Wee Heavy

ABV 6.5-10% · IBU 17-35 · SRM 14-25 · Serve 50-55F · Glass Snifter · Pour 8 oz

Identify

Light copper through dark brown, usually clear, often with deep ruby lights when you hold it up. A large tan head that may sink away. The smell is bready and toasty with high caramel and toffee, sometimes butterscotch, sometimes dark fruit such as plum or raisin. Medium full to full bodied, thick and slightly chewy. Rich malt sweetness first, then dried fruit, then a warmth that spreads through your chest. Bitterness is low and the finish runs from sweet to medium dry.

Place

Scotland, out of the strong Edinburgh ales of the nineteenth century

Cause

The sweet liquid that comes off the mash is called wort. A Wee Heavy brewer boils it long and hard, sometimes for hours. Water leaves as steam, the sugars concentrate, and some of them brown in the kettle in the same way sugar browns in a pan. That is where the caramel and toffee come from. No caramel is added and no sugar is stirred in.

Confused with

English Barleywine, which is stronger and much more bitter. American Barleywine, taught at 9.2, which is built on hops. Doppelbock, which is a clean lager without the caramel edge. Scottish Export, which is the same flavour at half the strength.

Numbers

A Wee Heavy is a strong Scottish ale led by caramel and toffee. Bitterness is low, the body is thick, and the alcohol is warming rather than hidden. It is a beer to sit with for an hour, not one to drink two of. Tilt the glass and watch the beer come back.

Will you like it, Order and Try

Sticky toffee pudding, or the burnt sugar on top of a creme brulee. That is the flavour, almost exactly. Dried figs, dates and raisins. The dark fruit in this beer comes from the yeast and the long boil. Malt loaf or fruit cake. Dense, sweet, and a little chewy. A small glass of cream sherry after dinner.

Pair, Judge, Myth and Remember

What does not work: green salads, delicate fish, and hot chilli. The beer rolls straight over the first two, and alcohol makes chilli heat worse rather than better. This is a cold weather beer for heavy food, and it does not pretend otherwise. Clear copper to dark brown with ruby lights and a tan head.