One of the greatest things about brewing is how simple it really can be. One way you know that is that once in a while there's a lesson or rule or practice that you can draw on in your brewing that you learned way back when you were a brand-new brewer, and it applies just as neatly and well years and hundreds of batches later.
For me, it was my fourth beer, and I was brewing an extract Robust Porter. The recipe I was following recommended using blackstrap molasses in place of part of the malt extract for the recipe, and that molasses addition did some really wonderful things for that beer. The burnt-sugar and minerally flavors suggested maturation rather than oxidation, but imparted some of the same flavors we get out of well-aged beers - and without the waiting or the staling risk.
It was something I'd come back to again and again, with other sugars and syrups, but especially in beers that wanted depth of flavor but lightness of body - which brings us (finally) to Scottish Export (or 80-shilling) Ale.
I've said it before, but the Scottish ales are about more than just increasing your base malt so that your ABV is a little higher in each successive style. These can and should be distinct brews in your brewery, and each calls for a few twists and tweaks.
STYLE
The Scottish Export is the strongest of the three lower-ABV ales in the family (again, you have Wee Heavy lumbering out there in the "imperial" strength range), and by the guidelines it can range as high as six percent ABV (though I don't think I've ever had one that warm). It's still a malt-forward, low-ABV, toasty-not-roasty beer with minimal hops, but at the 80 shilling level we're expecting a more pronounced set of flavors.
Given the geography and climate of Scotland, this is properly not a beer with pronounced fermentation characters, nor (since they don't tend to grow there) much in the way of hops. No, we're leaning mostly on our malts to make this beer - and, in our case, we're going to cheat a bit through the judicious use of adjunct sugar.
RECIPE
All three of my Scottish ales run with the same base grist - all that varies (slightly, at that) are the amounts of each. Start with six pounds (2.7kg) of Maris Otter, and 1.5 pounds (0.68kg) of Munich malt. Careful readers might note that that's a slight increase in the Munich, which is done to provide a small increase in the bready-malty "anchor" rather than to necessarily increase the OG (though it does that, too).
Character malts shift slightly here as well, from the lighter versions: we're still using half a pound (0.23kg) of Chocolate Rye to provide some soft roast and spice accents, but we're downgrading the Lovibond level on the British Crystal malt from 65L to 45L (still a half-pound, though). Why the lighter crystal? Because of our molasses addition. We're less in need of the dark fruits and slight burnt sugar flavors, but we benefit from an increase in the medium-caramel and light toffee (or, to be regionally appropriate, Scottish Tablet) flavors.
So, to the molasses: half a pound by weight, added at the top of the boil. That amounts to about six fluid ounces, though if you were to forget yourself and add eight fluid ounces, I don't think you'd hurt yourself. The molasses should add significant dark sugar flavors and some light sulfur, both of which fit the style well. All-in, your ABV should land at about five percent.
25 IBUs can be added in a single 60-minute addition, from whatever hops you have on hand.
And, last but not least, I'm still sticking with the Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale Yeast for this beer. I know the purists howl every time I write that, but it's a rock-solid performer and a great choice for malt-focused beers, which this decidedly is.
PROCESS
Mash at your usual temperatures (for me It's 152F or 67C), and lauter and sparge as usual. You'll add the molasses at the start of the boil, so the easiest method is just to add it to the kettle before you start your lauter or sparge, and let the runoff action dissolve it for you! Those who are impatient to get their kettles over heat can stir while running off to speed up the process, and once dissolved you can fire up the burner/element. Post boil, chill the wort and pitch your yeast. We'll ferment this at 63F (17C), or cooler.
You have a lot of simple sugar there, so if you're going to miss on your temperature, miss low. I'll sometimes just treat this beer like my Alts and Cal Commons and ferment closer to 60F (16C), and just wait out the extra day or two of fermentation.
Cold crash, and then package and carbonate to about two volumes of CO2.
IN CLOSING
If anyone tells you there's no difference between these styles except their gravity, they're lying to you. You might find that professionals treat them that way, but as homebrewers we have the freedom to design distinct recipes for each, which emphasize and capitalize on the position of each within the Scottish Ales family.
Why waste that opportunity? Whether it's the Light, Heavy, or Export, get to brewing Scottish Ales, if only as a respite from the hops-mad world we live and drink in the rest of the year. Slainte!