Scottish Beer

Beer has been brewed in Scotland for over five thousand years. It is only natural that with such a prestigious and time stretching history would entail with it a certain world respect for Scottish beer.

Scottish Beer is sold throughout the world and has in some sense reached the status of a Scottish symbol to many people. In the United States there are a number of Scottish beer brands, of these one of the most popular is the Samuel Adams Scotch Ale. The most common type of Scottish beer found in America is the Scotch ale which is a strong tasting Pale Ale. This taste is attributed by some to the ancient use of bitter herbs by the Celts in their beers, which naturally leads to modern beers emulating this style. In fact he popularity of this type of beer stretches so far that in Brussels, Scotch typically refers to one of these strong beers as opposed to a Scotch Whisky.

Archeological research has shown that Scottish beer existed as early as five thousand years ago. Containers for the Scottish beer have been discovered and their analysis indicated that the barley used for the drink would have originated in Skara Brae and would have been flavored. This combination of ingredients and likely brewing method makes the Scottish beer similar to drinks like “Kvass”.

It is said that the development of Scottish Beer is unique to other areas of the Britain as Scotland maintained their ancient techniques longer. In this environment it is said that the Scottish beer brewing environment thrived, records show that in 1509 Aberdeen alone had 150 recorded brewers with more likely not being on record. In 1598 Edinburgh’s Society of Brewers was organized. In years following the Act of Union, Scottish beer thrived due to the relatively lower cost of the beer and its ingredients compared to English beer.

Currently there are a number of brands of Scottish beer available, these include :

Arran Blonde
Caledonian Deuchars IPA
Caledonian
Orkney Skullsplitter
McEwan's Scotch Ale
Traquair House Ale
Belhaven Scottish Ale
Heather Ales Fraoch
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil
Fyne Ales Highlander
Tennant's Lager