quarter gravity;
even many current brands are only attenuated to one-third
of their original gravity. We know that they were relatively
flocculant strains because the brewers regularly beat the
head back into the beer to force it to ferment out.

79

A modern Scottish strain that we have used at The

Vermont Pub and Brewery of Burlington forms short chains.
Consequently it is not a dusty strain, but it does not form
long chains and flocculate excessively, either. It will also
ferment at temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees F (10 and
15 degrees C), and is very neutral in character. This strain
completely ferments maltotriose, but historical strains may
not have. Until the late 1800s, even the most sophisticated
breweries did not have the technology available to attemper
fermentation artificially. In current practice, breweries use
refrigeration to lower the temperature of the beer rapidly
when they reach their target final gravity. The sudden
temperature drop shocks the yeast, and it drops out of
suspension. In the last century, only high mash temperatures
combined with under-attenuative strains could have
accomplished this rapid precipitation.
A third shared distinction of these strains is that they
are alcohol tolerant. Today, Edinburgh ales and wee heavies
are often of eight percent alcohol by volume (6.4 percent
alcohol by weight). In the last century, brews of eight to ten
percent alcohol by volume were usual. Scotch ales of this
strength may never have fermented past one-third gravity,
but from an OG of 1.120 (28 B), the beer would have
contained over 9 percent alcohol by volume (7.2 percent
alcohol by weight) by the time it had fermented down to
only 1.050 (12.3 B). The yeast had to be able to repeat this feat
of fermentation brew after brew without being poisoned by
the alcohol. At least one modern strain is use is capable of
yielding 10 percent alcohol by volume (8 percent alcohol by
weight).
These three factors are probably what selectively
determined the strains used by Scottish brewers.
Roberts is an invaluable source on yeast, providing
detailed information about Scottish practice before the sci-

80

entific revolution of the late 1800s. He advises against the

greater evil, namely, that of over-storing [the] tun, and
recommends making a starter at a higher-than-pitching
temperature to activate the yeast, and to judge the yeast's
viability by the strength of the starter. Roberts may not have
known that yeast were living organisms, but he did know
how important they were to a brew. Yeast are technically
called 'store.' . . . Desired flavour and attenuation . . . depends
upon . . . stock which has been of equal gravity to the wort
for which it is now required. Should the ferment, or store, be
the product of unsound worts, or be in any respect tainted, it
will impart its noxious quality to the worts with which it is
combined. . . . Should the brewer . . . make use of store of an
inferior quality . . . nine times out of ten the ale will prove
turbid and yeast bitten.' . . . The store which ought to be
preferred is that produced from the last stage of vinous
fermentation, namely, from the stillions [the casks on their
racks before bunging]. Care should be taken that it has not
been long exposed to the atmosphere, or allowed to remain
long in a warm situation; because, in either case, it will fret or
ferment, and consequently be deteriorated in stamina.4 Dr.
Brown adds to this, noting that Yeast has a good memory. It
will subtly change within a few generations if it is subjected
to change. Brewers then, as now, had to really cater to the
needs of their yeast.15
Surprisingly, most breweries did not maintain a
house strain, and believed that using yeast from another
brewery improved the vigor of their ferments. Although
Roberts quotes Black as saying, I have worked in a large
establishment from year's end to year's end, without ever
having the least occasion for a change of yeast, and could do
so again at any time, and my fermentations shall be as
healthy and vigorous as any one's, this was not the usual
practice. Younger's records of the mid-1800s show yeast

81

obtained from Dryborough, Aitchinson, Blair, Campbell and

others, apparently randomly chosen on the basis of which
brewery had healthy yeast to spare on that brewing day.16
The conclusion is that the Edinburgh brewers, if not brewers
from the neighboring towns as well, shared a common
mixed strain.
Roberts argued that borrowed cultures were more
likely to produce consistent results than a house strain,
indicating that diverse conditions were required to prevent
any component strain of the mix from dominating.4 Today
single-cell cultures are used, and at least three breweries use
the same saccharomyces strain.
Any Cerivisae strain that is neutral, ferments well at
below 65 degrees F (18 degrees C), and gives no more than 65
to 70 percent apparent attenuation should be appropriate for
brewing Scottish ales; alcohol tolerance is a further
requirement for brewing the stronger Scotch ale.
Brewers also recognized that the volume of yeast to
be pitched was important. It is generally affirmed, that the
higher the gravity, and the lower the heat at which the
fermentation is commenced, the more yeast will be required
to obtain a uniform attenuation. . . . When the temperature
averages about 42 degrees [5.5 degrees C], and the gravity of
the wort ranges from 90 to 120 [21.5 to 28 B], two pounds and
a half of yeast are commonly used for each barrel of wort
(0.97 kilogram per hectoliter), based upon a gallon of yeast
weighing 11 to 12 pounds.4 Because Roberts gives not only the
pitching rate by weight, but the weight to volume ratio of
the yeast slurry as well, we can estimate the cells per milliliter
pitching rate with confidence. His figures give 0.644 fluid
ounces of yeast weighing 0.925 ounces per gallon of wort (U.S.
measures). Duplicating this with a yeast strain currently used
by a Scottish brewery gives a paste the thickness of putty, and
a pitching rate of 18 to 22 x 106 cells per milliliter.

82

For homebrewers things are not so well defined; the best that
can be done is to pitch more yeast than would be used for a
lager. For five gallons, one to four quarts of a very active
starter will be required. The pitching rate is as important a
factor in creating Scotch and Scottish ales as the malt, the
mash temperature and the hop rate.

83

84

7
Scottish Brewing
March 1, 1836. .5 AleMalt, 20 Quarters; Hops, 160

lbs.-Temperature 42 degrees.
Commenced brewing at 4 A.M., by turning into the
mash tun thirty-two barrels of liquor at 200 degrees. When
reduced in temperature to 180 degrees, shot twenty quarters
of pale malt into mash-tun; and raked and mashed with oars
forty-five minutes. Finished mashing at 5 ho. 15 min, and
strewed a bushel of grist over mash and covered up. At 8
o'clock set tap, uncovered, and commenced sparging at the
same time, with liquor at 190 degrees, and continued the
operation until thirty-two barrels were sparged. Wort
running quite fine with good appearance; temperature 148
degrees, and 110 gravity. At 11 ho. 30 min, ale wort all in
copper, which gauged forty-eight barrels, at gravity 83,
Allan's Saccharometer. Previously, however, shut tap, and
sparged on mash fifteen barrels of liquor for table beer.
Weighed one hundred and sixty pounds of the best
East Kent hops, and put them to the wort in the copper; and
12 wort came through, boiled briskly one hour and twentyfive minutes, and at 1 ho. 30 min. cast copper. At 2 ho. 30 min,
spread in coolers. At 10 o'clock p.m. pitched tun with eight
gallons and a half of store weighing 90 lbs., and let down wort

85

at 50 degrees, which gauged in the tun thirty-six barrels and

a half, gravity 103.5.
The following table shows the heat of the tun

during fermentation:

March 2,
March 3,
March 4,
March 5,
March 6,
March 7,
March 8,
March 9,
March 10,
March 11,
March 13,
March 14,
March 15,

1 o'clock P.M.
9 o'clock A.M.
9 o'clock A.M.
8 o'clock A.M.
10 o'clock A.M.
8 o'clock A.M.
8 o'clock A.M.
1 o'clock P.M.

50
0
52
56
58
58.5
59
60
61
62.5
63
63
62

March 15Removed the gyle from the tun into the

Square, the temperature of which when let down was 62
degrees, and gravity 43.
March 16, 10 A.M.Cleansed into hogsheads and
barrels.

The summary of the foregoing example is as follows:

Ale, 36 barrels, at gravity 103.5 = 3726
Beer, 10 barrels, at gravity 40.0 = 400
Quarters of malt used, 20) 4126
Value extracted from each quarter: 206 3/10
The Scottish Ale Brewer
and Practical Maltster, 1847

86

Let me Exhort my Countrymen to brew their Ale

from the Softest Water the Palest Malt and the Most
Fragrant Hops. George Younger 1779.

THE MASKIN LOOM

At the time that Robert's wrote The Scottish Ale
Brewer and Practical Malster, kiln technology had made light
colored malts available to the brewer, roller mills had nearly
replaced millstones for crushing malt and false bottoms were
fitted in most Scottish mash tuns. (Even so, wooden mash
tuns, or maskin looms" were still common in 1890).11
Brewhouses held three coppers, one for boiling the wort, one
for mash liquor and the third for sparge water. The brew day
began with the heating of the mash water; the heats
generally employed by brewers in Scotland . . . are
considerably higher than those of English brewers. Those
heats range from 178 degrees to 188 degrees [81 to 87 degrees
C], and even to 190 degrees [88 degrees C].4 The heats referred
to are those of the mash and sparge liquors; the mash liquor
went into the tun to preheat (rather than being introduced
from below after the malt was in the tun, as was the English
practice).
Ambient and malt temperatures were usually 45 degrees F (7 degrees C) or less, so that liquor temperatures even
as high as 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) would give a mash
temperature of no more than 158 degrees F (70 degrees C).
Mash thickness in the 19th century was not remarkably
different from that currently recommended for infusion
mashes. The quantity of liquor generally used for mashing
is about one barrel and three firkins per quarter [29 fluid
ounces per pound, 2 liters per kilogram], and sometimes only
one barrel and a half [25 fluid ounces per pound, 1.7 liters

87

per kilogram].4 Robert's notes about brewing India ale are an

indication of the temperature of the mash for Scotch ale. He
states that at ambient temperature of 40 to 45 degrees F (4 to
7 degrees C), when the malt for India ale was stirred into
liquor at 168 to 170 degrees F (76 to 78 degrees C) it gave a mash
temperature of rather less than 150 degrees (65.6 degrees C].4
Water at 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) would be expected to
give a mash temperature of 158 degrees F (70 degrees C), and
less if the ambient temperature were lower. Unfortunately,
the limitations of period thermometers meant that 19th
century Scots brewers did not record the actual temperatures
in the mash itself; records of runoff temperatures (1st Falling
Heat) that range between 149 and 152 degrees F (between 65
and 76 degrees C)16 indicate mash temperatures of around 156
degrees F (69 degrees C), for a mash resting two hours.
The malt was mixed into the water with oars. Balled
starch had to be broken up; the Scottish method surely
produced more balling than if the wet had been added to the
dry. The old Scottish method of mashing in survived until
after 1853, when Scotsman James Steel patented his Steel's
masher. Combining the grist and water together inside a
helical screw, Steel's invention caused the grain to be more
thoroughly soaked than laborious hand mixing ever could.
After 45 minutes or more of mashing in, the mash
would rest for two to three hours to saccharify. Because the
mash began at 158 degrees F (70 degrees C) or so, beta-amylase
activity was minimal. Although the mash time was long, by
the time that the temperature dropped to a low enough
point to be optimal for beta-amylase activity, the enzyme
would have been largely inactivated by the high initial
temperature. Some alpha-amylase, on the other hand, would
have remained active for most of the mash period,

88

having been thermally protected by the thickness of the

mash.25
Once the mash was finished, the wort was Slacked
into the underback and sparging was begun when a fifth of
the wort had been run out, if it was not begun immediately.11
A volume of sparge water equal to, or up to 40 percent greater
than the quantity used for mashing in, was sprayed onto the
mash from a ring encircling the top of the tun. The mash was
kept just covered by the sparge water, as is still usual practice
today.4 Thus a depth of water does not rise above the settling
husks, which by its weight could unnecessarily compress the
filter bed. Sparge temperatures were higher than modern
research would recommend; in the 1800s the Scots regularly
sparged with water at 190 degrees F (88 degrees C), though 172
degrees F (78 degrees C) is now thought to be the optimal
temperature for sparge water.4 Given that the ambient
temperature was so low, and the temperature in the mash
dropped radically during the prolonged mash, the
temperature within the mash probably never exceeded 175
degrees F (79 degrees C), and probably seldom reached that
temperature. Again, temperatures taken in the underback
indicate this; mid 19th century records of 3rd Falling Heats
from William Younger's brewery seldom exceed 160 degrees
F (71 degrees C), suggesting that internal mash temperatures
might not have exceeded 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) during
sparging.16
Roberts states that the great aim of all brewers is, that
the wort, when it flows from the mash tun, shall range from
147 degrees to 152 degrees [64 to 67 degrees C].4 Records bear
out that this was generally the case, and 147 degrees F (64
degrees C) or below was at least as usual as 152 degrees F (67
degrees C).4, 16 The correct mash and sparge temperatures gave
a transparent wort with a fine, light pearly head of
considerable height. If on the contrary, the colour be

89

deeper than that of the malt employed, and if the froth be of

a reddish, fiery appearance, and deficient in height, although
it be transparent, there is every reason to fear that the
mashing heat has been too high. If the wort had a turbid,
dead appearance (i.e. starch cloudiness), then the mash
temperature was too low.4
Roberts quotes Mr. Booth's description of English
mashing from his Art of Brewing to compare it with Scottish
practice. English strong ale was double mashed, first with
water at 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Then the wort was run
off after a time, and the grist was mashed again with water at
185 degrees F (85 degrees C). Table beer would be made from
a third mash, using water at 190 degrees F (88 degrees C). The
increasing temperatures would have leached out
unconverted starch from the malt, so that conversion by
alpha-amylase would have continued during the second and
third mashes.
Roberts defended the Scottish practice of sparging
against the English double mashing method. The process of
sparging is, in my opinion, decidedly preferable to a Second
mash for ale worts, and has ever been considered in this light
by the whole of Scottish brewers.4 Presumably, the
advantages he means are a clearer wort, with less extraction
of husk polyphenols, silicates and fatty acids, and therefore
beers with better head retention. Modern Scots' preference
for a pint with a head may very well reflect Scottish
traditional sparging practice; English ale drinkers have
always seemed less concerned with a topping of froth.
On the other hand, Scots brewers sparged with water
at a higher temperature than is usual today, using liquor of
up to 190 degrees F (158 degrees C).4 This would necessarily
have caused extraction of poorly converted starch, as well as
extraction of husk phenols. The only remedy to both of these
problems is a long period of fermentation and cellaring.

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During conditioning, hydrolysis slowly breaks down intermediate starches. Polyphenols and proteins not scavenged
by the protein-and-mineral-starved yeast precipitate out,
thereby enhancing the beer's stability.25
Like the English, Scots brewers generally ran the later
weak wort runoff into a separate kettle, to be boiled and
fermented for table beer. The tails of the sparging were
relegated to the production of twopenny ale, which contemporary detractors assure us was peaty, harsh and
fuellike.11 The descriptions of twopenny are of a brew high in
husk phenols and clouded with starch.4, 11 These assuredly
made it a loathsome brew, but these phenolic compounds
and starch fragments just as assuredly supported the yeast in
the long cellaring of Scotch ale.

THE COPPER
Worts in the copper were not treated much
differently by the Scots than they are by modern brewers.
The time of boiling for ale wort ranges from one hour to one
hour and a half. . . . The boiling of this wort for a longer time
than one hour extracts the coarse flavor of the hop, while the
fine aroma, being more evanescent flies off with the vapor . .
. however . . . a sufficient time for boiling is necessary, not
only to extract the aromatic flavour and the preservative
principles of the hop, but to coagulate the super-abundant
gluten of the first wort.4
Like the English, commercial brewers in Scotland
commonly added sugar adjuncts in the copper. How much is
a matter of debate, fueled by contradictory records from
periods when malt was cheap and plentiful on the one hand,
and from when it was scarce on the other. The records do
clearly show that adjuncts were more liberally used in
brewing India ale than they were for Scotch ale.

91

Donnachie's research shows that as late as 1886 only 4 percent

of total brewing ingredients were sugar. Edinburgh brewers
used the least, and Glasgow brewers the most (10.5 percent).11
This regional difference is reflected in the beer styles that
each city brewed and consumed; after 1850 Glaswegians
progressively drifted towards lighter and lighter beers.5, 12
Another aspect of Scotch ales is the caramel character
that they pick up in the copper. George Insill emphasizes that
historically color precursors from long kiln times would
develop in the copper, especially when two-hour boils were
commonly practiced to degrade proteins to give the ale
better stability.15 Even a present day 70 shilling heavy has a
distinctive caramel flavor. Drinking a Scots ale, one cannot
help but be struck by it; yet only one Scottish brewer uses
crystal malt in their brews. The caramel flavor is from
caramel sugars in some cases, but more often from

92

carmelization in the kettle. It is a maltier flavor than that

obtained from crystal malts.
At the end of the boil, worts were allowed to settle
only briefly before being run into the coolers. As pointed out
previously, this practice is very different from English one,
and the configuration of the hop-back was very different as
well. In England, the hop-back is a square vessel of wood or
iron, of a capacity to hold more than the contents of the wort
copper, with a false bottom perforated with small holes. . . .
The wort is allowed to remain in the hop-back for a short
time before it is run off into the cooler; by this means the
hops subside at the bottom; and the wort, when drawn off,
filters through them, leaving its impurities behind it. In
Scotland, the brewers . . . use a square or oblong wooden box
with a temporary bottom made of haircloth. . . . The wort
immediately disengages itself from the hops, carrying along
with it most of its impurities. . . . None of the grosser particles
can run through it [the haircloth bottom], it will only allow
a small portion of the fecula of the hop to escape; . . . this
fecula is highly beneficial, both as a preservative in the
coolers, and afterwards as an agent in inducing vigorous
fermentation.4
Roberts thought it unwise, to allow this fecula
(trub) in the runoff, since the sediment gave a disagreeable
coarse mealy flavor, although he presents Robert Stein's
view that it made fermentation more vigorous.4 The trub
(protein/phenol complexes), though it may have ruined the
flavor of a young brew, would have sustained yeast
metabolism and would have been hydrolized to a host of
pleasing flavor compounds over the long storage period
common for old Scotch ales.
The hop-backs and coolers that Scottish brewers used
to employ have not become entirely obsolete; the brewhouse at Traquair House uses them today. Coolers, for-

93

merly used in Scotland, were, as in England, wooden floors of

large dimensions, having sides not exceeding six to eight
inches [15 to 20 centimeters] in height.4 Wort was run into
three to six of them consecutively at a depth of not over 1 1/2
inches (3.8 millimeters).
Hop-backs and open coolers subject the brews to the
most danger of contamination. Until after 1860, brewers had
little understanding of what contributed to contamination.
Although the heat of the wort itself would have pretty well
sterilized the coolers, mold and bacteria would have leached
into the wort and given it off-flavors.
The worts are very prone to ferment spontaneously
in the coolers . . . acetification takes place before they even
enter the fermenting tun. The result of this spontaneous
fermentation is, in the language of brewers, called foxed
worts; a disease which is known by the worts producing on
their surface mouldy spots of a reddish colour, and by their
emitting a disagreeable odour . . . an unpleasant flavour, and
preventing it from becoming transparent. . . . The fox was
scarcely known in Scotland till lately; because the strong ale
brewers confined their operations to the colder months of
the year, the coppers being silent from May to October.4
Presumably because of the proneness to foxing Roberts
recommended that strong ale worts should not remain in
the coolers for more than nine hours, nor less than four.4

THE GYLE
Where Scottish brewing practice differs most from
English, and where, as Tennent's David Johnstone emphasizes, it most nearly approaches lager brewing, is in fermentation. Although the Scots breweries did not generally
ferment at less than 50 degrees F (10 degrees C), and ferments

94

usually got up to 60 degrees F (16 degrees C) or higher, gyle

(fermenting vessel) temperatures were cool enough that
yeast activity and ester production was subdued. Their
temperatures were not remarkably different from those used
by modern lager brewers. Furthermore, Scots ales underwent
prolonged conditioning in hogsheads at cold temperatures,
which also is more like lager beer than like traditional
English ale.
Even today, Scottish brewers ferment somewhat
cooler than English brewers, using strains that do not
produce many esters. Dr. Brown of Scottish & Newcastle
advises that oxygenation of the wort must be minimal; low
oxygen and a low initial temperature are necessary to control
esters by reducing yeast growth. Five-fold yeast growth is
even too great for Scottish beers; the pitching rate must be
great enough that the yeast needn't exceed three-fold
growth, to control esters.15
Temperature control is very important for
developing the unique character of Scotch ale. Scottish
fermentation techniques before the 1830s . . . used
temperatures in the range from 44 to 58 degrees [7 to 14
degrees C], and averaging 50 degrees [10 degrees C] . . . [for] up
to 21 days, the corresponding time in England being five or
six days.4 Donnachie and others who refer to temperatures
in this range are referring to the temperature at pitching;
brewing logs confirm that temperature of fermentation rose
to 60 degrees F (16 degrees C) or higher before the yeast had
depleted the extract.
Roberts described a typical fermentation. When
pitched at 50 degrees [10 degrees C], there is little appearance
of motion during the first twelve hours. . . . After the space
just mentioned, however, the agitation becomes quite
apparent, until, after about forty or fifty hours from the
commencement, the whole surface is covered with a thick
white curly foam. This foam continues to rise in height, until
it assumes a rocky appearance, termed the cauliflower

95

head. About this time it is customary to beat it in; an

operation which is repeated morning and evening until the
tun has increased from eight to ten degrees of heat [up to 58
to 60 degrees F, 14 to 16 degrees C]. . . . The operation of
skimming is seldom or never performed in Scotland, except
when it becomes necessary to check by this means too
vigorous a fermentation.4
At this period, when the usual Scottish pitching
temperature was 50 degrees F (10 degrees C), a typical English
brew began at 65 degrees F (18 degrees C). The flavor impact
of the increased esters produced at the higher temperature
distinctly separates English ales from those of Scotland.
Scottish ales are far mellower, and evidence very little fruity,
vinous or fusel character.
Fermentation temperatures began an upward trend
in the 1830s. Scots were then setting their tuns at 53 degrees

96

F (11.6 degrees C), and rising up to 65 to 67 degrees F (18 to 19.5

degrees C) during fermentation. By mid-century, pitching at
55 degrees F (13 degrees C) was common, with temperatures
rising to about 65 degrees F (18 degrees C) for ales of less than
OG 1.090, and up to 62 degrees F (17 degrees C) for ales of OG
1.090 to 1.128 (21.5 to 31 B).16
Contemporary commercial brewers rely on refrigeration to brew year round; in Scotland, as elsewhere in Europe,
brewers had to restrict production to the colder months of
the year to avoid both runaway fermentations and contamination. Donnachie quotes William Black's Practical Treatise
on Brewing that, Keeping beers' should be brewed in frosty,
or at all events cool, open weather, which may be expected
in December, January, February and March.11 In Scotland
brewers were more fortunate. The cool climate gave them a
brewing season from November to April.
The difference between English and Scottish practice
was well-examined by Roberts, writing at the very time that
Scottish brewers were introducing India ales to their product
lines. The Scots brewers had to learn how to amend their
techniques to produce the characteristics of India ales.
Roberts summarized the essential differences in a description
of English ale brewing. Pitching rates were 20 percent lower
for the lighter brew. The English began fermentation at up to
65 degrees F (18 degrees C), allowing the temperature to rise to
67 to 72 degrees F (19 to 22 degrees C). Primary fermentation
might be completed within as little as 24 to 30 hours, and the
beer was transferred to casks for secondary fermentation. The
ale was well-roused and cleansed into hogsheads or
puncheons, and . . . further attenuated down from 20 to 24
Allen (i.e. 1.020 to 1.024, 5 to 6 B]. Pale ales, with starting
gravities of 1.050 to 1.070 (12 to 17 B) fermented out to FG
1.005 to 1.012 (1.3 to 3 B) after 14 to 20 days of secondary
fermentation in the puncheons. Finally, the ale

97

was racked to hogsheads, dry-hopped at a rate of one-half

pound or more per U.S. barrel, and bunged down for final
conditioning.4
Perhaps the example of India ale brewing influenced
Scottish brewers to increase fermentation temperatures for
traditional ales. The lighter-colored, lighter-flavored pale ales
also encouraged the use of sugar adjuncts. After their
introduction, Scottish brewers not only used sugar to brew
India ales, but were more apt to use saccharine (sugar) in
Scotch ale as well. Sugar was used as an auxiliary, to either
the copper, or the tun, the latter after the ferment has hit its
peak.4 It was added only after the peak to avoid the problem
of overfoaming. (One pound of sugar per Imperial gallon,
whether Fine Mauritius, Havannah or Scotch Titler, gave OG
1.036 or 1.037 or about 40 percent better extract than an equal
portion of malt).4
Final gravities dropped along with original gravities,
but both remained higher than for pale ales. Whereas English
ales were (and are) generally fermented out to quarter gravity
or less, Scots ales were (and many still are) only attenuated
down to one-third gravity (i.e. from 1.060 [14.7 B] down to
1.020 [5.1 B], rather than down to 1.015 [3.8 B]). Scottish
brewers have always tended to stop fermentation a few
degrees higher, remarks Caledonian's Russell Sharp, and use
hops to mask that sweetness, so that although our ales aren't
bitter, neither are they as sweet as one would expect.15

THE CELLARS
When . . . the heat of the gyle has been for some time
stationary, and rather decreasing than otherwise, it is then
necessary to remove it. And here, the practice as followed in
Scotland is quite different from that adopted in England; for

98

instead of being at once cleansed into casks, it is let down into

a square of a size similar to that of the tun. Nearly the whole
of the yeast . . . is left in the fermenting tun. . . . The gyle is
then allowed to remain in the square from 12 to 36 hours, and
before being run into casks, it is in fact moderately fine.
When this is the case and fermentation appears quite
exhausted, it is run into hogsheads, barrels, and half
hogsheads. These casks are not placed upon stillions, as is the
practice in England, little or no yeast being thrown up . . . and
require no filling up until after the lapse of a few days, when
they are shived down.4 Scots ales only underwent incidental
secondary fermentation, having fermented to completion in
the tun. Beer for export was flattened before being run into
casks, so that excessive carbonation from incidental
fermentation in the casks would not be as likely to rupture
them.
Scotch ales, bottled Scottish beer, and export stout
took up to a year of cellaring to come into condition,4 largely
because of the brewers' practice of beating the krauesen head
back into the fermenting ale.
Beating the head drove the yeast back down into
suspension so that fermentation wouldn't abate prematurely. It also reintroduced trub that had been carried up into
the head back into the beer, giving to the young beer a harsh
astringency. Sufficient aging would mellow these trub
flavors, while the protein trub itself nurtured the remaining
yeast during cellaring. Aging produced the mellow end
flavors by metabolic reduction of aldehydes to alcohols, and
by esterification.25 The flavors ultimately developed by this
practice are unique to wee heavy, and nicely balance the
richness of the brew.25
Table beer, like India ale, was given no such period for
mellowing. It is not unusual to send this ale out in fortyeight hours after it has been cleansed. The Scottish brewers

99

make no use of isinglass for finings; nor do I believe they have

any occasion to employ such agents as flour and salt in order
to stimulate fermentation.4 It is no wonder that Scots table
beer and twopenny was regarded with such disfavor.
Reverand James Somerville termed it thin, vapid, sour stuff
under the name of sour beer and blamed it for the working
class turning to whiskey. 11

CASKS AND TALL FONTS

Traditional Scottish serving temperatures are akin to
English; the usual temperature recommended being 54 to 56
degrees F (11 to 13 degrees C). Cask conditioned ales are
available in most Scottish pubs, and several are revered for
their artistry in handling the casks. In the pub cellar, a cask is
fitted with a soft, porous spile made of lorit (linden wood
called limewood in England) until carbon dioxide
generation slows. A hard spile of walnut then replaces the
soft one to allow a small amount of carbonation to develop
in the beer. Stainless-steel Sankey-type kegs are commonly
used for cask-conditioned beers. A screen shields the opening
of the pick-up tube and draws the beer from an inch or soup
from the bottom of the keg, to prevent sediment from
fouling the beer. During conditioning, a modified tap fitted
with a soft spile allows the kegs to vent.
After delivery, casks are allowed to settle for at least
24 hours upon their stillions in the pub cellars. With Sankey
kegs the usual tap is attached for serving; otherwise, the hard
spile is pulled so that a vacuum will not be drawn during
serving by hand pump.
Very few Scottish pubs, at present or in the past,
feature hand pumps. As Broughton's David Younger explains,
"Scots still consider hand pumps to be English. Traditionally,
we have served Scottish ales using the tall font. 15 The

100

tall font was pioneered by Ballingall's of Dundee in the 1870s,

and has been popular since at least the 1920s. Originally, a
water-turbine-driven pump propelled air into the cask to
push the beer up to the faucet. Currently, electric
compressors are more likely to provide that pressure.
In true Scots fashion, the tall font recycles spillage
directly back to the faucet. Within the font, a sparkler
obstructs the flow so that the beer releases carbonation. Scots,
unlike the English, favor a head on their ales. The flow rate of
the font is adjustable, so that the barman may pour with the
close, creamy head that patrons expect. Even the rare
handpumps are fitted with sparklers, so that they will pour
with a head on the beer. Guinness faucets that have
become popular in America in the last decade (used in
conjunction with a nitrogen and carbon dioxide mix to push
the beer) have similar sparkler and flow-adjustment
mechanisms to achieve this same end.
There are those who argue that a Scottish ale tastes
best when served at the Bull in Cowgate, or at Diggers on
Henderson Terrace, or in another traditional Scots pub, and
it is true that the malty Scottish ales do no withstand the
abuse of traveling with the fortitude of hoppier beers. Scottish ales such as Belhaven Export, and more especially
McEwan's Export, that are exported to the United States are
often badly oxidized. It is well to remember, however, that
the fame of Scottish brewing more properly resides with the
strong Scotch ales, which fare somewhat better.
MacAndrew's (Caledonian) Scotch Ale is the archetypal
definition of maltiness when it is even reasonably fresh, and
Traquair House Ale (difficult though it may be to find), is not
diminished in the least by a year or more of storage.

101

102

8
Notes to Recipes
The recipes following are divided between ales
characteristic of 1850, and those of the present day. You will
notice that not only has the shilling greatly devalued over
time, but that the final gravities of 1991 ales have dropped
considerably compared with 1850 ales of similar original
gravity. These are not misprints. The greatest difference
between 1850 ales and 1990 ales are their final gravities; the
19th century ales end at specific gravities over twice that of
the 20th century recipes. High mash temperatures are
necessary to achieve these final gravities.

WATER
Any soft-to-medium-hard water will suffice for brewing Scotch ales. The work sheet below is given for those who
wish to more closely approximate Edinburgh water:

103

- Water Treatment -

MALT AND MASHING

Scottish maltsters still kiln malt to a color of 2.7 to 3.5
SRM (6 to 8 EBC), whereas English pale malts average 2.5 to
3.5 SRM (4 to 6 EBC). The Scots malt has a slightly fuller
character. Hugh Baird & Sons kiln malt to the higher color at
their Pencaitland maltings, but it is not available in America.
The flavor differences between it and pale malt are slight
enough that the latter can be used. Roast barley gives most of
the color and flavor to today's Scotch and Scottish ales.
Malts were darker roasted than today's pale malt in
older Scotch ales, and gave a very different character. The

104

kilning methods of the early 19th century produced a dry,

toasty malt that would have dominated the beer flavor. This
can be imitated by using a portion of modern, darker colored
biscuit flavored amber malt at 23 to 33 SRM (55 EBC), such
as that malted by DeWolf-Cosyns and available through
Siebelin Chicago. Any amber malt of this color will give good
results. Brown malt, available from Hugh Baird &
Sons/Canada malt, can be used, but at 45 to 55 SRM (100 to
120 EBC) it should only compose five to seven percent of the
grist (i.e., less than half of the amount of amber malt that is
shown in recipes). Where neither malt is available, substitute
one percent roast barley with 15 to 20 percent Munich malt
of 7 to 12 SRM (15 to 25 EBC) for the amber malt in the
recipes.
Malt quantities in the recipes are based upon 68
percent mash efficiency. At 68 percent efficiency, one pound
of good malt will yield one U.S. gallon of wort at SG 1.031.5.
Where your experience dictates that extract efficiency will
be greater or lesser than 68 percent, adjust the amount of malt
accordingly. For example, for 65 percent efficiency, multiply
malt quantities in the recipe by 1.05, or for 70 percent, by 0.97.
As is usual, the pH of the mash should be 5.1 to 5.4 to facilitate
enzyme activity and limit extraction of tannins. Kettle pH
should be below 5.3, to limit extraction of coarser bittering
substances.
The original gravities of the old ales, and of some of
the new, are unusually high by today's standards, and those
brews will require specialized treatment in the brewhouse.
Mashes are very thick to protect enzyme viability.
Consequently, sparge volumes are unusually high. Even so,
sparging must be very efficient when brewing these strong
ales. Sparging temperatures must be high to extract greater
volumes of sugars from the dense mash. A temperature

105

of 172 degrees F (78 degrees C) in the mash should be reached

as quickly as possible. Use sparge liquor at 180 degrees F (82
degrees C) initially, then reduce it to 175 or 172 degrees F (79
to 78 degrees C) when the temperature in the tun itself rises
to near 172 degrees F (75 degrees C).
Volumes are given for mash and sparge liquor. They
take into account the amounts of water normally retained
by spent grains and hops, as well as an average evaporation
rate. If your experience with a recipe yields a greater or lesser
volume of wort, adjust sparging and kettle-fill volumes in
future brewings.
With the usual size of current day mash tuns, ales of
OG 1.088 and higher will require two mashes to yield one
batch of strong ale. Double mash recipes are therefore
included. These also give one batch of twopenny ale, in the
traditional Scottish manner. When double mashing, you
need to collect the required volumes of both worts, and each
at the correct density. Liquor volumes required for mashing
and sparging, and wort volume and density are subjective,
however, Mashing and sparging efficiency, the moisture
content of the malt, the quantity of hops needed to match
the quoted HBUs, and the evaporation rate achieved in any
particular kettle are all variables that will affect volumes and
densities. There is no possibility of quoting exact values here.
Generally speaking, the wort collected from the first mash
for the strong ale should be about 80 percent of the batch
volume and density, that is 16 quarts at OG 1.080 to 1.082 for
a five-gallon batch of 1.090 ale. The amount of liquor given
for sparging the second mash can be reduced to a more usual
50 percent volume, if the balance of liquor needed to fill the
kettle for the twopenny is added to the kettle separately. It
should be noted that this procedure will give a better batch
of twopenny.

106

EXTRACT MASHING
A reasonable alternative to the complexity of double
mashing and the long brew day it requires is to employ malt
extract to create part of the original gravity. Recipes using
malt extract syrup to raise the gravity of a manageable mash
volume are given for the strongest ales. Obviously, extract
may be substituted in other recipes by making a few simple
calculations. Volumes of malt extract in the recipes are based
upon 74 percent solids, or OG 1.034 (9B) per pound of syrup
per gallon (SG 1.028/0.1 kilogram syrup/liter of wort). To use
dry malt extract (DME) multiply all or any part of the syrup
quantity by 0.756.
When brewing with malt extract, the Scottish export,
heavy and special syrups from the manufacturers Glenbrew,
Geordie, Ironmaster or Brewmaker should be used for those
formulations; unhopped syrups should be preferred.
Unhopped Munton & Fison Old Ale gives a high final gravity
and a flavor appropriate for strong Scotch ale. The hopped
version has too much bitterness for the Scottish style, and
should be used at no greater ratio than one-to-one with
unhopped Light extract, or in combination with a partial
mash. If you use this particular hopped extract, reduce the
AAUs called for in the recipe by 3.8 HBU per each pound of
syrup added to a five-gallon batch. Other brown or mild ale
extracts, or even an Oktoberfest malt extract can be used to
brew these ales. In any case, only brands that are known to
give a high final gravity, such as John Bull or Telford's, should
be used. A good ratio would be 40 to 50 percent of a brown or
amber extract, with 50 to 60 percent light extract.
As soon as some wort is run into the kettle, turn its
heat on full, and lightly carmelize the wort to develop
characteristic Scottish flavor and color. Although kettle

107

carmelization gives a slightly different flavor than caramel

malt does, you can substitute 5 to 10 percent crystal malt for
an equal part of the pale malt.
Before the kettle comes to a boil, add about onefourth ounce of the hops for a five-gallon batch (seven
grams/20 liters), or one ounce for a barrel, to break the surface
tension of the wort. This will reduce the likelihood of boiling
over. The kettle boil should be 1 1/2 hours, except where
excess sweet wort volume dictates a longer boil. In this case
the wort should be evaporated down to 105 to 115 percent of
its final volume (depending upon the evaporation rate of
your kettle), and then boiled as usual for 1 1/2 hours. (Kettle
evaporation is assumed to be 10 percent over a 1 1/2 hour boil;
adjust kettle-fill volumes in the recipes if you know the
evaporation rate in your kettle to be different.)
For ales below OG 1.044 (10.5 B) mashing and sparging will not give the full volume of wort, and the kettle will
need to be topped up before boiling. Top-up volumes are
given in the recipes, so that enough water may be treated
ahead of time.

HOPS
The hop perception in Scottish ales should be just
enough to balance the sweetness, without intruding upon it.
Hop rates, then, need to be based upon final gravity, and
moderated as alcohol percentage or fermentation
temperatures increase above the figures given in the recipes.
Alcohol itself gives a flavor that accentuates bitterness.
Fermentations at higher temperatures than those quoted will
produce more of the harsh flavored fusel alcohols. Reducing
the hop rate will moderate these undesirable flavors.
Bitterness Units given are for the fermentation
temperatures and final gravities listed, and equal 115 percent

108

of milligrams/liter of iso-alpha acids that can be expected to

go into solution with wort of that gravity. It is practically
impossible to define hopping rates beyond Bitterness Units
for any beer, due to the number of variables involved. The
hop rates in Homebrew Bittering Units that are given are
based upon expected kettle utilizations (these are given in
each recipe), but may need to be adjusted to account for your
kettle. Furthermore, because Scots' ales do not require the
aromatic character of fresh hops, it is possible use some of
your older stock. Due to alpha-acid storage losses you may
not be able to do better than to guess at their current alpha
acidity. Fortunately, the bitterness of these beers is low
enough that small errors will not seriously distort their
character, so go ahead and use those old hops. Don't use old,
spoiled hops that have a cheesy aroma.
Scots ales don't need hop aroma, and the entire hop
charge should be added 45 minutes before kettle strike. If you
use pellets in place of whole hops, reduce the given hop rates
by 15 percent. To convert the hop quantities to pounds of
alpha acid per barrel, divide the given HBUs by 1,600.
High yeast pitching rates are absolutely essential to
the low-ester character of Scots ales. Homebrewers, prepare a
large starter volume ahead of time, so that it is strongly
fermenting at the time of pitching. Commercial breweries
too, of course, will need to plan ahead in order to have an
adequate volume of yeast, ready to pitch, to match the yeast
rates given in the one barrel recipes.

YEAST
Use any ale yeast strain that yields low levels of esters
and fusel alcohols, and gives 65 to 70 percent apparent
attenuation. A Scottish strain may be preferable, but if they
are not available, these ale yeasts will produce adequately

109

similar results. A strain that produces moderate levels of

diacetyl is perfectly acceptable. The Alt strain #1338 from
Wyeast gives a very appropriate character, but will need to
be beat back into the beer in order to ferment the strong ales
down to their target final gravities. Wyeast's #1084 Irish Ale
yeast should also give good results.
Conditioning times given are the minimum time the
ale should be matured. Lengthen conditioning times if your
storage temperatures are higher. On the other hand, if the ale
will be filtered, conditioning times may be shortened
considerably, although flavor will only improve with longer
conditioning. Long conditioning is even more essential
flavor development if appreciable trub is in the ferment.
Carbonate to 1 or 1.2 volumes for cask ale, to 1.5 or 1.7 volumes
for keg beer, and to 1.7 or 2.0 volumes for bottled ale (volumes
of CO2 at 50 degrees F [10 degrees C]).

Points to Remember:

Create thick mash at high temperature.

Reach high sparge temperature quickly.

Carmelize in the kettle.

Hop at 45 to 60 minutes before strike.

Pitch an adequate amount of yeast.

Ferment at cool temperature.

110

111

1991 60 SHILLING LIGHT ALE

Single Mash
OG

1.032 (8 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.010 (2.6 B)
2.8% ABV/2.2% ABW
22
28%
60F (15.6C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

65F (18C)
4 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Carapils
Roast Barley

4.7 lbs (2.1 kg)

-

4 1/2 lbs (2 kg)

8 oz (0.23 kg)
1 1/4 oz (35 g)

28lbs (12.7Carapils)
3 lbs (1.4 kg)
1/2 lb (0.23 kg)

Mash Temperature
Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

22 1/4 qts

156 F (69 C)
45 minutes
6 qts (5.7 L)
8 1/2 qts (8 L)
11 qts (10.4 L)

156 F (69 C)
45 minutes
9 1/2 gal (0.36 hL)
13 gal (0.49 hL)
17 1/2 gal (0.65 hl)

5.2
1 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
3 weeks

32.5
7-8 X 106 cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2 C)
2 weeks

HBU
5.2
Yeast Volume
1 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 3 weeks

112

1991 70 SHILLING HEAVY

Single Mash
OG

1.036 (9 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.012 (3.1 B)
3.1% ABV/2.5% ABW
25
28%
60 F (15.6 C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

65 F (18 C)
4 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

5 lbs (2.3 kg)

5 lbs (2.3 kg)

10 oz (0.28 kg)
1 1/3 oz (35 g)

31 lbs (14 kg)

4 lbs (1.8 kg)
1 1/3 lbs (0.23 kg)

Mash Temperature

156 F (69 C)

156 F (69 C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

22 1/2 qts

45 minutes
7 qts (6.6 L)
9 1/2 qts (9 L)
9 1/2 qts (9 L)

45 minutes
10 1/2 gal (0.4 hL)
14 1/2 gal (0.55 hl)
15 1/2 gal (0.59 hl)

6.0
1 1/2 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
3 weeks

37
8-10X106cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2C)
2 weeks

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Carapils
Roast Barley

HBU
6.0
Yeast Volume
1 1/2 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 3 weeks

113

1991 80 SHILLING ALE

Single Mash
OG

1.042 (10.4 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.013 (3.1 B)
3.7% ABV/3% ABW
26
28%
60F (15.6C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

65F (18C)
4 - 5 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Roast Barley
Mash Temperature

6.1 lbs

(2.8 kg)
6.6 lbs (3.3 kg)
1 1/4 oz (35 g)
156 F (69C)

41 lbs (18.6 kg)

1/2 lb (0.23 kg)
156 F (69C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

22 1/2 qts

45 minutes
8 qts (7.6 L)
1 qts (10 L)
73/4 qts (7.3 L)

45 minutes
12 1/2 gal (0.47 hl)
17 gal (0.64 hL)
12 gal (0.45 hL)

6.2
2 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
4 weeks

38.4
10-12X106 cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2C)
2 weeks

HBU
6.2
Yeast Volume
2 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 4 weeks

114

1991 90 SHILLING SCOTCH ALE

Single Mash
OG

1.075 (18 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.018 (4.6 B)
7.4% ABV/5.9% ABW
28
25%
61F (16C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

66F (19C)
6 - 10 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Roast Barley
Mash Temperature

11 lbs (5 kg)

12 lbs (5.4 kg)

2 oz (57 g)
150 F (65.6C)

73 1/2 lbs (33.6 kg)

3/4 lb (0.34 kg)
150 F (65.6C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

22 1/2 qts

1 1/4 hours
14 qts (13.3 L)
16 1/2 qts (15.6 L)

1 1/4 hours
21 gal (0.8 hL)
26 gal (1 hL)

HBU
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

7.5
7.5
3 qt starter
3 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C) 40-50F (4-10C)
6 - 8 weeks
6 - 8 weeks

115

46.4
16-18X106 cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2C)
2 - 4 weeks

1991 120 SHILLING WEE HEAVY

Single Mash
OG

1.090 (21.5 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.022 (5.5 B)
8.8% ABV/7% ABW
30
22%
60F (15.6 C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

68F (20 C)
12 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Mash/Syrup)

1 Barrel
(Mash/Syrup)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Carapils
Roast Barley
Mash Temperature

13.2 lbs (6 kg)

4.4 lbs (2 kg)

7 1/2 lbs (3.4 kg)
2 lbs (0.9 kg)
1 oz (28 g)
158 F (70 C)

28 lbs (12.4 kg)

45 1/2 lbs (20.6 kg)
12 1/2 lbs (5.7kg)
1/2 lb (0.23 kg)
158 F (70 C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

22 1/2 qts

1 1/2 hours
10 1/2 qts (9.9 L)
15 1/2 qts (14.7 L)
2 qts (1.9 L)

1 1/2 hours
16 1/2 gal (0.62hI)
23 1/2 gal (0.9 hL)
8 1/2 gal (9.5 L)

9.1
4 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
2 - 3 months

56.6
1820X106 cells/mL
30-35C (1 to 2C)
4 - 6 weeks

HBU
9.1
Yeast Volume
4 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 2 - 3 months

116

120 SHILLING SCOTCH ALE

Double Mash
which yields two separate brews

OG
FG
ABV/ABW

Strong Ale
1.090 (21.5 B)
1.022 (5.5 B)
8.8% ABV/7% ABW

Twopenny
1.040 (10 B)
1.013 (3.3 B)
3.5% ABV/2.8% ABW

BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

30
22%
60 F (15.6 C)

15
13% from 'spent hops
60 F (15.6 C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

68 F (20 C)
12 days

68 F (20 C)
4 - 5 days

1ST MASH:
Batch Size

Pale Malt
Carapils
Roast Barley
Mash Temperature
Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon
(Extract)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

8 3/4 lbs (3.98 kg)

1 1/2 lbs (0.68 kg)
1.6 oz (45 g)
154 F (67.8 C)
1 hour
13 qts (12.3 L)
23 qts (21.8 L)

54 lbs (24.5 kg)

9 1/2 lbs (4.3 kg)
0.6lb (0.3 kg)
154 F (67.8 C)
1 hour
20 gal (0.76 hL)
36 gal (1.36 hL)

Run the sweet wort into a holding vessel until 16 1/2 quarts
(15.6 liters) are collected for a five-gallon batch, or 25 1/2
gallons (0.97 hectoliter) for a barrel batch. Run balance into
kettle. Fill kettle to 13-quart level (12.3 liters) for five-gallon
batch, or 20-gallon level (0.76 hectoliter) for barrel batch.
Heat this weak wort to use for the second mash.

117

2ND MASH:
as above, except:
Batch Size

Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon

5 Gallon
(Extract)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

22 qts (20.8 L)

34 gal (1.29 hL)

From the second mash, run 6 quarts (5.7 liters) to the 120
shilling ale for a five-gallon batch. For a barrel batch, run 9 1/2
gallons to the 120 shilling. The object is to collect 22 1/2
quarts (21.3 liters) volume for a five-gallon batch, or 35 gallons
(1.33 hectoliters) volume for a barrel batch. The remaining
Sweet wort from Sparging should be run off to a second
holding vessel for the twopenny. The wort volume collected
for the twopenny should be 22 quarts (18 liters) for a fivegallon batch, or 34.1 gallons (1.29 hectoliters) for a barrel
batch. Transfer the 120 shilling wort to the kettle and boil it
for 1 1/2 hours, adding 10 percent of the hops at the beginning
of the boil, and all the rest at 45 minutes.
STRONG ALE
Batch Size

HBU
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

9.1
4 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
2 - 3 months

56.6
18-20X106cells/mL
30-35C (-1 to 2C)
4 - 6 weeks

After the 120 shilling ale wort has been run out of the kettle,
refill it with the twopenny wort, on top of the spent hops and
begin boiling the twopenny wort.
TWOPENNY
Batch Size

Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

1 1/2 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
4 weeks

8-10X106 cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
2 weeks

118

1991 140 SHILLING WEE HEAVY

Single Mash
OG
FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.
TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME
Batch Size

1.100 (23.7 B)
1.028 (7.1 B)
9.3% ABV/7.4% ABW
40
20%
60 F (15.6 C)
68 F (20 C)
14 days

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract/Syrup)

1 Barrel
(Mash/Syrup)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Carapils
Roast Barley
Mash Temperature

14.6 lbs (6.6 kg)

6.6 lbs (3 kg)

6 1/4 lbs (2.8 kg)
2 1/2 lbs (1.1 kg)
3/4 oz (21 g)
158 F (70 C)

41 lbs (18.6 kg)

8 1/2 lbs (17.5 kg)
15 1/2 lbs (7 kg)
0.3 lb (0.14 kg)
158 F (70 C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

23 1/2 qts

1 1/4 hours
9 qts (8.5 L)
14 qts (13.3 L)
5 1/4 qts (5 L)

1 1/4 hours
14 gal (0.53 hL)
22 gal (0.83 hL)
7 3/4 gal (0.29 hL)

13.3
4 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
2 - 3 months

82.8
18-20X106cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2C)
4 - 6 weeks

HBU
13.3
Yeast Volume
4 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 2 - 3 months

119

140 SHILLING WEE HEAVY

Double Mash
which yields two separate brews

OG
FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.
TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

Strong Ale
Twopenny
1.100 (23.7 B)
1.040 (10 B)
1.028 (7.1 B)
1.013 (3.3 B)
9.3% ABV/7.4% ABW 3.5% ABV/2.8% ABW
40
30
20%
15% from 'spent' hops
60 F (15.6 C)
60 F (15.6 C)
68 F (20 C)
68 F (20 C)
14 days
4 - 5 days

1ST MASH:
Batch Size
Pale Malt
Carapils
Roast Barley
Mash Temperature
Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

9 lbs (4.1 kg)

2 lbs (0.98 kg)
1 1/2 oz (43 g)
155 F (68.3 C)
1 hour
13 1/2 qts (12.8 L)
23 1/4 qts (22 L)

56 lbs (25.4 kg)

12 1/2 lbs (5.7 kg)
1/2 lb (0.23 kg)
155 F (68.3 C)
1 hour
21 gal (0.8 hL)
36 gal (1.36 hL)

Run the sweet wort into a holding vessel until 16 quarts (15.1
liters) are collected for a five-gallon batch, or 25 gallons (0.95
hectoliter) for a barrel batch. Run balance into kettle. Fill
kettle to 13 1/2 quart level (12.8 liters) for five-gallon batch, or
21 gallon level (0.8 hectoliter) for barrel batch. Heat this weak
wort to use for the second mash.

120

2ND MASH:
as above, except:
Batch Size
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

23 1/4 qts (22 L)

35 gal (1.33 hL)

After second mash, run 6 3/4 quarts (6.4 liters) to the 140
shilling ale for a five-gallon batch. For a barrel batch, run 10
gallons (0.39 hectoliter) to the 140 shilling. The object is to
collect 22 3/4 quarts (21.5 liters) volume for a five-gallon
batch, or 35 gallons (1.33 hectoliters) volume for a barrel
batch. The remaining sweet wort from sparging should be
run off to a second holding vessel for the twopenny. The
wort volume collected for the twopenny should be 22 quarts
(18 liters) for a five-gallon batch, or 34.1 gallons (1.29
hectoliters) for a barrel batch. Transfer the 140 shilling wort
to the kettle and boil it for 1 1/2 hours, adding 10 percent of
the hops at the beginning of the boil, and all the rest at 45
minutes.
Batch Size
HBU
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

13.3
4 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
2 - 3 months

82.8
18-20X106 cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
4 - 6 weeks

After the 140 shilling ale wort has been run out of the kettle,
refill the copper with the twopenny wort, on top of the spent
hops and commence boiling the twopenny wort.
TWOPENNY
Batch Size
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

1 1/2 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
4 weeks

8-10X106 cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
2 weeks

121

1850 60 SHILLING SCOTTISH ALE

Single Mash
OG
FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.
TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME
Batch Size

1.074 (17.9 B)
1.030 (7.5 B)
5.7% ABV/4.6% ABW
28
25%
60F (15.6 C)
65F (18 C)
6 - 10 days

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Mash)

1 Barrel
(Mash)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Amber Malt
Mash Temperature

10.9 lbs (4.94 kg)

10.3 lbs (4.67 kg)

1 1/2 lbs (0.68 kg)

156 F (69 C)

64 lbs (29 kg)

9 1/4 lbs (4.2 kg)
156 F (69 C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor

45 minutes
11 1/2 qts (109 L)
18 1/2 qts (175 L)

45 minutes
17 3/4 gal (0.67 hL)
29 14 gal (1.11 hL)

7.5
3 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
8 months

46.4
16-18X 106cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2C)
4 weeks

HBU
7.5
Yeast Volume
3 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 8 months

122

1850 80 SHILLING EXPORT

Single Mash
OG

1.088 (2.1 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.033 (13.5 B)
7.1% ABV/5.7% ABW
40
22%
55 F (12.8 C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

65 F (18 C)
14 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract/Syrup)

1 Barrel
(Mash/Syrup)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Amber Malt
Mash Temperature

12.9 lbs (5.9 kg)

4.4 lbs (2 kg)

8 lbs (3.6 kg)
1 1/4 lb (0.57 kg)
156 F (69 C)

28 lbs (12.4 kg)

49 lbs (22.2 kg)
7 1/2 lbs (3.4 kg)
156 F (69 C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

23 1/4 qts

45 minutes
8 3/4 qts (8.3 L)
15 qts (14.2 L)
3 1/2 qts (3.3L)

45 minutes
9 1/4 gal (0.35 hL)
23 gal(0.87 hL)
9 3/4 gal (0.37 hL)

2.1
4 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10C)
3 months

75.2
18-20X106 cells/mL
30-35 F (-1 to 2C)
4 - 6 weeks

HBU
12.1
Yeast Volume
4 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 3 months

123

80 SHILLING EXPORT ALE

Double Mash
which yields two separate brews

OG
FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

Strong Ale
1.088 (21 B)
1.033 (13.5 B)
7.1% ABV/5.7% ABW
40
22%
55 F (12.8 C)

Twopenny
1.040 (10 B)
1.013 (3.3 B)
3.5% ABV/2.8% ABW
29
13% from 'spent hops
60 F (15.6 C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

65 F (18 C)
15 days

68 F (20 C)
4 - 5 days

1ST MASH:
Batch Size
Pale Malt
Amber Malt
Mash Temperature
Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

9 lbs (4.1 kg)

1 1/4 lbs (0.57 kg)
156 F (69 C)
45 minutes
10 qts (9.5 L)
23 1/4 qts (22 L)

55 1/2 lbs (252 kg)

7 3/4 lbs (3.5 kg)
156 F (69 C)
45 minutes
15 1/4 gal(0.58%hL)
36 gal (1.36 hL)

Run the sweet wort to a holding vessel until 16 1/2 quarts (15.6
liters) are collected for a five-gallon batch, or 25 1/2 gallons
(0.97 hectoliter) for a barrel batch. Run balance of runoff to
kettle. Fill kettle to 10-quart level (9.5 liters) for five-gallon
batch, or 15 gallons (0.58 hectoliter) for each barrel batch.
Heat this weak wort to use for the second mash.

124

2ND MASH:
as above, except:
Batch Size
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

25 qts (23.7 L)

39 gal (1.48 hL)

From the second mash, run 6 1/4 quarts (5.9 liters) to the 80
shilling ale for a five-gallon batch. For a barrel batch, run 9
3/4 gallons (0.37 hectoliter) to the 80 shilling. The object is to
collect 22 3/4 quarts (21.5 liters) volume for a five-gallon
batch, or 35 1/4 gallons (1.33 hectoliters) volume fora barrel
batch. The remaining sweet wort from sparging should be
run off to a second holding vessel for the twopenny. The
wort volume collected for the twopenny should be 22 quarts
(18 liters) for a five-gallon batch, or 34.1 gallons (1.29
hectoliters) for a barrel batch. Transfer the 80shillingwort to
the kettle and boil it for 1 1/2 hours, adding 10 percent of the
hops at the beginning of the boil, and all the rest at 45
minutes.
STRONG ALE
Batch Size
HBU
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

12.1
4 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
3 months

75.2
18-20X106 cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
4 - 6 weeks

After the 80 shilling ale wort has been run out of the kettle,
refill the copper with the twopenny wort, on top of the spent
hops and commence boiling the twopenny wort.
TWOPENNY
Batch Size
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

1 1/2 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
4 weeks

8-10X106 cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
2 weeks

125

1850 140 SHILLING EDINBURGH ALE

Single Mash
OG

1.125 (29 B)

FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.

1.055 (13.5 B)
9% ABV/13.5% ABW
60
20%
50 F (10 C)

TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

62 F (17 C)
21 days

Batch Size

5 Gallon
(Extract)

5 Gallon
(Extract/Syrup)

1 Barrel
(Mash/Syrup)

Malt Extract Syrup

Pale Malt
Amber Malt
Mash Temperature

18.4 lbs (8.4 kg)

8.4 lbs (3.8 kg)

9 1/2 lbs (4.3 kg)
1 1/2 lbs (0.68 kg)
158 F (70 C)

52 lbs (23.6 kg)

58 1/2 lbs (26.5kg)
9 lbs (4.1 kg)
158 F (70 C)

Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor
Top Up Kettle to:

24 qts

2 hours
10 1/2 qts (9.9L)
18 qts (17 L)
2 qts (1.9 L)

2 hours
16 1/4 gal (0.62 hL)
27 3/4 gal (1 hL)
3 gal (0.11 hL)

20
4 qt starter
40-50F (4-10C)
4 - 6 months

124
20-22X106cells/mL
30-35F (-1 to 2C)
2 - 3 months

HBU
20
Yeast Volume
4 qt starter
Conditioning Temp. 40-50F (4-10C)
Conditioning Time 4 - 6 months

126

14O SHILLING EDINBURGH ALE

Double Mash
which yields two separate brews

OG
FG
ABV/ABW
BU
HOP UTILIZATION
PITCHING TEMP.
TEMPERATURE LIMIT
FERMENTATION TIME

Strong Ale
1.125 (29 B)
1.055 (13.5 B)
9% ABV/7.2% ABW
60
20%
50 F (10 C)
62 F (17 C)
21 days

Twopenny
1.040 (10 B)
1.013 (3.3 B)
3.5% ABV/2.8% ABW
45
15%, from 'spent' hops
60 F (15.6 C)
68 F (20 C)
4 - 5 days

1ST MASH:
Batch Size
Pale Malt
Amber Malt
Mash Temperature
Mash Time
Mash Liquor
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

11 3/4 lbs (5.3 kg)

1 1/2 lbs (0.68 kg)
158 F (70 C)
2 hours
13 qts (12.3 L)
24 qts (22.7 L)

72 1/2 lbs (329 kg)

9 1/4 lbs (4.2 kg)
158 F (70 C)
2 hours
20 gal (0.76 hL)
37 gal (1.4 hL)

Run the sweet wort to a holding vessel until 15 1/4 quarts (14.4
liters) are collected for a five-gallon batch, or 23 3/4 gallons
(0.9 hectoliters) for a barrel batch. Run balance into kettle. Fill
kettle to 13-quart level (12.3 liters) for five-gallon batch, or 20
1/2-gallon level (0.76 hectoliter) for a barrel batch. Heat this
weak wort to use for the second mash.

127

2ND MASH:
as above, except:
Batch Size
Sparge Liquor

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

26 qts (24.6 L)

40 gal (1.5 hL)

From the second mash, run 8 quarts (7.6 liters) to the 140
shilling ale for a five-gallon batch. For a barrel batch, run 12
gallons (0.46 hectoliter) to the 140 shilling. The object is to
collect 23 1/4 quarts (22 liters) volume for a five-gallon batch,
or 36 gallons (1.36 hectoliters) volume for a barrel batch. The
remaining sweet wort from sparging should be run off to a
second holding vessel for the twopenny. The wort volume
collected for the twopenny should be 22 quarts (18 liters) for
a five-gallon batch, or 34.1 gallons (1.29 hectoliters) fora barrel
batch. Transfer the 140 shilling wort to the kettle and boil it
for 1 1/2 hours, adding 10 percent of the hops at the beginning
of the boil, and all the rest at 45 minutes.
Batch Size
HBU
Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

20
4 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
4 - 6 months

124
20-22X106cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
2 - 3 months

After the 140 shilling ale wort has been run out of the kettle,
refill it with the twopenny wort, on top of the spent hops and
commence boiling the twopenny wort.
TWOPENNY
Batch Size

Yeast Volume
Conditioning Temp.
Conditioning Time

5 Gallon Mash

1 Barrel Mash

1 1/2 qt starter
40-50 F (4-10 C)
4 weeks

8-10X106 cells/mL
30-35 C (-1 to 2 C)
2 weeks

128

Appendix A:
Breweries
Alloa Brewery Co. Ltd. The Brewery, Whins Road, Alloa,
Clackmannanshire, Central FK10 3RB, Scotland, (0259)
723539. Office: Orchard Brae House, 30 Queensbury Road,
Edinburgh, Scotland. Established in 1810. Archibal Arrol
purchased the brewery in 1866. Alloa was taken over by Inde
Coope, which was bought out by Vaux/Lorimer; they, in
turn, were swallowed up by Allied Brewers in 1980. The
modern brewery on the outskirts of Alloa is the third largest
in Scotland, and stands in sharp contrast to the town's other
remaining brewery, Maclay's Thistle Brewery.

Products
Arrol's 80 Shilling. OG 1.042, 4,2% ABV. Amber-brown in
color and translucent. Has a light flavor that is
slightly fruity and bitter, with a deep, buttery accent
to its mild Sweetness. Medium finish.
Archibal Arrols 70 Shilling. Also known as Keg Heavy. OG
1.037. Hoppier. Probably the same beer as Dryborough
Heavy.
Dryborough Heavy 70 Shilling. OG 1034 to 38. Deep copperbrown color. Slightly fruity, very buttery aroma.
Dense head with good cling. Light roastiness,
sweetness and diacetyl with mild bitterness.

129

Low gas, medium-light body. Short finish with faint

lingering dryness. Dryborough's Craigmillar Brewery
in Edinburgh was closed in 1987 when Watney-Mann
was taken over by Allied, but the brand name
survives and is widely available.
Alloa also markets Inde Coope Burton Ale (OG 1.048,
4% ABV). It is a real ale.
Belhaven Brewery Co. Ltd. Dunbar, Lothian Eh42 IRS,
Scotland, (0368) 62734. Owns 40 pubs and hotels. The
brewery employs three brewers, and a total of 24 people. The
brewery produces 600 barrels (of 36 Imperial gallons each)
per week; real ale production is 100 barrels per week.
The brewery is built around a 13th century garden;
some of the vaulted cellars date back to the 15th century,
when it was still a monastery brewery. Belhaven remains
Scotland's oldest independent brewery. In 1719 the John
Johnstone family took over the premises for use as a Publick
Brewery. In 1815 Ellis Dudgeon took over; the brewery
continued to trade under his name until 1973. The brewery
was late in being modernized; no refrigeration and
carbonation equipment was used until 1948. Since that time
it has been thoroughly modernized, including a 120-barrel
stainless-steel calandria kettle, conical fermenters and
computer controlled fermentation. Cask conditioned ales,
however, are still fermented out in four days, starting at 58
degrees F (11 degrees C), in open fermenters. The ales are
racked into casks with finings on the eighth day. They also
bottle for Broughton, Alloa, Tennent's and Traquair House.
Kent Goldings are the hops used almost exclusively
in Belhaven's ales: 6 1/2 to 7 percent glucose (corn sugar) is
added to the kettle.

130

Products
Belhaven 90 Shilling Strong Ale. OG 1.070, FG 1.014, 7.25%
ABV. Also bottled as Fowler's Wee Heavy and Maclays
Strong Ale. Malty with roasty overtones. Alcohols
dominate the flavor without being overbearing. A 60
barrel batch is brewed four times a year. Available in
180 milliliter bottles, or on tap at half a dozen pubs.
80 Shilling Export. OG 1.041, FG 1.010, 3.9% ABV. Brewed with
5 percent crystal malt and 2 percent roast barley.
Malty, toffee, butterscotch and raisinlike flavors are
nicely balanced by subtle hopping. A soft, fullbodied, heavy ale. Soft crystal finish gives way to a
short and only-lightly-bitter finish. Exported to (and
well loved in) the United States as Belhaven Scottish
Ale.
70 Shilling Heavy. OG 1.035, FG 1.007, 3.3% ABV, 28 IBU.
Gassy, light-flavored and hoppy, with a smooth

131

roasty/caramel character. Even the cask version is

filtered and pasteurized. Recently being kegged with
less carbonation (1.2 volumes instead of Belhaven's
standard 1.7)
60 Shilling Light. OG 1.031, FG 1.010, 2.8% ABV.
Caramel color added at kegging. Filtered version marketed as
Keg Light. Increasingly difficult to find. Dark, malty and mild.
Special. OG 1.037. Special pale ale version of the 70
shilling.
Belhaven occasionally brews an export version at OG
1.056 (4.2% ABV) for Texas. The brewery also produces Bass
Light (OG 1.031), and the Tennents beers, Lincoln Green,
Organic and Rheinheitsgebot Lager as well as their own
house lagers, the Premium (OG 1.035 to 1.040) and the Export
(OG 1.048). Both are fermented down to between FG 1,004
and 1.005.
The Bobbin Inn. Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, Scotland. Alloa's
second brewpub. Its 1992 opening was announced during the
celebration of Auld Reekie's 500th brew at the Rose Street
Brewery.
Borve Brewhouse. Ruthven, Aberdeenshire, AB5 4SR,
Scotland, (046687) 343. Owned by James Hughes. Moved in
1989 from Isle of Lewis (Est. 1983) to beside the A96, HuntleyKeith Road, in a converted schoolhouse.

Products
Extra Strong. OG 1.085, 10% ABV. Ruby red, oak-matured
Strong ale.

Bishop Elphinstone's Ale. OG 1.053, 5% ABV.

Borve Heavy Ale. OG 1.040, 3.7% ABV.

132

Broughton Brewery Ltd. Broughton, Peeblesshire, Borders

ML126HO, Scotland, (08994) 345. Established May 14th, 1980.
David Younger, formerly of Scottish and Newcastle, has been
the Managing Director and force behind this successful 60barrel microbrewery. Mr. Younger is a Seventh-generation
brewer, and the fourth to start a brewery. He is descended
from George Younger of Alloa and Robert Younger of the St.
Ann's Brewery in Edinburgh. The brewery has the smallest
tied-house estate in Scotland, consisting of only the New
Bizaar in Dumfries.
Brougton's beers, like the Special Pale ales of other
Scottish breweries, are a hybrid between English bitter and
traditional Scottish ale; David Younger considers them to be

133

border beers. Pale malt, roast barley and flaked maize make
up the usual grist composition. Roast barley is less than 1
percent of the grist in all their beers except Old Jock. Kettle
carmelization is negligible. Gypsum is added to the soft well
water; Old Jock has the greatest proportion of added gypsum.
Fuggles and Goldings pellets constitute the bulk of the hops,
with smaller amounts of Northdown.

Products
Old Jock Strong Ale. OG 1.066 to 72, FG 1.016, 6.7% ABV.
Named for Old Jock, in the story Greyfriars' Bobby.
Deep, red-brown color. Mild aroma. Full, rounded
syrupy body. Rich roastiness balances ethanol and
propanol in the aroma. Very lightly hopped. Deep
maltiness dominates a faintly bitter background, and
the finish is all of light alcohol. Only occasionally
found on draft, the bottled version is well distributed.
Greenmantle 80 Shilling Export. Formerly Merlin's, ESB. OG
1.042 to 1.046, FG 1.009.5, 4.25% ABV. Light copper
color. Light fruitiness comes to the fore in the aroma.
Its light, buttery, and bitter flavor is nicely balanced.
Highly carbonated. Cleanly bitter dry finish.
Greenmantle Ale. OG 1.036 to 1.040, FG 1.009, 4% ABV.
Named for closing paragraph in the John Buchan
book of the same name, Then I knew that the
prophecy had been true, and that their prophet had
not failed them. The long looked-for revelation had
come. Greenmantle had appeared at last to an
awaiting people. Transparent, brown-tinted bronze
color. Mild, sweet, slightly hoppy aroma. Grapes and
cherries stand out from a complex sweetness that is
syrupy and caramellike. Noticeable diacetyl. Very
syrupy-and-full mouthfeel. Short finish with very
subtle dry bitterness. Meant to be a balance between
hoppy English ales and the heavier maltiness of
Scottish beers.

134

Broughton Special Bitter. The same beer, but dry hopped.

Broughton 60 Shilling Ale. OG 1.036, FG 1.008, 4% ABV. Keg
only. Hot butter predominates in the aroma.
Overly fruity, slightly vinegary, with a short finish.
Calendonian Brewing Co. Ltd. Slateford Road, Edinburgh,
Lothian, EH11 1PH, Scotland, (031) 337 1286. The 19th century
brewery passed from Lorimer & Clark into conglomeration
and back to independence again.
There were 30 breweries operating in Edinburgh in
1869 when George Lorimer and Robert Clark built their
Caledonian brewery in the charmed circle" on Slateford
Road (so called because of the quality of the well water). The
brewery loaded 1,000 hogsheads of ale per week onto railcars
at their siding on the Caledonian Railway's main line;
Northeast England was the largest market for their Lorimer's
Scotch Ale. Merman India Pale Ale, Merman Imperial Stout,
Brown Stout and Double Brown Stout were also brewed and
bottled. Vaux Breweries of Sunderland acquired the brewery,
with its maltings, coopers' shop and 70 employees, in 1919.
The maltings and the coopers' shop remained until 1964;
Vaux, while still producing 1,600 barrels a week, mostly for
consumption out of Scotland, announced that they would
close the brewery in May of 1986. Director Russell Clark led a
1987 management buyback that has preserved this working
museum. The brewery has 18 employees and serves 50 freetrade pubs. Its brewhouse boasts the last open, direct-fired
coppers in the British Isles, one of which dates back to 1869.
Brewing liquor is moderately hardened to facilitate
mashing and fermentation, and Golden Promise malted
barley composes most of the grist. Surprisingly, their very
typical Scottish ales are not brewed with roast barley. The 70
shilling uses chocolate, crystal and amber malts, and torrified
wheat for flavoring. The percentage of wheat increases and

135

the colored malts decrease in the stronger ales. The brewery

does not use sugar.
Fuggles and Goldings bitter and flavor the ales; the
ales ferment in open copper and stainless-steel fermenters for
seven days (12 to 14 days for the Edinburgh Strong Ale) at
temperatures in the 60s F. The beer is skimmed after 30 hours,
at an original gravity of 12 (3 B) above final gravity.
Fermentation is stopped by dropping the temperature in
order to precipitate the yeast at a specific gravity 0.5 (0.1 B)
above final gravity. The yeast strain itself has never been
replaced, having been successively recropped since Lorimer
and Clark established the brewery. The ales are racked to
tanks or casks in the cellars for seven days or more. The casks
of ale condition naturally in the cool cellars before being
fined. Even Caledonian's kegged ales aren't artificially
carbonated, or filtered. Beer for bottling is trucked to Sam
Smith's in Yorkshire.

Products
Edinburgh Strong Ale. OG 1.080, FG 1.016 to 18, 70 to 72 IBU,
8% ABV. Roast barley is used in this wee heavy, and
torrified wheat helps create its depth of flavor. Bronze
colored, with a tan head that laces the glass. The full
aroma is of hops, roast barley and malt. The flavor
begins very sweet, increases in spiciness and ends
with a long dry and warming finish. Full-bodied and
its richness masks its strength. Labeled as McAndrew's
Scotch Ale in the United States.
Merman XXX. OG 1.052, FG 1.014, 4.1% ABV. A heavy, dark
brown ale available only in casks. Merman is a
brewery trademark from 1890.
Caledonian 80 Shilling Export. OG 1.043, FG 1.011 to 12, 4.1%
ABV, 38 IBU. Wheat composes 6 percent of the grist,
and crystal and amber malts up to another 6 percent.
Faint, burnished copper-to-brown hue. Rich, creamy
head. Dry-hop dominates the aroma. Its flavor is

136

a masterful balance of hoppiness, maltiness,

bitterness, sweetness, caramel, dry-hop, butterscotch
and roast barley. The 80 shilling is extremely chewy
without being full-bodied and finishes with a
lingering hop bitterness that is perfectly
complementary.
Caledonian 70 Shilling. OG 1.034 to 36, FG 1.009.5 to 1.010, 28
to 30 IBU, 3.5% ABV. Sold in England as Lorimer's Best
Scotch Ale. Caledonian has increased the hopping
from 22 IBUs since Lorimer & Clark last brewed this
ale, but its high final gravity and maltiness moderate
the bitterness. Brown color that sparkles with black
and amber. Late hopping gives it a pleasant hoppy
aroma. The flavor is well-balanced, soft and malty.
Caledonian 60 Shilling Ale. OG 1.032, FG 1.008, 3.2% ABV.
Available in cask only.
R. & D. Deuchars India Pale Ale. 34 to 36 IBU, 3.8% ABV.
Unfiltered. Brewed with less colored malts than the
Scottish ales. It is a Scottish version of an IPA,
however, and the hop character is appropriately
subdued. The ale is late-hopped rather than dryhopped. It has a very clean, alcohol-predominant
aroma. The flavor is beautifully balanced, and a light
body complements its clean character.
Golden Promise Organic Beer. OG 1.050, FG 1.012 to 14, 5%
ABV. Naturally brewed with organically grown
barley and hops, the latter a very floral Hallertauertype from New Zealand. A very pleasant, malty ale.
Porter. OG 1.036 has also been brewed.
Harviestoun Brewery Ltd. Dollarfield Farm, Dollar,
Clackmannanshire, Central, FK147LX, Scotland, (02594) 2141.
Ken Booker and E. Morris. Established 1985. Seven

137

barrel brewery in a former dairy set below the Ochil hills on

the River Devon near Stirling.

Products
New Year Ale. OG 1.090, 9.2% ABV in 1990, 1.091 in 1991. Their
Winter brew.
Old Manor. OG 1.050, 5.1% ABV. A dark ale with roast malt
flavor predominating.
Harviestoun 80 Shilling. OG 1.041, 4.1% ABV. Straw-colored,
full-bodied ale.
Waverly Ale 70 Shilling. OG 1.036, 3.6% ABV. Brewed for the
Malt & Shovel pubs of Edinburgh, may no longer be
available.
Maclay & Co. Ltd. Thistle Brewery, Alloa, Clackmannanshire,
Central, FK101ED, Scotland, (0259) 723387. Scotland's other
remaining independent brewery, founded by James Maclay
at the old Mills Brewery in 1830. Real ale is Served in 14 of its
25 tied houses.
The present Thistle Brewery was constructed in 1870
over pre-existing cellars. The brewery today seems little
updated since then; the original wood-cabinet roller mill,
Steele's masher, hemispherically-domed copper tuns, 1871
kettles and copper-lined wooden, open circular fermenters
are still in daily use. Its picturesque jumble of Victorian
buildings fill most of one side of Old High Street. The brewery
employs its very minimal advertising judiciously. The fact
that it can't afford to market itself may be good news;
Maclays probably survived the century of takeovers because
of its poor financial performance and its paltry tied-house
estate (25 at present, many of them very modest locals).
Managing Director George King is expected to
preserve Maclays heritage, and Head Brewer Duncan Kellock
(11 years) and Production Manager Charlie Ritchie (42 years,

138

former Head Brewer) brew much as Alexander Fraser did

when he took over the brewery in 1896. Fraser was considered
a very scientific brewer in his day. Recipes have not changed
substantially since, being handed down from brewer to
brewer. The brewery patented Oat Malt Stout in 1914, when
war made malt a scarce commodity. When the maltings were
retired in 1958, the stout was dropped, since the malted oats
aren't available elsewhere.
Water from the brewery's well, is treated with
gypsum, calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate. Golden
Promise barley malt is purchased from Bass/Alloa and from
Simpson's; roast barley gives the color and flavor to the
brews. Their Stouts use caramel, linseed, licorice and salt in
addition. Fuggles are used for most of the hops, with 5 percent
or so Canadian Bramling Cross for aroma.
From the brewhouse, all the wort is collected at 61.5
degrees F (16.5 degrees C) in a circular fermenter by 3 p.m.

139

The temperature rises up to 66 degrees F (19 degrees C), and

sometimes to 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). The first skimming
is 41 hours after pitching. After three subsequent skimmings,
the temperature is dropped to 56 degrees F (13.5 degrees C)
over two days. The head is always skimmed away at 8 a.m. on
the third day from pitching. When fermentations vary,
temperatures are altered and the end-point varies but the
skimming schedule is followed religiously. Beers are filtered
through diatomaceous earth at racking to casks or
conditioning tanks on the sixth day. They are fined and held
for 10 days at 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). Keg beer is
centrifuged, then goes through rough and then sterile sheet
filtering. After carbonation to between 1.3 and 1.8 volumes,
and then seven days' conditioning, the beer is flash
pasteurized.
Maclays stopped bottling in 1983; Belhaven now
bottles for them.

Products
Scotch Ale. OG 1.050, FG 1.014, 5% ABV. Newer, goldencolored pale ale, with bitter edge and rich sweetness.
Two-thirds of production is cask conditioned; the
rest is kegged.
Maclays Export 80 Shilling. OG 1.040, FG 1.013, 4% ABV. As
the Maclays slogan has it, Real beer drinkers will
recognize it in the dark. Pale, burnished-copper
color. Rich, lingering head. Fresh hop aroma, against
a sweetly malty and soft fruity and sulfury
background. Bright, pleasant fresh-hop flavor carries
through a taste that starts sweet and fruity, softens in
the middle and ends with moderate lingering
bitterness. Of only medium body, it is still a rich and
well-balanced beer.
70 Shilling Special Pale Ale. OG 1.034, FG 1.010, 3.3% ABV. A
dark pale ale, hoppier than usual for Scottish ales.
Cask and keg conditioned, lightly primed.

140

60 Shilling Pale Ale (Light). OG 1.030, FG 1.010 to 11, 3% ABV.

A very flavorful and well-balanced ale, with roast
barley predominant. One of the last 60 shilling light
ales to be found it Scotland, it constitutes only 5
percent of Maclays sales and is difficult to find.
Maclays Strong Ale is also Fowlers Wee Heavy,
brewed by Belhaven. A porter has also been brewed recently.
Orkney Brewery. Quoyloo, Sandwich, Orkney, KW16 3LT,
Scotland, (085 684) 802. Roger White.

Products
Skullsplitter Ale. OG 1.080, 8.5% ABV.
Raven Ale. OG 1.038, 3.8% ABV.
Rose Street Brewery. 55-57 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2,
Scotland, (031) 220 1227. Brewer Ronald Borzucki's domain is
Scotland's first and most successful brewpub, opened by the
Alloa Brewery in 1983. Fifty percent of sales are on-premises,
and the other 50 percent goes to six other Alloa pubs around
Edinburgh. Borzucki brews twice each week. Sixty percent of
his production is 80 shilling ale.
Ron uses Edme Export Bitter (unhopped) extract,
along with roast malt extract in his 90 shilling ale.
Fermentation with Alloa yeast is at 58 degrees F (18 degrees C),
to control esters. The ales go into 18 gallon (Imperial) casks
unfiltered with premixed finings. The casks are fitted with a
plastic shive with a porous spile. The ales are served without
blanket pressure at a 52 to 54 degrees F (11 to 12 degrees C)
cellar temperature.

Products
90 Shilling. OG 1.055 to 56, FG 1.013 to 18. 75% Export Bitter
Malt Extract, 25% Diamalt Extract. Very pungent
Saxon and spicy Hallertauer hops. Stoutlike, dark,

141

fruity and estery. Roast/burnt finish is medium-long,

lightly-dry.
Auld Reekie 80 Shilling. OG 1.040 to 43, FG 1.010. Deep copper
color. Diacetyl dominates the nose, mixed with green
apples and sulfur. Sweetness predominates in the
flavor, but butterscotch and the tang of hops round
it out. Light bitterness lingers in the generally sweet
finish. Light body.
Scottish & Newcastle. Head Office: S & N Breweries PLC,
Abbey Brewery, 11 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Lothian, EH8
8YS, Scotland, (031) 556 2591. Fountain Brewery,
Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Lothian EH39YY, Scotland, (O31)
229 9377.
An amalgam of breweries from successive
rationalizations that included William Younger's, McEwan's
& Newcastle, Berwick's Holyrood, Robert Younger's,
Bernards, Morison's, Robert Deuchar's and most of the other
Scots breweries that are only memories, with several English
breweries as well, including Theakstons. Currently a 20,000
employee giant, Scottish & Newcastle is one of Britains Big
Six.
By the 1890's William Younger and William McEwan
were the two largest brewers in Scotland, had gone public,
and were engaged in Swallowing up smaller competitors.
McEwan had spent five years with John Jeffrey at the Heriot
Brewery in Grassmarket before founding the Fountain
Brewery in 1856. He entered into the colonial trade with great
success. His sister's son William (son of James Younger of
Alloa, and yes, all these Youngers brewing beer gets
confusing) succeeded him to the directorship of McEwan's in
1886. Further ties with Younger were cemented when
McEwan left shares to both William and Robert Younger
upon his death. McEwan's and Younger's merged in 1931

142

under Harry George Younger, of Belhaven House, Dunbar. He

said that the merger was not intended to alter the individual
characteristics of the ales marketed by the respective
companies, but [to make] available to each the technical and
other resources of both.
The present Fountain brewery is fitted with
continental-type stainless steel closed fermenters. Gypsum is
added to the brewing liquor for pH adjustment in the mash.
Two to 3 percent roast barley in the grist gives color and
flavor to the Scottish ales. A protein rest is used, with adjuncts
added at saccharification. Northern Brewer hops are used in
the kettle for 25 to 50 percent of the bitterness, with
isomerized extracts providing the balance.
Scottish & Newcastle's yeast is a highly attenuative,
traditional ale yeast, selected in the 1970s from the mixed
strain that had been in use for a hundred years. Fermentation
temperatures are limited to highs of 68 to 72 degrees F (20 to
22 degrees C), and oxygenation is limited in order to control
yeast growth and ester formation. Ale batches are brewed at
high gravity (OG 1.065 to 70), then diluted. Lagers are brewed
at OG 1.070. S&N still owns one maltings, a modern plant at
Moray Forth.
Brand names are applied variously to the products,
depending on the intended market.

Products
Gordon's Highland Scotch Ale. OG 1.090, 8.5% ABV. Brewed
in Edinburgh, then shipped in bulk for bottling in Belgium.
Not sold in Scotland.
McEwan's Scotch Ale. OG 1.088, 8% ABV. Exported to the
United States. Exported elsewhere as Younger's Double
Century, and brewed under license in Belgium. Not sold in
the United Kingdom.
Younger's No. 3. OG 1.043, 4.5% ABV.
McEwans 80 Shilling. OG 1.042, 4.5% ABV, 25 EBC. The

143

brand leader in Scotland. Also bottled and kegged as

McEwan's Export, and Younger's IPA. Translucent
reddish-brown color. Dense head and rich lacing.
Fruity and slightly hoppy and roasty aroma. Mild
flavor, softly sweet, very slightly fruity. The soft and
sweet finish is only faintly bitter. The flavors in the
Export version are less full, being masked by
carbonation.
McEwan's 70 Shilling. Also sold as Younger's Scotch Ale and
Tartan Special. OG 1.036.5, 3.7% ABV, 22EBC. Light
copper color. Well balanced ale with complex malt
character, butteriness and subdued fruitiness. Slightly
hoppy finish. Medium-light body and gassy.
Younger's Pale Ale. Very light copper color. Sharp hoppiness.
Medium-light body, mildly sweet. Medium finish,
very mildly bitter.
Younger's No. 3. OG 1.043. Rich and dark Scottish ale, brewed
primarily for the English market.
Tennent Caledonian Breweries. Wellpark Brewery, 110 Bath
Street, Glasgow, Strathclyde G2 2ET, Scotland, (041) 552 6552.
Also Herriot Brewery, Roseburn Terrace, Edinburgh, Lothian,
EH12 SLY, Scotland, (031) 337 1361. Essentially Bass' Scottish
arm, Tennent brews mostly lager.
The brewery's history goes back to 1556. Records of
that year show that Robert Tennent was a private brewer and
maltster near Glasgow Cathedral, and an early member of the
Incorporation of Maltmen. Another Robert Tennent brewed
at his White Hart Inn in Glasgow in the mid-18th century. J
& R Tennent began brewing in 1769 at their Drygate brewery,
eventually expanding to the adjacent Wellpark brewery in
1793. Tennent's was exporting to expatriate tobacco planters
in Virginia by 1797. Tennent's Wellpark Brewery was the
largest in the West of Scotland in 1858. At that time their

144

Scotch ales were world famous, and Tennent's had become

the biggest beer exporters in the world.
Tennent's, like the other Scottish brewers, had
reacted to the infringement of pale ale on their markets by
adding that brew style to their portfolio in the mid-19th
century. When German and Danish lagers began to capture a
share of their markets in the latter half of the century,
Tennent's became the first Scottish brewery to tackle the
fizzier lagers. Tennent's began brewing lager in May, 1885. In
1891 they completed construction of a German-made
brewery dedicated to lager production; Glasgow became the
bastion of lager drinking in Great Britain.
The brewery continued to grow until the firm took
over rival Maclachlan's in the early 1960s. The debt incurred
by the takeover then forced them to sell out to Charrington
United Breweries Limited, already the masters of United
Caledonian Breweries (Aitken, Fowler, Calder, Murray, Jeffrey
and George Younger). In January 1966, they were merged into
Tennent Caledonian Breweries Ltd. The 1967 merger with
Bass brought them under the control of Bass Charrington.
Tennent's claims the dubious distinction of having
introduced lager brewing to Scotland (by the early 1980s
lagers outsold ales in Scotland), and for introducing tinned
(canned) beer to Britain. Their particularly tacky and not
politically-correct Girls of Tennent's label series sums up
the company's outlook. The current brewery is equipped
with state-of-the-art Steinecker and Balfour equipment.

Products
Tennent's 80 Shilling. OG 1.042, 4.2% ABV. Formerly an ale of
great measure, it is still pleasant, if unexceptional.
Difficult to find in casks.
Traguair House Brewery. Innerleithen, Peeblesshire, Borders
EH446PW, Scotland, (0896) 830323. The brewery is in the

145

oldest inhabited house in Scotland, restored in 1965 by 20th

laird, Peter Maxwell Stewart (d.1990). His wife Flora Stewart
survives him, and his daughter Lady Catherine Maxwell
Stewart, the 21st Lady of Traquair, now manages Traguair
House's affairs.
The manor has sheltered 27 Scottish (and English)
kings and queens. The original tower dates from the 11th
century. The rest of the structure all was built before 1700.
Stewarts have been the Lairds of Traquair since 1478.
Laird Peter Maxwell resurrected the cellar brewery,
which dates back to 1573, the time of the 4th Laird, Sir John
Stuart, Captain of Mary Queen of Scots' bodyguard. Much of
the brewery was intact in 1965, and the laird put it to work
brewing using an 18th century recipe for strong ale. Ian
Cameron started assisting him in the brewery 17 years ago,
and has run the brewery himself for three years. Frank Smith
now assists the capable Ian with mashing in, cleaning and
deliveries.
The manor itself, strategically located in the Borders
of southern Scotland, has a long and tempestuous history.
The Sleekit Yetts, or Bear Gates, were closed in the autumn
of 1745 by the 5th Earl of Traquair upon the departure of
Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) for
England, with the vow that they would not be reopened
until a Stuart again sat on the Scottish throne. Bonnie Prince
Charlie and his army of volunteer Scots threatened London
itself before they were defeated. The cause of Scottish
independence lost its last war; the Bear Gates remain closed.
The four barrel (U.K.) brewery uses water of 100
milligrams per liter total dissolved solids, 75 milligrams per
liter hardness and 11 milligrams per liter total alkalinity. The
water is piped two and one half miles from the spring down
to the brewery. The grist is composed of pale malt and 1
percent roast barley. After infusion mashing, the wort is run

146

to the new copper, built in 1736 during the tenancy of the

11th laird, Charles Stewart. The wort is boiled 1 1/2 hours for
Bear Ale, and four to five hours for the strong ale. The wort
density rises SG one point every 15 minutes. Kettle
caramelization has a major effect on Traquair House Ale's
flavor. East Kent Goldings are added at the onset of boiling,
and again thirteen minutes before final gravity is reached.
For the Scotch Ale, Goldings are added in five to six pound
and two to three pound increments, depending on their
alpha acidity. The wort is run through a sieve, exactly as Scots
brewers did two centuries ago, and into Coolship No. 1.
Cooling in the wooden coolships, and thence over the
Baudelot cooler obtained in 1984, takes 1 1/2 half hours.
Fermentation takes place in one of three unlined
fermenters of Russian Memel oak (Quercus robur and
Quercus petraea are the most common oak species that grow
in the Baltic region. The wood is probably of one or both of
these species). Two of the fermenting tuns date to 1811, the
other is not yet 30.15 Attenuation starts as high as 68 degrees
F (20 degrees C), but never rises above 70 degrees F (21 degrees
C).
The yeast strain pitched is from another Scottish
brewery. It ferments strongly, being skimmed twice on the
second day, and fermenting out in 3 1/2 days. Temperature is
controlled by opening or shutting a window, or running the
beer through a copper line to cool it. The ales are left in the
fermenters for a total of 10 days before being racked to 36
gallon (U.K.) barrels with isinglass finings. After 1 1/2 to two
weeks, the ales go out to the trade. After three to four months
aging in casks to develop its soft, round flavor, the Wee
Heavy is sent to Belhaven for bottling. It is bottled 40 barrels
(U.K.) at a time.
Total annual production of the Scotch Ale has never
exceeded 210 barrels. In 1991, a meager 240 cases of Traguair

147

House Ale were destined for the United States. Overall, twothirds of production is exported. The ale is not difficult to
find in Edinburgh and the borders, but is less readily found
elsewhere.
In 1984 Alan Eames imported a thousand cases to the
United States; some of the bottles are still laid down in cellars
here. Recently, Merchant du Vin has undertaken to market
Traquair House Ale here in the United States for the Stewarts;
this rarest of ales might even grace the shelves of your
neighborhood store.
It is not unlikely that Bonnie Prince Charlie drank the
ale in 1745, on his march toward London.

Products
Traquair House Ale. OG 1.075, FG 1.012 to 15, 8% ABV. Deep
burnished-copper color. Redder than other Scotch
ales. Amber and ruby tones shine brightly. Very full
and round flavor. Great depth of maltiness is
dominated by alcohol, hoppiness and hop bitterness.
Caramel/burnt undertones. Short, dry finish. Harsh
flavors in the young ale are not evident in more
mature casks. Candylike flavor increases over time.
Bear Ale. OG 1.050, FG 1.010, 5.2% ABV. Strong draft ale.
Medium copper color. Creamy head leaves a fine,
dense, glass-coating lace. Primarily hoppy, with the
bright, fresh taste of hops predominant. Sweet, clean
malt flavor, tangy, with medium-light bitterness.
Relatively soft, long finish without harshness.
Fair Ale. OG 1.042. Six barrels are brewed each year for the
castle's huge summer festival. Very sweet and light, a
right summer drink.
Visitors to Traquair House are well advised to enjoy
the hospitality at the Traquair Arms Hotel, Traquair Road off
the A72, phone 83022. Bear Ale and Trauquair House Ale are
among the four or five real ales on tap, or take a glass of mead
from Moniak Castle, Inverness.

148

West Highland Breweries. Old Station Brewery, Taynuilt,

Argyllshire, Strathclyde, PA351JB, Scotland, (086 62) 246.
Richard Saunders.

Products
Highland Severe. OG 1.050.
Highland Heavy. OG 1.038.
Highland Dark Light (HDL). OG 1.034.
Campbell's Scotch Ale, bottled in Belgium is brewed
by Courage. Campbell's was once a respected brand of the
Campbell, Hope and King Brewery.

149

150

Appendix B:
Edinburgh Pubs
There are many outstanding pubs throughout
Scotland, but more Scottish Ales are available in and around
Edinburgh than anywhere else in Scotland, although
Maclays and Belhaven can be hard to find. Most of the pubs
are tied houses, which means that they offer little choice of
ales other than those brewed or marketed by the brewery to
which they are tied. If there is an Alloa Ales sign outside, Inde
Coope Burton Ale is likely to be served as well, but don't
expect to find Maclays on tap! Some of the free houses offer a
wide selection of real ales. Good pubs are to be found
clustered on Rose Street and in Grassmarket/Cowgate, as well
as on George Street and along the Royal Mile. Pub ownership,
offerings and atmosphere are likely to change with time, and
the traveler in Scotland would be well advised to obtain a
copy of CAMRA's Scottish Real Beer Guide for current
information, including which ales are on tap.
The Athletic ArmsBetter known as Diggers or the
Gravediggers. The most visible sign says A. Thomas Wilkie,
Wine, Spirits & Ale Merchants. Their cellarman's skill is said
to produce the best pint of 80 shilling in Scotland. The pub

151

is home to the fans of the Hearts of Midlothian Football Club,

whose playing field is nearby. Scottish & Newcastle. At the
corner of Angle Park Terrace and Henderson Terrace.
Bailie BarOne-half flight down. Belhaven. 2 St. Stephen
Street.
Bannerman's BarHoused in a medieval vault, this pub is
popular with students. Alloa. 212 Cowgate.
The BullAn unassuming pub with a good selection of real
ales. 12 Grassmarket.
Forrest Hill BarAlso known as Sandy Bell's. One of the
better-known of the 50-odd pubs in the Old Town. Scottish
& Newcastle, 23 Forrest Road.

152

Golf TavernReputed to be the oldest pub in Edinburgh.

Elegant free house. Wright's House, Bruntsfield Road.
Guilford ArmsCall. If they have Traquair House Ale on
draft, go. East end of Princes Street, near West Register Street.
The KenilworthA comfortable, traditional pub with a
younger clientele. Alloa. Rose Street.
Malt and ShovelA small chain of pubs featuring single
malts and good selections of real ales, sometimes even
Traguair House Ale.
MilnesBasement pub that has been haunted by
generations of Scottish artists. Scottish & Newcastle. Corner
of Hanover and Rose Streets.
Starbuck TavernAlso known as Scott's. Cozy pub with a
view of the Firth of Forth estuary. Belhaven 90 shilling, 80
shilling, 70 shilling and 60 shilling on draft. Grantin Way,
Laverock Bank Road, Newhaven.
T.G. WillisUpstairs bar. Noted for traditional Scottish fare
and a wide range of cask ales, including Caledonian,
Belhaven and Broughton. George Street.
The Tilted WigUpscale pub in the New Town. Maclays. 3
Cumberland Street.
The Victoria and AlbertA sing-along dinner house, housed
in a beautiful pub. Alloa. Frederick Street.
The Volunteer ArmsAlso known as The Canny Man.
Another famous pub, family owned since 1871. Caledonian
and others. Morningside Road.

153

154

Appendix C:
Weights and Measures
DRY MEASURE
Bushel, Imperial

= 2218.192 cubic inches = 42 pounds of malt =

56 pounds of barley
= 2150.42 cubic inches = same measure as U.S.
bushel
= 8 bushels = 336 pounds of malt = 448 pounds
of barley

Bushel, Winchester
Quarter

Scotland before 1840:

Bushel

= volume of 10 Imperial gallons of water, but

in practice variable.
= 4 pecks = 8 stimperts = 16 lippies
= 2,240 pounds of grain = 16 bolls
= 140 pounds of grain = 4 firlots = 2 auchlets

Calder
Boll

LIQUID MEASURE
Mutchkin, Old Scottish
Chopin, Old Scottish
Pint, Old Scottish

= 1/4 pint
= 1/2 pint
= 3 Imperial pints = 3.6 U.S. pints

155

= 1.71 liters
= 16 fluid ounces = 0.8327 Imperial pints
= 0.4732 liter
Quart, Old Scottish
= 2 Old Scottish pints
Quart, Imperial
= 1.2 U.S. quarts = 1.1359 liters
Quart, U.S.
= 0.833 Imperial quarts = 0.9464 liter
Gallon, Imperial
= 1.2009 U.S. gallons = 4.5436 liters
Gallon, Old English Beer/Ale = 282 cubic inches = 4.62 liters
Gallon, Old English Wine
= 231 cubic inches, same as U.S. gallon
Pin
= 4 1/2 U.S. gallons
Firkin
=9 U.S. gallons
Kilderkin
= 18 U.S. gallons
Barrel, U.K.
= 36 Imperial gallons = 43.23 U.S. gal.
= 163.65 liters
Hogshead, Old English
= 51 gallons of ale or beer = 1 1/2 U.K. bbl.
Hogshead, London
= 54 gallons of beer = 48 gallons of wine
Hogshead, Imperial measure = 52.5 Imperial gallons = 63 U.S. gallons
Puncheon, Old English
= 80 Imperial gallons = 96.1 U.S. gallons
Puncheon
= 70 Imperial gallons = 84 U.S. gallons
Butt
= 108 Imperial gallons
Tun
= 252 wine gallons
Pint, U.S.

WEIGHTS

Ounce (avoirdupois)
Pound (avoirdupois)

= 28.3495 grams
= 453.5924 grams = 0.4536 kilograms

TEMPERATURE CONVERSIONS
Degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Centigrade
Degrees Centigrade to degrees Fahrenheit

156

C = F 32 + 1.8
F = C x 1.8 + 32

MONEY
Shilling, Old English
= 12 pence = 133.2 grams of silver, notated s or /
Shilling, after 1930 = 12 pence = 80.73 grams of silver, notated s or /
Pound, Old English
= 240 pence = 20 shillings, notated
= 100 pence, notated
= 21 shillings
= notated d (for the Roman coin, a denarius)
= notated p

Pound, since 1971

Guinea, 1663-1813
Penny
Penny, since 1971

Scottish money was originally identical in value with English, but

depreciated during the wars with England. By the 16th century the Scottish
shilling was only valued at one English penny. In 1707 Scottish money was
standardized to English values again.

USEFUL INFORMATION
Pounds Per Barrel

1 pound of sucrose

1 pound of malt extract

1 pounds of dry malt

= weight of 36 gallons (Imperial) of wort

minus weight of 36 gallons of distilled water
= 0.3336 grams per 100 milliliters
= OG 1.036 in an Imperial gallon = OG 1.043
in a U.S. gallon displaces 1/16 of an Imperial
gallon of water
= OG 1.035-1.040 in a U.S. gallon
= OG 1,040-1.045 in a U.S. gallon

In the 1820s, 50 shilling Ale was OG 1.080-86, FG 1.032-35,

70 shilling
1.090-95
1.036-39
70 shilling
1.100-08
1.040-44
90 shilling
1.110-16
1.045-47
110 shilling
1.120-25
1.048-50
Late 1830s, 40 shilling
1.078
1.025
50 shilling
1.090
1.030
70 shilling
1.105
1.042
80 shilling
1.120
1.045
5 guinea
1.125
1.060

157

5.7% ABW
6.4%
7.0%
7.5%
8.3%
5.5%
6.5%
7.5%
8.5%
8.5%

158

Glossary
acetification. The changes brought about by production of
acetic acid, generally as spoilage by aerobic bacteria, but
also as mash or kettle pH adjustment.
adjunct. Any unmalted grain or other fermentable ingredient
added to the mash.
aeration. The action of introducing air to the wort at various
stages of the brewing process.
airlock. (see fermentation lock)
airspace. (see ullage)
alcohol by volume (v/v). The percentage of volume of
alcohol per volume of beer. To calculate the approximate
volumetric alcohol content, subtract the terminal gravity
from the original gravity and divide the result by 75. For
example: 1.050-1.012 = .038 / 75 = 5% w/v.
alcohol by weight (w/v). The percentage weight of alcohol
per volume of beer. For example: 3.2% alcohol by weight =
3.2 grams of alcohol per 100 centiliters of beer.
ale. 1. Historically, an unhopped malt beverage. 2. Now a
generic term for hopped beers produced by top
fermentation, as opposed to lagers, which are produced by
bottom fermentation.
all-extract beer. A beer made with only malt extract as
opposed to one made from barley, or a combination of malt
extract and barley.

159

all-grain beer. A beer made with only malted barley as

opposed to one made from malt extract, or from malt
extract and malted barley.
all-malt beer. A beer made with only barley malt with no
adjuncts or refined sugars.
alpha acid. A soft resin in hop cones. When boiled, alpha acids
are converted to iso-alpha-acids, which account for 60
percent of a beer's bitterness.
alpha-acid unit. A measurement of the potential bitterness of
hops, expressed by their percentage of alpha acid. Low = 2
to 4%, medium = 5 to 7%, high = 8 to 12%. Abbrev: A.A.U.
attenuation. The reduction in the wort's specific gravity
caused by the transformation of sugars into alcohol and
carbon-dioxide gas.
Balling. A saccharometer invented by Carl Joseph Napoleon
Balling in 1843. It is calibrated for 63.5 degrees F (17.5 degrees
C), and graduated in grams per hundred, giving a direct
reading of the percentage of extract by weight per 100
grams solution. For example: 10 B = 10 grams of sugar per
100 grams of wort.
Bitterness Units (BU). ASBC measurement of bittering
substances in beer, primarily iso-alpha-acids, but also
including oxidized beta acids. Also see International
bitterness units.
blow-by
(blow-off).
A
single-stage
homebrewing
fermentation method in which a plastic tube is fitted into
the mouth of a carboy, with the other end submerged in a
pail of sterile water. Unwanted residues and carbon dioxide
are expelled through the tube, while air is prevented from
coming into contact with the fermenting beer, thus
avoiding contamination.
carbonation. The process of introducing carbon-dioxide gas
into a liquid by: 1. injecting the finished beer with carbon
dioxide; 2. adding young fermenting beer to finished beer
for a renewed fermentation (kraeusening); 3. priming
(adding sugar) to fermented wort prior to bottling, creating
a secondary fermentation in the bottle.

160

carboy. A large glass, plastic or earthenware bottle.

cast. As in the wort is cast from the kettle; the running-off
of the wort after processing.
chill haze. Haziness caused by protein and tannin during the
secondary fermentation.
culm. Dusty or inferior anthracite coal; a poor fuel for
kilning.
dry hopping. The addition of hops to the primary fermenter,
the secondary fermenter, or to casked beer to add aroma
and hop character to the finished beer without adding
significant bitterness.
dry malt. Malt extract in powdered form.
dusty yeast. Yeast which does not quickly precipitate out of
suspension at the end of fermentation.
EBC (European Brewery Convention). (see SRM)
extract. The amount of dissolved materials in the wort after
mashing and lautering malted barley and/or malt adjuncts
such as corn and rice.
falling heat. The temperature of sweet wort run from the
mash tun.
fecula. Trub.
fermentation lock. A one-way valve, which allows carbondioxide gas to escape from the fermenter while excluding
contaminants.
final specific gravity. The specific gravity of a beer when
fermentation is complete.
fining. The process of adding clarifying agents to beer during
secondary fermentation to precipitate suspended matter.
flatten. Conditioning under atmospheric pressure, to release
carbon dioxide from the beer.
flocculant yeast. Yeast which forms large colonies and tends
to come out of suspension before the end of fermentation.
flocculation. The behavior of yeast cells joining into masses
and settling out toward the end of fermentation.
flooring the pieces. Spreading the barley onto the malting
floor to germinate (malt).

161

Free house. A pub (public house) which is not owned by a

brewery company. A free house is free to purchase any beer
from any brewery that will sell it, consequently, many free
houses have a wider selection.
gyle. Fermenting beer, or the tun in which fermentation
takes place.
homebrew bittering units. A formula invented by the
American Homebrewers Association to measure bitterness
of beer. Example: 1.5 ounces of hops at 10 percent alpha acid
for five gallons: 1.5 x 10 = 15 HBU per five gallons.
hop pellets. Finely powdered hop cones compressed into
tablets. Hop pellets are 20to 30 percent more bitter by
weight than the same variety in loose form.
hydrometer. A glass instrument used to measure the specific
gravity of liquids as compared to water, consisting of a
graduated stem resting on a weighed float.
Independent Tied House Chains. A company which is not a
brewery may own a chain of pubs. The individual pubs are
tied to the chain, which controls what brand of beer is
served. But since the pubs are not owned by a brewery
company, they are technically under the licensing laws
independent.
International bitterness units. The EBC measurement of the
concentration of iso-alpha-acids in milligrams per liter
(parts per million) in wort and beer. Also see Bitterness
Units.
isinglass. A gelatinous substance made from the swim bladder
of certain fish and added to beer as a fining agent.
kraeusen. (n.) The rocky head of foam which appears on the
surface of the wort during fermentation. (v.) To add
fermenting wort to fermented beer to induce carbonation
through a secondary fermentation.
lager. (n.) A generic term for any bottom-fermented beer.
Lager brewing is now the predominant brewing method
worldwide except in Britain where top fermented ales
dominate. (v.) To store beer at near-zero temperatures in

162

order to precipitate yeast cells and proteins and improve

taste.
lauter tun. A vessel in which the mash settles and the grains
are removed from the sweet wort through as training
process. It has a false, slotted bottom and spigot.
Limewood. Wood of the linden tree (Tilia sp.) known in
England as lime tree and in Scotland as lorit.
liquefaction. The process by which alpha-amylase enzymes
degrade soluble starch into dextrin.
malt. Barley that has been steeped in water, germinated, then
dried in kilns. This process converts insoluble starchs to
soluble substances and sugars.
malt extract. A thick syrup or dry powder prepared from
malt.
mashing. Mixing ground malt with water to extract the
fermentables, degrade haze-forming proteins and convert
grain starches to fermentable sugars and nonfermentable
carbohydrates.
maskin' loom. Mash tun.
modification. 1. The physical and chemical changes in barley
as a result of malting. 2. The degree to which these changes
have occured, as determined by the growth of the acrospire.
original gravity. The specific gravity of wort previous to
fermentation. A measure of the total amount of dissolved
solids in wort.
pH. A measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, usually
on a scale of one to 14, where seven is neutral.
pickle. The kernel of barley or malt. - pieces. Barley from the
steeps, laid on a malting floor to germinate.
Plato. A saccharometer that expresses specific gravity as
extract weight in a one-hundred-gram solution at 68
degrees F (20 degrees C). A revised, more accurate version of
Balling, developed by Dr. Plato.
primary fermentation. The first stage of fermentation, during
which most fermentable sugars are converted to ethyl
alcohol and carbon dioxide.

163

priming sugar. A small amount of corn, malt or cane sugar

added to bulk beer prior to racking or at bottling to induce
a new fermentation and create carbonation.
puncheon. A cask, usually employed for conditioning, of 70
Imperial gallons, (84 U.S. gallons).
racking. The process of transferring beer from one container
to another, especially into the final package (bottles, kegs,
etc.).
saccharification. The naturally occurring process in which
malt starch is converted into fermentable sugars, primarily
maltose.
saccharometer. An instrument that determines the sugar
concentration of a solution by measuring the specific
gravity.
secondary fermentation. 1. The second, slower stage of
fermentation, lasting from a few weeks to many months
depending on the type of beer. 2. A fermentation occuring
in bottles or casks and initiated by priming or by adding
yeast.
shive. The bung, or cork, of a beer barrel, that is pierced for a
spile.
sowens. 17th century Scots name for the hopped beers of
Denmark.
sparging. Spraying the spent grains in the mash with hot
water to retrieve the remaining malt sugar.
specific gravity. A measure of a substance's density as
compared to that of water, which is given the value of 1,000
at 39.2 degrees F (4 degrees C). Specific gravity has no
accompanying units, because it is expressed as a ratio.
spile. A wooden spear about two inches long. It is fitted into
the shive sealing a cask of ale/beer. A soft spile allows
pressure to vent; a hard spile reseals the cask.
SRM (Standard Reference Method) and EBC (European
Brewery Convention). Two different analytical methods of
describing color developed by comparing color samples.
Degrees SRM, approximately equivalent to degrees
Lovibond, are used by the ASBC (American Society of

164

Brewing Chemists) while degrees EBC are European units.

The following equations show approximate conversions:
(EBC) = 2.65 x ( Lovibond) 1.2
( Lovibond) = 0.377 x (EBC) + 0.45
starter. A batch of fermenting yeast, added to the wort to
initiate fermentation.
stillion. The rack upon which casks, hogsheads or puncheons
are placed. Also, the hogsheads themselves when their
contents are conditioning.
strike temperature. The initial temperature of the water
when the malted barley is added to it to create the mash.
tied house. A pub (public house) owned by or in debt to, a
brewery, which consequently controls what brand of beer
is served. Until 1991, most British pubs were tied houses.
torrified wheat. Wheat which has been heated quickly at
high temperature, causing it to puff up, which renders it
more easily mashed.
trub. Suspended particles resulting from the precipitation of
proteins, hop oils and tannins during boiling and cooling
stages of brewing.
tun. Any open tank or vessel. More usually applied to a
mashing tub, but until the 19th century commonly used in
reference to a fermenting vessel.
ullage. The empty space between a liquid and the top of its
container. Also called airspace or headspace.
v/v. (see alcohol by volume)
w/v. (see alcohol by weight)
water hardness. The degree of dissolved minerals in water.
wort. The mixture that results from mashing the malt and
boiling the hops, before it is fermented into beer.

165

166

Index

A. Melvin & Co. 32

The Abercrombie
Plan 34
Aberdeen 10
acetification 94
adjuncts 19, 60, 91, 98,
143
aging 99
Aitchinson's Brewery
50
Aitchison-Jeffrey Ltd.
32

Aitken 145
alcohol
by volume 15
content 18
alcohols 44
aldehydes 44, 99
ale
brown 23
Demerara 38
dinner 23
export 23, 99
harvest 23

167

India 49, 72
Scotch 7, 104
Scottish 7, 104
three guinea 23
ten guinea 35
Alex. Berwick & Co.
33
Alloa Brewery 12, 38,
49, 129, 130, 151
Allsop 19
amyl acetate 43
Anderson, James 35
Andrew Drybrough
& Co. 32
aquifers 13
Archd. Campbell &
Co. 32
Archibal Arrol 129
Arrol 38
astringency 99
attenuation 109
attenuative 79
auchlets 2
bacteria 22
Bailie Bar 152
Ballingall 101
Bannerman's Bar 152
barley 12, 57
Chevalier 58
Golden Promise
135, 139
roast 43, 44, 60,
104, 134, 137, 143
Scottish 59
Barleycorn, John 55
Bass 19, 145
Bass Crest Breweries
38
beating 96, 99
beer
color 35
India 42
keg 27
Belhaven 8, 27, 101,
151

Brewery 130
Bell's Brewery 35, 51
Barnard, Alfred 8
T. & J. 36
Bernard, D. 36
Bernards 32, 35, 142
Berwick, William 58
Bickerdyke, J. 8
bitter 19
bitterness
hop 44
units 73, 108
Black Cork 35
Black, William 81, 97
Blackford ale 9
Blair 35
Blair & Company 38
Blyth & Camerson 33
The Bobbin Inn 132
bog myrtle 70
boll 2
Booth, Mr. 90
Boroughloch 30
Borve Brewhouse 132
Borzucki, Ronald 141
bottling 21
brewery map 25
brewhouses 87
brewing yeast 79
broom 70
broombush 71
Broughton Brewery
130, 133
Brown, Dr. David 30,
43, 77, 81
brown robin 9
Browster Wives 9
Buchan, John 134
Bull 101
The Bull 152
burgess 10
Burns, Robbie viii
Burton 18, 51
bushel 2
Cairm 70

168

Calder 38, 145

Caledonian
Brewery 36, 54, 101
Brewing Co. 135
Calton Hill 30, 47
Cameron, Ian 146
Campbell Hope &
King Ltd. 32
Candlemakers Row
29
Candleriggs Brewery
37
Canongate Brewery
13, 30
caramel 139
caramel flavor 92
caramelization 147
carbon-dioxide 22
carbonate 110
carbonation 22
carmeal 70
Carmichael's 35
Carter, John 71, 75
cask ale 110
cask-conditioned 28
casks 22, 100
Castle 36
cauliflower head 96
Chas. Blair & Co. 33
Chas. Dick & Co. 32
charmed circle 37
Chevalier barley 58
chocolate 135
City of Edinburgh
Brewery Co., Ltd.
33
Clark, Robert 37
Clark, Russell 135
cleansing 99
Clyde 12
Coke 20
colonial trade 11
Color 44
conditioning 95, 100,
110

Cook, C.H. 8
cooler
wort 93
Cooper & MacLeod
32
coppers 87
Couch 61
Cowgate 29, 47, 151
Craighwell Brewery
35
Craigmillar 36, 37, 48
Brewery 130
New Brewery 33
Crease & Taylor 32
Cribb, Dr. Stephen 48
Croft-an-Righ 34, 54
crystal 135
crystal malt 93, 108
Curiosities of Ale and
Beer 8
D. Bernard & Co. 32,
33
D. Nicolson & Son 33
dandelion 70
dark-roasted malts 64
Darnel 70
decoction mashing
66
Deuchar, Robert 36,
142
diacetyl 79, 110, 134
Diggers 101
The Athletic Arms
151
Disher, Robert 35
Dixon, Jacob 21
Donnachie, Ian 11,
58,92
double mashing
42,90, 106
Douglas, Scott & Co.
33
drum roaster 64
dry malt extract 107
dry-hop 98, 137

169

Drybrough & Co. 32,

33, 35, 130
Drygate brewery 144
Duddingston Loch
36, 37, 47
Dudgeon, Ellis 130
Dumbarton Glass
Work & Brewing
Company 21
Eames, Alan 148
Edinburgh 36, 47,
82,92
ales 24, 80
United Breweries
Ltd. 32, 33
English strong ale 90
ester 43, 79, 95, 109,
143
esterification 99
export 28
markets 17
falling heat 88
fatty acids 90
fecula 15, 93
fermentation 15, 94
temperature 20,
42, 43, 95, 108
filtering 22
final gravity 80
firlots 2
flaked maize 134
floor maltings 62
Forrest Hill Bar Sandy
Bell's 152
Forth 12
Forth Brewery 38
Fountain Brewery 142
Fountain brewery 36
Fountainbridge 30,
36, 47
Fowler 145
Fowler's Wee Heavy
131
foxed worts 94
Fraser, Alexander 139

free trade 27
fusel 96
fusel alcohols 72, 79,
108
G & J Maclachlan Ltd.
33
Gates, Bear 146
Geo. Mackay & Co.
32, 33
Geo. Ritchie & Sons
32
ginger 70
Glasgow 8, 66,92
gluten 15, 91
Golf Tavern 153
Gordon & Blair Ltd.
33
Gorgie Breweries 36,
47
Grange 38
Grassmarket 36, 47,
151
Greenmantle 134
grout 70
Guilford Arms 153
gyle 86, 94
Hammonds United
Breweries Ltd. 32
hand pumps 100
Harrison, Dr. John 1
Harviestoun Brewery
137
heather ale 8
Henderson 38
herbs 9
Heriot Brewery 26, 36,
50, 142
Heriot-Watt
University 22
A History of the
Brewing Industry
in Scotland 11
Hodgson's brewery 18
hogshead 2
hogsheads 95,97

170

Holyrood Brewery 8,
47, 50, 142
Homebrew Bittering
Units 73, 109
hop
aroma 91
flavor 91
rates 73, 108
hop-back 93
Hope Bros. & Hart 32
hops 18, 69, 106, 108, 2
alpha acidity 74
Bramling Cross 139
Fuggles 72, 134
Golding

J & G Maclachlan 33
J & G Pendreigh 33
J & J. Morison 33
J & T Usher 32
J & W Burnet 32
J. Fulton & Co. 32
Jamieson &
Jenkinson 32
Jas. Jamieson 32
Jas. Muir & Sons 33
Jas. Simson & Co. 32
Jas. Steel & Co. 32
Jeffrey, John 36,48,
142
Jeffrey's 76
John Aitchison & Co.
32
John Blair 33
John Jeffrey & Co. 32
John McNair & Co. 33
John Somerville &
Co. 33
Johnstone, David 41,
94
juniper 70
keeping beer 19, 42
keg beer 110
kegs 100
Kellock, Duncan 23,
138
The Kenilworth 153
Kent Goldings 18
Kerr, James 35
kettle 35
carmelization 107,
134
evaporation 108
Kier, Robert 35
kilning 105
King, George 138
Knox 38
lagering 42
lagers 21
Lemay, General
Curtis 27

Farnham Pale
71

Hallertauer 141
Kent 69
noble 76
North Clay
Bavarian 72
Belgian 72

Northdown 134
Northern Brewer
143
Saxon 141
utilization pounds
per quarter 73
Horne, Jack 59
Horse Wynd 30
Hugh Baird & Sons
104
Hunter, Sandy 9
Hutton Park 38
hydrolysis 91
hydrometer 14
Imlah, John xii
Incorporation of
Maltmen 10
India ale 18, 91, 97
India Pale Ale 137
Insill, George 21, 44,
59, 92, 4, vii
International
Bittering Units 73

171

licorice 70, 139

light
heavy 28
Line, Dave 73
linseed 139
liquor 143
London 18
Lorimer & Clark 32,
36, 135
Lorimer, George 37
Lothian Street 30
MacAndrew's Scotch
Ale 101
Mackay's 36
Maclachlan 33, 37, 66,
145
Maclay & Co. 23, 38,
129, 131, 138, 151
The Maskin' Loom 87
malt 43, 57, 104
amber 64, 105, 135,
136
black 64
brown 17, 64, 105
color 21
extract 107

McMaster, Charles
vii, 23, 66
McEwan 101
McEwan, Janet 38
William 36, 142
McEwan's &
Newcastle vii, 142
McMaster, Charlie 66
Meadow Brewery 37
Meiklejohn, Robert
37, 38
Melvin's 35
Memel Oak 147
Merchant du Vin 148
Miller, John 35
Mills 38
Milnes 153
Mitchell, W.J. 50
Moray Forth
maltings 143
Morison & Thomson
33, 34
Morison's brewery 30,
142
Moyes Brewery Co.
Ltd. 33
Muir's 35
Murray's 36, 145
The New Bizaar 133
Newcastle Breweries
Ltd. 33
Newington Brewery
35
Niall 7
nitrogen 101
noble 76
Northdown 134
Northern Breweries
Ltd. 32
Northern Bwys. of
Great Britain Ltd.
32, 33
Noted Breweries of
England and
Ireland 8

syrup 107

kilning 62,63
Munich 105
snap 66
Malt and Shovel 153
malt kilning 62
maltings 60
maltsters 10
Martin, Roger 64
mash
efficiency 105
liquor 87, 106
temperature 88,
103
mash tuns 87, 106
mashes 105
mashing 87
mawkie 61

172

Nungate Brewery 24
Oat Malt Stout 139
oatmeal Stouts 23
Ochil hills 9
old ale 26
Old Town 28
orange peel 70
original 15
Orkney Brewery 141
Oxidation 18
Palace 34
pale 64
malt 104, 134
Pale Ale 18
Park 36
Paterson 36
Pattisons Ltd. 33
peat 66
Pentland 36
pH 44, 105
phenols 90
Picts 7
pieces 62
Pilsener 23, 26
pitching 95
rate 82, 95, 109
Playhouse Close
Brewery 35
polyphenols 90
Potterrow Brewery 35
pounds per quarter 73
prohibition 23
protein 15, 91
public breweries (see
publick) 11
publick breweries
public 9

60 Shilling Light
Ale 112
60 Shilling
Scottish Ale 122
70 Shilling Heavy
113
80 Shilling Ale 114
80 Shilling Export
123
80 Shilling Export
Ale 124
90 Shilling Scotch
Ale 115
120 Shilling
Scotch Ale 117
120 Shilling Wee
Heavy 116
140 Shilling
Edinburgh Ale 126,
127
140 Shilling Wee
Heavy 119, 120
reek 66
Reekie, Auld 132
refrigeration 22
Ritchie, Charlie 138
Robt. Deuchar Ltd. 33
Robt. Disher & Co. 33
Robt. Moyes & Co. 33
Robt. Younger & Co.
33
Robt. Younger Ltd. 33,
34
Roberts, W.H. 41
Robin, McMillan &
Co. 32
Rose Street Brewery
132, 141, 151
Roseburn (Heriot) 36
saccharify 88
saccharomyces 79
Saccharum 15
St. Mungo 8

houses 15

transportation 9
puncheons 22, 97
quassia 71
Queen Victoria 34
Raeburn 37
rationalization 26
recipes

173

Salisbury Crags
Brewery Co. Ltd.
33, 47
Salt 139
Sciennes 35
Scotch ale 41, 72,
79,80, 88, 107, 135,
140,143,147
production 42
Scotch Whiskey 7
Scots pint 15, 2
Scottish & Newcastle
30, 142
Scottish & Newcastle
Bwys. Ltd. 32, 33
Scottish ales 41, 70, 79,
96, 151
Scottish Brewers Ltd.
32, 33
Scottish Brewing
Archives vii, 4
Scottish export
heavy 107
special 107
Scottish pale ale 75
secondary
fermentation 97
serviceberries 71
serving temperatures
100
Sharp, Russell 44, 51,
59,98
Shilling 103
30 shilling ale 18
40 shilling ale 18
60 shilling 137
60 Shilling Ale 41,
135
60 Shilling light
28, 131, 141
70 Shilling 129, 137,
138, 144
70 shilling ale 41,
92

70 Shilling Heavy
3, 131
80 shilling 129,
138, 142, 143, 145
80 Shilling ale 18,
41,141
80 Shilling Export
131, 134, 136
90 Shilling 141
90 Shilling Strong
Ale 131
90 shilling ale 3, 15,
18, 23
115 shilling ale 18
140 shilling ale 24,
71
Export 80 Shilling
140
shillings-per-barrel 2
Shore 38
Silicates 90
Simson & McPherson
32
Skeachen 9
Skimmed 136
skimming 42, 96, 140
Slateford Maltings 66
Slateford Road 30
small beer 15
Smith, Andrew 50, 71,
76
Frank 146
The Society of
Brewers 29
Somerville, James 100
Spanish licorice 70
Sparge
liquor 106
sparging 89, 105
sparkler 101
Special Pale Ale 132,
140
spices 9
spile 100

174

spontaneous
fermentation 94
spruce 71
St. Ann's brewery 34,
54
St. Anthony Street,
Leith 33
St. Leonard's 36
St. Margaret's 34
St. Mary's 34
Starbuck Tavern
Scott's 153
Starch 15, 90
Steel Coulson & Co.
32, 33
Steel's masher 88, 138
steeping 61
Stein, Robert 93
Stewart, Lady
Catherine
Maxwell 146
Peter Maxwell 146
Stillions 99
Stout 21, 99
Strong Ale 131, 134,
136, 141
strong beer 15
sugar 15, 19, 98, 130,
136
Summerhall Brewery
35
Syme 38
T & J Bernard 32, 33
T.G. Willis 153
T.Y. Paterson Ltd. 33
table beer 10, 16,91,
90,99
tall fonts 28, 100
taxes 17
Taylor Anderson &
Co. 32
Taylor MacLeod &
Co. 32
temperance 23
ten guinea ale 35

Tennent Caledonian
Breweries 32, 144
Tennent, J & R 144
Robert 144
Tennent's Brewery 26,
130
terminal gravities 15
thermometer 13
Thistle Brewery 38,
129, 138
Thos. Carmichael &
Co. 33
Thos. Usher & Sons
Ltd. 32
tied houses 24
The Tilted Wig 153
torrified Wheat 135
Townhead 38
traditional beers 21
transportation 11
Traquair Arms 148
Traguair House 93,
130
Ale 101
Brewery 145
treacle ale 9
trub 93, 110
tuns 22
twopenny 15, 117
twopenny ale 91, 106
underback 89
United Caledonian
Breweries 32, 145
Usher's 36
The Vermont Pub
and Brewery 80
The Victoria and
Albert 153
The Volunteer Arms
The Canny Man 153
W&J Raeburn 32, 33
Wallace, Robert 52,
59, 75
water 13, 42, 47, 103,
146

175

Edinburgh 103
water
well 48
watercress 71
Wee Dump 3
Wee Heavy 3, 28, 44,
80, 99, 147
wee heavy 99
Wellpark brewery
144
wells 13, 20, 30
West Highland
Breweries 149
Westport 47
wild licorice 70
Wm. Berwick & Co.
33
Wm. McEwan & Co.
Ltd. 32
Wm. Murray & Co. 33
Wm. Younger & Co.
33
wine 11
Wm. McEwan & CO.
32
Wm. Robertson &
CO. 32
Worcestershire 75
wormwood 71
wort 89, 106
cooler 93
oxygenation 95
yeast 22, 43, 95
growth 95, 143
Younger, David 133
George 37, 87, 145
George Viscount
38
Harry George 143
James 38, 142
Jeffrey 145
Robert 34, 142
William 24, 37, 142
Youngers No. 1 Ale 26

176

177

178

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W.H. Roberts. 1847. The Scottish Ale Brewer and

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David Johnstone. March, 1984. In Search of Scotch Ale.
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179

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Trends,

Charles McMaster. 1985. Alloa Ale. Scottish Brewing

Archives. Edinburgh.
8.

9.
J. Bickerdyke. 1886. The Curiosities of Ale and Beer.
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Alfred Barnard. 1889-90. The Noted Breweries of Great
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11.
Ian Donnachie. 1979. A History of Brewing in Scotland.
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Charles Mc Master. 1988. Porter Brewing in Scotland.

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Charles McMaster. 1989. A Short History of Slateford
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Ian Donnachie. 1985. Men of Brewing: Viscount
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Stephen Cribb. 1990. Beer and Rocks. zymurgy Fall
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K.C. Lam., R.T. Foster II and M.L. Deinzer 1986. Aging of
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J. Bickerdyke. 1886. The Curiosities of Ale and Beer. Field &
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CAMRA. 1989. A Guide to Good Beer in the Forth Valley,
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Stephen Cribb. 1990. "Beer and Rocks. zymurgy Fall 1990
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182

Ian Donnachie. 1979. A History of Brewing in Scotland. John

Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh. (11)
Ian Donnachie. 1985. Men of Brewing: Viscount Younger of
Leckie. Scottish Brewing Archive, No. 6. Edinburgh. (19)
Ian Donnachie. 1985. Men of Brewing: William McEwan.
Scottish Brewing Archive, No. 5. Edinburgh. (28)
Rev. George Gilfillan. (ed.) 1856. Poetical Works of Robert
Burns. Appleton & Co., New York, (2)
John Harrison, et al. 1991. Old British Beers and How to Make
Them. Durden Park Beer Circle, London. (3)
J.S. Hough, D.E. Briggs and R. Stevens. 1982. Malting and
Brewing Science. (Vol. 2). Chapman and Hall, London. (25)
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