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Scottish Heavy (70 Shilling) is one of the most underrated session ales in the British tradition, the malt-forward, lightly roasted, barely-hopped character is a complete departure from what most craft beer drinkers expect from a dark-ish ale, and every time I share a homebrew batch with people expecting bitterness they’re surprised by how drinkable it is. I’ve brewed Scottish Heavy as a winter session ale and the combination of low alcohol and genuine flavour complexity makes it ideal for long evenings.
Scottish Heavy 70/- style guide: the low-strength Scottish session ale
Style overview: Scottish Heavy (70 Shilling, written 70/-) is part of the traditional Scottish ale shilling classification system, where shillings originally referred to the price per barrel of beer. The 70/- occupies the middle of the traditional range: 60/- (Light), 70/- (Heavy), 80/- (Export), 90/+ (Wee Heavy). BJCP style parameters (14B): OG: 1.035–1.040. FG: 1.010–1.015. ABV: 3.2–3.9%. IBU: 10–20 (very low). SRM: 9–17 (medium amber to medium brown). Flavour profile: The Scottish Heavy impression: malt-forward with caramel, toffee, bread, and a hint of light roast from a small amount of roasted barley (traditional). Low to very low hop bitterness, Scottish ales traditionally use minimal hops, with the malt character entirely dominating. Clean fermentation (Scottish ale yeast is noted for its cleanliness at cool temperatures, 15–17°C is ideal). The impression: a softly malty, lightly toasty, very drinkable dark amber session ale that would be unrecognisable as “dark beer” to someone expecting roast or bitterness. Grain bill for 20L: Pale malt (Maris Otter): 3.2 kg (English pale malt, gives the biscuity, slightly nutty English base). Crystal 60L: 300g. Crystal 80L: 200g. Roasted barley: 30–40g (very small amount, adds colour and a hint of dryness at the finish without being perceptible as roast). Smoked malt (optional): 50–100g (some traditional Scottish ales include a hint of smoke from the historically peated malts of Scotland). Target colour: 10–17 SRM (medium amber-brown). Total approximately 3.7 kg for OG 1.038. Hops: Target IBU: 12–18. East Kent Goldings or Fuggles: 15–20g at 60 minutes only. No late additions whatsoever, the malt is the story. Yeast: Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale), the definitive Scottish ale yeast. Clean, malt-accentuating, moderate flocculation, produces minimal esters even at warmer temperatures. White Labs WLP028 (Edinburgh Scottish Ale), equivalent. SafAle S-04 is a reasonable alternative (slightly more fruity). Fermentation temperature: 15–17°C is traditional and ideal for Scottish ale character, the cool fermentation produces a very clean, malt-forward profile. At 20°C the beer is still good but less distinctively Scottish. Why mash temperature matters for Scottish ales: Mash at 67–69°C for full body and residual sweetness appropriate to the malt character. A lower mash temperature (64–65°C) produces a thinner, more attenuative beer that’s less authentic for Scottish Heavy. The style benefits from the fuller body that a higher mash temperature provides. Indian homebrewing: The 15–17°C fermentation temperature is achievable in Indian winter (November–February in Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad). The very low alcohol (3.2–3.9%) makes Scottish Heavy an excellent large-batch session beer, brew 30–40L and share generously. Maris Otter malt is available from Indian homebrew importers. Low-cost option: standard Indian pale malt + 50g Roasted Barley (minimal quantity needed) achieves an approximation. East Kent Goldings hops are available from Indian homebrew importers at reasonable cost for this low-IBU style (only 15–20g per batch).
Common Questions
What does the “shilling” classification in Scottish ales mean?
The shilling classification (60/-, 70/-, 80/-, 90/+) is a historical Scottish pricing system for beer that has been retained as a stylistic descriptor, though it no longer relates to actual prices and is used inconsistently between different commercial breweries. Historical origin: in 19th-century Scotland, beer was sold by the barrel and the price per barrel (in shillings) was printed on the invoice. A barrel of lighter session beer might sell for 60 shillings; a stronger premium beer for 80 shillings. The shilling number therefore correlated approximately with strength and quality, higher shilling number = stronger, more expensive beer. The four traditional Scottish shilling styles: 60/- (Sixty Shilling / Scottish Light): OG 1.030–1.035, ABV 2.5–3.2%. The session ale of Scotland, extremely low alcohol. 70/- (Seventy Shilling / Scottish Heavy): OG 1.035–1.040, ABV 3.2–3.9%. The everyday drinking ale. 80/- (Eighty Shilling / Scottish Export): OG 1.040–1.054, ABV 3.9–6.0%. A full-flavoured standard ale. 90/+ (Ninety Shilling / Wee Heavy / Scottish Strong): OG 1.070–1.130, ABV 6.5–10.0%. The barleywine-gravity strong ale. Modern usage inconsistency: many Scottish craft breweries use the shilling numbers marketing-style without strict adherence to the historical gravity ranges, a 70/- from one brewery may be quite different from a 70/- from another. BJCP attempts to standardise these into 14A (Scottish Light), 14B (Scottish Heavy), 14C (Scottish Export), and 17C (Wee Heavy). For homebrewing: use the BJCP parameters rather than only the shilling number to target the correct gravity and character. A 70/- homebrew should be in the OG 1.035–1.040 range regardless of what the label says. The classification is useful context for understanding the tradition but should not be the sole guide to a homebrewing recipe.
