Stevens Point Brewery Releases Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) – If you enjoy strong, dark, extra malty ales, you’ll love Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, the latest Whole Hog Limited Edition “big beer” from the Stevens Point Brewery.

A bold, malty brew, Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is debuting at retail during July in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles wherever Point and Whole Hog beers are sold.

“Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is a perfect fit with our Whole Hog Limited Edition specialty beers. It’s a great sipping beer, as big as they come,” said Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Operating Partner.

Scotch ales traditionally are very dark and full-bodied with a sweet maltiness and higher alcohol content. The strongest and darkest type is known as ‘wee heavy’ in Scotland; they are the Scottish counterpart to England’s barley wines. “Our Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale fits the bill nicely,” Martino said.

Scotch ales traditionally have been rated using a system based on the now-obsolete shilling currency that may have had its origins in long-ago tax rates. The scale starts with lighter-bodied 60-shilling ales and grows progressively fuller-bodied with higher alcohol contents. Whole Hog Wee Heavy is a 120-shilling ale toward the top end of the scale, a ranking that promises a strong full-bodied brew. Brewing Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

Point Brewmaster Gabe Hopkins brews Wee Heavy Scotch Ale using traditional Scottish peated two-row barley malt, pale malt and crystal malt. A long boil of about two hours allows caramelization of the sugars in the wort, which yields a big, malty, deep copper colored beer flaunting sweet hints of toffee and caramel.

Hops are not emphasized in the traditional Scotch ale flavor profile, according to Hopkins. “Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is not a hop-focused beer; it’s more about the malts and full body,” he said, adding that Wee Heavy undergoes are slower fermentation process at a colder-than-normal temperature for ales.

“Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is a bold and complex beer, and very enjoyable for specialty beer enthusiasts who appreciate a rich, full-flavored and full-bodied ale,” Hopkins said.

At the top the specialty-beer scale, the Whole Hog Limited Edition beers represent the epitome of the brewmaster’s art.  Full-bodied and heavily hopped, they are “big beers” handcrafted in small batches to appeal to the most discerning craft-beer aficionados and round out the Stevens Point Brewery’s specialty portfolio.

In addition to Whole Hog Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, the Whole Hog year-round beers include Whole Hog Six-Hop India Pale Ale, an IPA brewed with six varieties of hops from the Pacific Northwest.

Seasonal offerings are Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout, a strong English stout for the spring; Whole Hog Raspberry Saison, a Belgian-style ale with a hint of raspberry flavor for the summer; Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale for the fall, which won the gold medal in the Pumpkin Beer category at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival and Whole Hog Barley Wine Style Ale, a dark and deep English-style barley wine for the winter months.

Point’s year-round handcrafted beers include flagship Point Special Lager, a premium American lager; Point 2012 Black Ale, a robust dark ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian style wheat ale; Point Burly Brown American Brown Ale, an American-style brown ale; Point Cascade Pale Ale, a hoppy American-style pale ale; Point Drop Dead Blonde Ale, a golden ale; Point Beyond the Pale, IPA, just released this summer; and Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager.

Seasonal specialty brands are Point Oktoberfest, a Bavarian-style Märzen beer for the fall; Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, a dark, Belgian abbey-style ale available from November through February; Point Three Kings Ale, a Kölsch-style ale for the spring; and Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, a refreshing, award-winning unfiltered wheat ale.

For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, visit www.pointbeer.com or call (715) 344-9310. Tours of the brewery are available, with schedules listed on the Web site.