Both homebrewers and brewers alike enjoy and desire to learn about particular “world” beer styles they plan to brew. Enter Scottish and Scotch ales. To fully appreciate these historic beer styles, it helps to know a bit about Scottish brewing history. I grabbed my copy of Scotch Ale, a well-researched book by Greg Noonan (Brewers Publications, 1993) and tucked this great reference into my bag before I hopped on a plane to Edinburgh. It turned out to be a terrific tour guide as well as the definitive reference about Scottish ales.
According to Noonan, archaeological evidence proves that the Picts were making some sort of fermented beverage on the Isle of Rhum as early as 6500 BC. By the time the Romans invaded Britain in AD 43, the Picts were brewing their beer with barley grains. They also used heather, an indigenous flower, to flavor and preserve (this was before hops were used) their brews. It must have been powerful stuff, because in the late fourth century, an Irish king named Niall of the Nine Hostages waged war against the Picts not to conquer the fierce tribe but to learn the secret of the legendary heather ale that Pictish warriors drank before battle to give them courage. History states that Niall wiped out the Pict population of Galloway but left without the recipe, which even the last victim refused to reveal. Heather ale survived for centuries in the Orkney Islands and has been revived nationwide in recent years.
In medieval times, according to Noonan, the monasteries around Glasgow and Edinburgh became the first “commercial” breweries in Scotland. This region was nicknamed the “Charmed Circle” for its abundant underground springs. This soft water was perfect for producing the rich and malty ales that beer-lovers identify with Scotland to this day. Secular breweries first appeared in the 1400s. Barley was grown and malted in the countryside in such fertile agricultural regions as the Carse of Forth and East Lothian. From there it was shipped to breweries in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Alloa. All three cities were blessed with cool cellars of constant temperatures, abundant soft-water supplies, and close proximity to a deep-water ports. For those reasons, these cities became, and still remain, the country’s major brewing centers.