Wee Heavy (Scotch Ale)
Wee heavy, or strong Scotch ale: a rich, sweet, malty Scottish ale of caramel and toffee, full and warming. Strength, bitterness, glass and classic examples.
- Family
- Ale
- Origin
- United Kingdom
- Strength
- 6.5–10% ABV
- Bitterness
- 17–35 IBU
- Colour scale
- 14–25 SRM (28–49 EBC)
- Glass
- Thistle
- Serve at
- 10–13 °C
A wee heavy pours light copper to dark brown, often with deep ruby highlights, clear under a large tan head. It tastes rich and sweet: caramel, toffee and dried fruit, a full, chewy body and a warming alcohol. The bitterness stays low, just enough to keep it from turning syrupy.
Where it comes from
It descends from the Edinburgh ales, strong malty beers brewed in several strengths, close to Burton ale but with half the hops. Wee heavy means small strong, after Fowler’s Wee Heavy, a 12 Guinea Ale that made the term famous. Modern versions come in two main strengths, a modest beer around 5% and the better-known one at 8–9%.
Brewers build it on Scottish pale ale malt, with crystal or darker grains for colour, and no peat-smoked malt.
How to serve it
Pour it at 10–13 °C into a thistle glass or a snifter. It stands up to game and other rich meats and to strong cheeses.
Next to its neighbours
A wee heavy resembles an English barleywine but runs darker and more caramelly. It is sweeter and fuller than a strong bitter.
Wee Heavy (Scotch Ale) in numbers
- Original gravity
- 1.070–1.130
- Final gravity
- 1.018–1.040
- Food
- Meats and game; pungent cheeses; creamy desserts with fruit
- Classic examples
- Traquair House Ale; Belhaven Wee Heavy; Orkney Skull Splitter; Broughton Old Jock; McEwan’s Scotch Ale; Inveralmond Blackfriar
- BJCP style
- 17C Wee Heavy
Sources
Checked .
- 17C. Wee Heavy, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
- Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy — CraftBeer.com, Brewers Association
