{{Short description|Type of beer}} thumb|right|An unopened bottle of Ansells Silver Jubilee Strong Ale from 1977
'''Strong ale''' is a type of ale, usually above 5% abv and often higher, between 7 and 11% abv, which spans a number of beer styles, including old ale, barley wine, and Burton ale.<ref>{{cite book | last=Cornell | first=M. | title=Amber, Gold & Black: The History of Britain's Great Beers | publisher=History Press | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-7524-7594-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsgSDQAAQBAJ | access-date=December 22, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Dredge | first=M. | title=Craft Beer World: A guide to over 350 of the finest beers known to man | publisher=Ryland Peters & Small | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-909313-37-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKWsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT547 | access-date=December 22, 2017 | page=547}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Zainasheff | first1=J. | last2=Palmer | first2=J. | title=Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew | publisher=Brewers Publications | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-9840756-4-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-cyQAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT219 | access-date=December 22, 2017 | page=219}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Sherman | first=Amy | title=New Holland Brewing celebrates their 20th anniversary with one strong ale | website=MLive.com | date=November 24, 2017 | url=http://www.mlive.com/beer/2017/11/new_holland_brewing_celebrates.html | access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> Strong ales are brewed throughout Europe and beyond, including in England, Belgium, and the United States.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jackson | first=M. | author-link=Michael Jackson (writer) | title=Great Beer Guide | publisher=Dorling Kindersley | series=Dorling Kindersley-book | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-7894-5156-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9HoBAAAACAAJ | access-date=December 22, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Reports from Committees of the House of Commons: Repr. by Order of the House | publisher=House of Commons | issue=v. 11 | year=1782 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-S9DAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA2-PA771 | page=771}}</ref>
thumb|left|Younger's Scotch Ale label
'''Scotch ale''' was first used as a designation for strong ales exported from Edinburgh in the 18th century.<ref>The Younger Centuries, by David Keir, 1951, page 22</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/caledonian-edinburgh-tattoo-strong-ale/2812/ |title=Caledonian Edinburgh Scotch Ale from Caledonian (S&N, Heineken), an English Strong Ale style beer |publisher=Ratebeer.com |date=5 November 2010 |access-date=12 August 2014}}</ref> Scotch ale is sometimes termed "wee heavy".<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FhF2uV6blXAC&q=%22wee+heavy%22&pg=PT2327 |title=The Oxford Companion to Beer |first=Alaistair |last=Gilmour |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011 |access-date=24 February 2012|isbn=9780199912100 }}</ref><ref name="McEwan's Scotch Ale">{{cite web |date=14 June 2007 |url=http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/342/1275/ |title=McEwan's Scotch Ale |publisher=BeerAdvocate |access-date=14 June 2007}}</ref> A recipe for an unhopped Scotch ale can be found in the 17th-century cookery book ''The Closet Opened''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt. Opened 3rd ed |url=https://archive.org/details/closetofeminentl00digb/page/n5/mode/2up |author=Digby, Kenelm |author-link=Kenelm Digby|year=1677 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/closetofeminentl00digb/page/90/mode/2up 91]–92 |publisher=London: Printed by H.C. for H. Brome}}</ref>
The strong ale described in John Mortimer's ''The whole Art of Husbandry'' (1708) was made from a ratio of eleven bushels of malt to a hogshead.<ref name="The whole Art of Husbandry">{{cite book |title=The whole Art of Husbandry |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9nxZAAAAYAAJ/page/n9/mode/2up |author=Mortimer, John|author-link=John Mortimer (agriculturalist) |year=1708 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9nxZAAAAYAAJ/page/567/mode/2up 568]–569 |publisher=London: H. Mortlock}}, quote: "The proportion of Hops may be half a Pound to an Hogshead of Strong-Ale, one Pound to an Hogshead of ordinary Strong-Beer to be soon drunk out, and two Pounds to an Hogshead of ''March'' or ''October'' Beer".</ref>
==See also== * Christmas beer * List of beer styles * Trappist beer * {{portal-inline|Beer}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Beer styles}}
Category:Types of beer
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