Swannay Brewery

Why it matters

Scottish brewing’s traditional categories — light, heavy, export, wee heavy — largely disappeared from labels as the industry consolidated, leaving the styles better documented than tasted. This brewery is one of the small number keeping a dark Scottish ale in continuous national distribution rather than as a revival.

Details

Reference beers

• Orkney Dark Island4.6% ABV

  A dark Scottish ale in continuous national distribution, which is rarer than the number of Scottish styles in a guidebook suggests.

BeerHQ carries only the products that anchor something. This is not the brewery’s full range.

Styles it is associated with

• Old ale — A matured English strong ale with dried fruit, treacle and often a trace of oxidative or wild character from age.
• Scottish ale — Malt-forward Scottish ales with caramel depth and very restrained hopping, traditionally graded by shilling price.