Scottish-Style Export Ale Style
- Color: Medium amber to dark chestnut brown
- Clarity: Chill haze is acceptable at low temperatures
- Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Sweet malt and caramel aromas and flavors define the character of a Scottish Export
- Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Should not be present
- Perceived Bitterness: Low to medium
- Fermentation Characteristics: Fruity esters, if present, are low. Yeast attributes such as diacetyl and sulfur are acceptable at very low levels. Bottled versions may contain higher amounts of carbon dioxide than is typical for lightly carbonated draft versions.
- Body: Medium
- Additional notes: These beers differ significantly from Scotch Ale, especially regarding original gravity, alcohol content and malt attributes. While there are conflicting theories as to whether traditional Scottish Export Ale exhibited peat smoke character, the current marketplace offers many examples with peat smoke character present at low to medium-low levels. Peat smoke attributes may be absent or present at low to medium-low levels. Versions exhibiting higher levels of smoke character are categorized as Smoke Beer.
When using these guidelines as the basis for evaluating entries at competitions, competition organizers may create subcategories which reflect groups of entries based on presence or absence of peat smoke-derived attributes.
Scottish-Style Export Ale Vital Statistic
- Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.040-1.050 (10-12.4 °Plato)
- Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.018 (2.6-4.6 °Plato)
- Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-4.2% (4.1%-5.3%)
- Bitterness (IBU) 15-25
- Color SRM (EBC) 9-19(18-38 EBC)
2020 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines used with permission of Brewers Association.