Hivy (beer)

J&J. Morison's India Pale Ale label

Hivy is the tradeitional thick, daurk, strang beer o Scotland. Waiker Scots ales is cryed licht, an isna as common.

Aatho it's richt sert at room temperatur, it's aften sert chilled the day, in bottles, cans, pints or hauf-pints. Hivy is a hertie beer, kin o sweet, less shairp nor some ither kinds o ale.

The shillin gradin seestem

Hivy is gradit bi the shillin unner a seestem uised syne the 1870s for tae shaw the amoont o alcohol: the heicher the shillin merk /- is, the stranger or "hivier" the beer is.

Baith o the maist weel-kent Scots breweries, McEwan’s an Tennents, maks monie diffferent hivies: McEwan’s Special an Tennent’s Velvet is kinds o 70/- ale, the biggest seller.

The 80/- varieties is mair rich and flavourfu. The maist notit mass-mercat version is McEwan's Export, packaged in its distinctive reid livery. It's cryed export acause Scots brewers wis the first tae perfect the technique o India Pale Ale, that first alloued beer to be transportit ower lang distances, oreiginally tae Indie.

The 90/- varieties shuid be teuk in moderation an traet wi respect.

60/- isna classifee'd as hivy, but as licht. It's mair for a niche mercat, but it's gey refreshin in the simmer.

Forbye the mass-produced kenmerks, the'r plenty hivies makkit bi smaa, unthirlt brewers:

• Caledonian Brewery, Embra, operates frae Victorian era biggins uisin muckle o thair oreiginal graith an gear, includin the aesome direct-fired coppers left in the Unitit Kinrick
• Belhaven, Dunbar
• Broughton Ales, Scots Mairches, maks the Greenmantle hivy

Local micro-breweries is beginnin tae kythe again aa ower the kintra, for exemplar at Aviemore, the Black Isle, Arran, Skye, Orkney an Shetland.

Wee hivy

The'r a specialised, gey strang (6.0-10.0% abv) variety cryed wee heavy or scotch ale, that's gradit at 160/-, an that tradeitionally gaes throu a lang byle in the kettle for caramelisation tae happen. This maks a copper-coloured brew. Compared wi ither hivies thay ar sweeter an mair fou-bodied, wi a roastit maut gust. Tradeitionally sert in a thristle-shapit gless, near-haund aa o it is export, maistlins tae Belgium. A scotch in Brussels means ane o thae smaa, strang Scots beers, no a whisky.

Fremmit airtins

• http://eatscotland.visitscotland.com/scottish_food/drink/309810/ Archived 2006-02-18 at the Wayback Machine