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<\/a>\nIf not the brewery\u2019s flagship beer (that would be the ubiquitous 3.2% ABV Belhaven Best), the Scottish Ale is the warhorse, having been brewed longer than any beer in the portfolio, and there are quite a few. (See my earlier post on Belhaven Scottish Stout<\/a> for more on the brewery and its history.)<\/p>\n Scottish Ale is actually a beer style, amber brews that emphasize malt over hops, ranging in intensity and alcoholic strength\u2014from very low ABVs (2.5%) called Scottish Light, to Scottish Heavy (still pretty light at 3.2 to 3.9%), and upwards of 5% for Scottish Export. The categories were also once (and still occasionally) differentiated by shilling prices\u2014Light at 60\/-, Heavy at 70\/- and Export at 80\/-. When Scottish ales (small a) head to higher ABVs (from 6.5% to 10% or so), they\u2019re often referred to as Scotch Ales, or Wee Heavys.<\/p>\n The Scottish Ale is, at 5.2% ABV here in the U.S. A 3.9% lighter version is available back home, though I confess I can\u2019t recall ever running into it over there.<\/p>\n The 14.9-ounce four-pack cans I picked up today came with fixed nitrogen widgets inside, to approximate the draft experience. The result is impressive, a dangerously drinkable brew with a creamy and velvety mouthfeel.<\/p>\n True to style, the Scottish Ale is toasty brown in appearance, with a nutty, toffee nose; I can\u2019t detect any hops in the aroma. The flavor has a woody, chewy malt quality, sweet but never overly so, in truth a bit thinner than the nose suggests (and practically landing the beer in the Brown Ale category as far as I can determine). A sneaky and well-timed balancing bite from the light English hopping (just enough, apparently) wraps up this nice little tipple thoughtfully.<\/p>\n Aside from its propinquity to Muirfield, Belhaven is certainly mindful of the Scottish game. The brewery makes a St. Andrews Ale, sadly no longer available in the U.S., but readily available in Fife, of course. The company also contract brews Jigger Ale for the Kohler company, which runs the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews and also serves it at the company\u2019s American Club resort<\/a> in Kohler, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n The brewery is cheek by jowl with the Dunbar Golf Club, which my TAP colleague Jeff Neuman has recently and skillfully pointed out here<\/a> is pure delight, a links track not to missed by visitors to East Lothian.<\/p>\n Name: Scottish Ale Related post: TAP Beer of the Week: Scottish Stout<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/a>Belhaven also makes a Wee Heavy available in the U.S. and, not to confuse the issue unduly, a 3.9% 80 Shilling Ale, though that\u2019s not on U.S. shelves.<\/p>\n<\/a>Lots to drink to, and this is the right beer for it.<\/p>\n
\nBrewer: Belhaven Brewery, Dunbar, Scotland
\nStyle: Scottish ale
\nABV: 5.2%
\nAvailability: 38 states nationwide
\nFor More Information: www.Belhaven.co.uk<\/p>\n