Caledonian 80/-

Scotland has as rich a brewing tradition as any nation of northern Europe.  From the early Middle Ages onward, there are records of Scottish Highlanders brewing ales with heather, the purple flower whose low shrubs carpet the rocky slopes of the Highlands.  The secrets of brewing heather ale were supposedly passed down from the Picts, who occupied the Highlands in Roman times.  There is even some archaeological evidence that Neolithic peoples living on the Scottish Isle of Rum were consuming a heather-based fermented beverage as early as 2000 B.C.  Heather not only provided flavor to beer but also served as a preservative - much as hops do in modern-day beers.

During the Industrial Age, however, the Scottish beer market was invaded by imported English pale ales, which were flavored with hops rather than herbs.  The ancient art of heather ale was still practiced on a small scale, kept alive on isolated farmsteads and in remote Highland villages.  Meanwhile, large breweries sprang up in the cities of Scotland to take on their English counterparts at their own game.  They began making pale ales using local-grown barley and hops imported from southern England.

Among these was the Caledonian Brewery, which was founded in Edinburgh in 1869. The name of the brewery is derived from Caledonia, the ancient Roman name for the uncivilized lands to the north of Hadrian's Wall (which included pretty much all of present-day Scotland). At the time of its founding, Caledonian was one of over 40 breweries that were thriving in 19th-century Edinburgh by making their own versions of English-style pale ales and bitters.  However, Caledonian is the only Edinburgh-based brewery of that era to survive to the present day.  Currently, their most popular offering is called Caledonian 80 /-.

The weird "/-" device is the symbol for the shilling, a monetary unit that was used in the United Kingdom until 1971 ( NOTE: before researching this blog post, I had no idea what a shilling was worth.  According to Wikipedia, there were 20 shillings per one pound sterling, and 12 pence per shilling.  That sounds unnecessarily confusing).  The reason this particular beer is called "80 shilling" actually has to do with is alcohol content.  Back in the 1800s, the British government levied taxes on Scottish ale.  The specific rate of taxation depended on the alcoholic strength of the beer.  Beers under about 3% ABV were deemed "light" and taxed at a rate of 60/- per hogshead barrel (one hogshead = 54 imperial gallons...and yes, I had to look that one up too).  Beers between 3 and 4% ABV were "heavy," meriting a tax rate of 70/-.  So-called "export" beers, which exceeded 4% ABV, were charged a tax rate of 80/- per hogshead.

I know I've covered this ground in the blog already, but before innovations pasteurization and airtight steel kegs, it was difficult to transport beer over long distances while keeping it fresh and unspoiled.  For exporting purposes, many European brewers would produce an especially heavy version of their beer that had more alcohol than the standard one.  The increased alcohol content would help to keep the beer from going bad during the voyage.  Extra hops, which serve as a natural preservative, were often added to the "export" version in order to achieve the same goal.  The technology behind this convention may be obsolete, but some European brewers still refer to their strongest beers as "Export" or "Foreign" to this day: Carlsburg Export is stronger than regular Carlsburg, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is stronger than Guinness Draught, and so on and so forth.

Like many Scottish breweries, Caledonian still brands their pale ales according to the 60/70/80 shilling nomenclature.  As far as I know, however, their 60/- Light and 70/- Heavy brews are only served in casks and only available in the UK.  The sole version we can get on this side of the pond is their strongest, the 80/- Export.  Not that their 80/- is particularly potent by our American standards.  Historically, even the strongest British beers were generally lower in alcohol than strong beers from, say, Belgium or Germany.  Caley 80/- comes in at only 4.1% ABV - a little less than Miller Lite, and far less than many micro-brewed American pale ales.

Caledonian 80/- is a reddish brown color with an off-white head.  The character of 80/- is somewhat similar to comparable English pale ales like Bass or Boddingtons, only more robust and assertive.  It's also creamier and more full-bodied than your average English pale ale.  You'll get a strong malty taste without much hop flavor - unlike American pale ales, which tend to be far hoppier than their Old World forefathers.  There's also a hint of berry-like fruitiness that comes from the unique strains of British ale yeast and high-temperature fermentation employed in creating this brew.  The Caledonian Brewery is also known for their Deuchars IPA, an award-winning cask-conditioned India Pale Ale.

I have a strong personal attachment to Caledonian 80/-.  When I lived in England, there was a Scottish pub not far from my house that served Caley's brews.  I hung out there a few times with my Scottish friend Doug, putting away pints of 80/- and trying to decipher the crazy Scottish accents of my fellow patrons (strangely, this got easier as the night wore on).  But there are several other excellent Scottish beers available here in the U.S.  In particular, Belhaven Scottish Ale is another fine 80/- brew that's fairly easy to find at a specialty beer store.

And if you really want a taste of old Scotland, several modern microbreweries in Scotland as well as the United States are experimenting with beers flavored with heather.  In particular, the Williams Brothers Brewery of Scotland has made it their mission to revitalize ancient Scottish brews.  They offer a heather ale called Fraoch.  For a closer example, the Highland Brewery here in North Carolina has a seasonal beer called Highland Heather Ale that's supposed to be pretty good.  I haven't yet had the chance to try a heather ale, but it's high on my list.