Scotch de Silly was created at the end of the First World War, when a regiment of Scottish soldiers was stationed near Silly. The homesick soldiers wanted a beer of the scotch ale type that they enjoyed at home.

The brewers at Brasserie de Silly didn’t know how to make this particular beer style. And the raw materials – hops and malt – were hard to come by in 1918. However, the visiting regiment’s commanding officer managed to order a batch of hops from Kent and a Scottish soldier assisted with the brewing to produce a Belgian scotch. After the war the Scotsman married a Belgian woman and settled in Silly, working for the brewery for many years. To this day we use the same Scotch de Silly recipe – with the same hop variety – that those soldiers pioneered.

Scotch de Silly is an exceptional beer with a beautiful coppery-red colour below a cloud of cream-coloured froth. It produces complex aromas of brioche with currants, candied fruits and fresh raspberry. It is a full-mouthed and generous beer, reminiscent of a liqueur, unveiling touches of honey and caramel with, in the finish, impressions of prunes and roasted malt. The overall impression, one that lasts and lingers, is of refreshment.

Brasserie de Silly has produced an annual limited edition of this historic ale since 2012. This special version of Scotch de Silly spends four months maturing in oak barrels. But the taste is different every year because different recycled barrels are used in the maturing process each year: Bordeaux, port, cognac, Jack Daniels, Nuits-Saint-Georges wine… they have all been used so far.

Scotch de Silly is about to celebrate its centenary and now has the new branding that it deserves for its birthday.