Strong ale is a type of ale, usually above 5%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

and often higher, between 7% to 11% abv, which spans a number of

beer style Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin. The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...

s, including old ale,

barley wine Barley wine is a strong ale between 6–12% alcohol by volume."Barley wine"

Burton ale Burton ale is a type of strong ale which is dark and sweet. It is named after the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent. Burton ales were generally aged and needed cellaring for months before serving, and almost certainly had some degree of secondary fe ...

. Strong ales are brewed throughout Europe and beyond, including in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

"Scotch ale" was first used as a designation for strong ales exported from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

in the 18th century. Scotch ale is sometimes conflated with the term "wee heavy", as both are used to describe a strong beer. Beers brewed in the US under the name "wee heavy" tend to be 7% abv and higher, while Scottish-brewed examples, such as Belhaven's Wee Heavy, are between 5.5% and 6.5% abv. McEwan's Scotch Ale is also 8% abv.

References

Types of beer {{beer-stub

See also

References